British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has the backing of her former rival Sajid Javid in the battle to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister and party leader.
In addition, she is far ahead of her rival, former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, in opinion polls.
The near-simultaneous resignations of Goode and Snack last month sparked a government crisis in the UK that led to Johnson’s announcement that he would step down. Javid was a candidate as well, but he had to give up Truss and Snack.
in Opinion article in the Times From Javid Wednesday evening he criticized Sunak’s cautious plans for tax cuts. As for Goode, “the tax cuts are now necessary.” Sunak has repeatedly stated that he rejects Truss’ more radical plans, choosing to tackle the inflationary spiral first. Javid is already the fifth prime ministerial candidate to support Truss.
In a poll of party members conducted by YouGov, Truss has a 34 percentage point lead over Sunak. Influencer site ConservativeHome reported similar results in its own survey: Truss is backed by 58 percent of respondents, and Sunak has to make do with 26 percent — 12 percent said they haven’t made a choice yet.
It should be announced on September 5 who will succeed Johnson. In the meantime, Johnson will remain prime minister and party leader.
