The election of the new British Conservative leader, who will automatically assume the post of prime minister as Boris Johnson’s successor, entered this Monday (29), last week when Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was the top favorite in a complex economic and social scenario. .
Truss, 47, beat former finance minister Rishi Sunak by more than 30 points in recent polls among Conservative Party members.
Conservative activists have been voting by mail or online since the beginning of August to nominate their new leaders in a process that ends on Friday.
The winner will be announced on Monday, September 5th, and will immediately assume command of the government to confront the economic crisis affecting the country, in the context of protests and strikes, where inflation is above 10% and is expected to exceed 10%. 13% by the end of the year.
Eight Conservative candidates entered the race in July to replace the controversial Johnson. The party’s lawmakers narrowed the conflict down to just two names after consecutive elimination votes.
However, the final vote belongs to the party members.
The UK will meet in a week with the new head of government elected by just 200,000 Conservative Party members, with the rest of the country watching helplessly with relative interest.
Tax relief or public assistance?
As Britons were concerned about the rising cost of living, particularly the 80% increase in the energy tariff ceiling in October, the candidates took part in several debates and visited several cities during the campaign.
Sunak, 42, a billionaire former bank executive and grandson of Indian immigrants, was a big favorite among Conservative lawmakers.
However, he began to lose ground, with the secretary of state, who came into the final stage by just eight votes, vying for leadership at the party base, accusing by many of hastening Johnson’s resignation with his own resignation in July.
“In a party that has evolved into populism, she (Liz Truss) has been able to present herself in a more authentic, more natural way than Rishi Sunak, who is more like a globalized elite,” says Tim Bale, a political scientist at Queen Mary University. London.
Truss “can easily convey traditional conservative messages,” says John Curtice, a professor at the University of Strathclyde.
A single theme dominated the campaign: how to respond to the economic and social crisis.
Truss promised immediate tax cuts, saying the impending recession is not inevitable and that post-Brexit changes to trade and fiscal rules inherited from the European Union will help spur growth.
Sunak argued that the tax increases that he had decided before leaving the Ministry of Finance should be continued and that public aid should be given to those most in need. And he accused his opponent of advocating a “fairytale economy”.
If he confirms favoritism, Truss will also become the third prime minister in the country’s history, after conservative Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) and Theresa May (2016-2019).
The next general election is scheduled for January 2025 at the latest, and polls show the opposition Labor Party is 13 points behind the Conservative Party, which has been in power for 12 years.
source: Noticias
