Britons will meet the two finalists to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday afternoon, while the campaigns of the three remaining Conservative candidates are busy collecting final support.
Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak remained in the lead on Tuesday after a fourth vote by Conservative MPs, ahead of Secretary of State for International Trade Penny Mordaunt, closely followed by chief diplomat Liz Truss.
The expected result for September 5
After an express campaign launched after the resignation on July 7 of Boris Johnson, swept by scandals and lies, the conservative deputies vote this Wednesday for the fifth and last time to choose the finalists of the race for power. Then it will be up to the party’s 200,000 members to decide among themselves in a mail-in vote. The result will be announced on September 5.
The teams of the three candidates are now fighting for the votes of Conservative MPs, in particular those who supported former Secretary of State for Equality Kemi Badenoch, eliminated on Tuesday. “We are so close to crossing the finish line,” Penny Mordaunt tweeted after Tuesday’s results, expressing her impatience to defend her candidacy with members.
The deputies began to vote from this Wednesday at noon – prolonging the vote until 2:00 p.m. – and the result must be announced at 3:00 p.m.
“The dirtiest campaign in history”
Rishi Sunak, 42, whose exit from the government in early July helped precipitate the fall of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has been in the lead since the first vote. But the very open competition is far from being won by whoever seems less popular among the party’s base than among the deputies. According to a YouGov poll published on Tuesday, the former finance minister would be soundly beaten in the final regardless of his opponent.
Meanwhile, Liz Truss, 46, had been deemed unconvincing last week but managed to bridge the gap. She also seems best placed to bring back the voices of Kemi Badenoch, who, like her, represents the right wing of the Tories. Rishi Sunak has been accused by MP David Davis of seeking to “re-allocate” some of his votes to Liz Truss in order to remove Penny Mordaunt, who he considers more difficult to beat. “It’s the dirtiest campaign I’ve ever seen,” David Davis told LBC radio.
Penny Mordaunt, 49, almost unknown to Britons just 10 days ago, was voted favorite in a YouGov poll last week but was deemed unclear and unconvincing in two televised debates. Her campaign team, however, says she embodies “change,” while her two rivals, Johnson’s heavyweights, are the candidates for “continuity.”
Turning the page on the Johnson era
Crises of confidence and questions of integrity have marked the campaign, with all the candidates claiming to want to turn – at least in form – the page on the scandal-scarred Johnson era.
The candidates also debated extensively over how they intended to tackle the cost of living crisis strangling British households, as inflation accelerated further in June to 9.4% year-on-year.
A debate between the two finalists will take place on July 25 on the BBC, the public broadcasting group announced. It will take place live from Stoke-on-Trent, a city in central England that voted more than 69% for Brexit in the 2016 referendum, in front of an audience of 80-100 people. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson led his final cabinet meeting on Tuesday and faces a final questioning session in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Source: BFM TV
