Will Disloyal Rishi Sunak Win Over the New’ Iron Lady’?

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are the two final candidates in the UK Conservative Party’s leadership contest. Both candidates try to win the race to succeed Boris Johnson and become the UK’s new prime minister. 

Two Former Senior Minister Compere for Tory Leadership

The UK Conservative MPs finished rounds of voting and selected the last two candidates for the party’s leadership race. Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Liz Truss, the former Foreign Secretary, are competing to be Boris Johnson’s successor. Rishi Sunak topped the last contest, and 137 Conservative MPs voted for him, while Liz Truss could secure 113 votes. Around 160,000 Conservative members will soon vote to choose the next leader. Liz Truss has said she follows Conservative values, which may win the approval of the Conservative members. Sunak has said he runs and governs as a Thatcherite with radical reforms. Sunak believes he is the best candidate to beat Labor Party in the next general election. Conservative Party has lost popularity. 

Sunak Is Ladled as Disloyal to Johnson

Rishi Sunak has the most support among the Conservative MPs in the leadership contest. However, they are determined to stop him because they believe Sunak was disloyal and betrayed Boris Johnson. The former prime minister’s allies blamed Sunak for Jonson’s premiership’s fall. Rishi Sunak was the first secretary who quit this month, and a series of resignations followed him. Rishi Sunak has praised Johnson’s achievements and said he does not want to take part in demonizing him. Johnson’s allies have also accused Sunak of his soft line over Northern Ireland, a sensitive issue. Sunak opposed Johnson’s suggestion of easing border goods checks between Northern Ireland and Britain. This border issue has created political disputes inside Northern Ireland. 

Ex-Chancellor Avoids Blaming Former PM 

As Rishi Sunak launched his campaign, he denied betraying Boris Johnson and said he had served loyally for two years. Rishi Sunak has argued that he would not exaggerate Johnson’s faults and would not deny his efforts. The former Chancellor added that Boris Johnson has a good heart and is remarkable. However, he accused the former prime minister of failing to act appropriately and thoughtfully. Rishi Sunak has argued that the Conservative party needs its traditional economic values, not fairy tales. Sunak has said that as a former finance minister, he can lead the economy in the right direction. Rishi Sunak has promised to tackle inflation, grow the economy, and cut taxes. Sunak had previously pledged to cut taxes and put money back in people’s pockets as the Chancellor. 

Pro-Johnson MPs Support Truss

Some Conservative MPs have accused Rishi Sunak of working with Dominic Cummings to bring PM down. They have said it was important that Sunak came clean about the probability of receiving advice from Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser. Rishi Sunak’s campaign has responded that the former Chancellor had not spoken with Cummings since he left NO 10 two years ago. Cummings has attacked Sunak’s rival, Liz Truss, via social media. He has suggested that the former foreign secretary was unfit to lead the country.

On the contrary, Boris Johnson’s allies want Liz Truss to win the leadership contest. Liz Truss has criticized the former Chancellor’s financial records. She believes that Sunak managed the UK economy wrongly and that she will handle the UK economy properly. 

Sunak vs Truss on Tax Issue

Liz Truss has new tax plans and claims they are affordable within current fiscal rules. She slammed her rival and said the country’s economy was going wrong when Sunak was the Chancellor. Liz Truss has promised her plans will help with the squeezed households. She plans to use an emergency budget for quick economic changes and tax cuts. However, the former Chancellor refused the prospect of tax cuts before next year. Rishi Sunak has warned that it is not possible to cut taxes before getting inflation under control. Both candidates campaign on economic issues, precisely tax cuts, to win the votes. Sunak has also warned the voters about losing future votes to Labor Party for financial challenges. He considers himself the best Conservative leader to beat Labors in the next general election. 

Truss Is Favoured for Next Prime Minister  

A fresh poll by YouGov has shown that 62 percent of the Conservative members support Truss, and 38 percent support Sunak. Liz Truss has beaten Rishi Sunak in every age category among women and men. Although Rishi Sunak has gained higher support among the Conservative MPs, he came second to Truss among party members. Some fans have dubbed Truss the new Iron Lady and see her as a favoured success to Johnson. Liz Truss played Margaret Thatcher in a school play at nine. Around four decades later, she competes to become Conservative leader and prime minister. The Conservative members will receive their ballot papers and cast their votes online or post until 2 September. Sunak and Truss will participate in 12 hustings around the UK and answer the audiences’ questions. 

Conclusion

Several Conservative MPs entered a contest to replace the outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Rishi Sunak was among the first politicians to start his leadership campaign once Boris Johnson was forced to resign. The former Chancellor had his leadership campaign webpage ready some months before Johnson’s resignation. While Sunak was the Chancellor, the country was hit by skyrocketing inflation, and the cost-of-living crisis squeezed the British households. He has topped the eight leadership candidates with the support of the Conservative MPs. However, the conservative members across the country will choose between him and the former foreign secretary. According to a poll, Liz Truss has a massive lead over the former Chancellor. Sunak has gone on the path to conservative leadership, but he can lose out to his rival, Liz Truss.