UK PM race: Liz Truss is 22 percentage points ahead of rival Rishi Sunak. (file)
London:
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is leading rival Rishi Sunak by 22 percentage points in the race to become the country’s next prime minister, a poll of Conservative Party members by Opinium Research shows. on Saturday.
Of the 450 party members who have decided how they will vote in the ongoing leadership election, Truss, who other polls also show is a clear lead, with 61 percent, with former finance minister, Mr. Sunak with 39%, Opinium said.
About 200,000 members of the ruling Conservative party are voting to decide who to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who after a series of scandals and a riot in parliament in July said he would step down when the party This selects a replacement.
The overall sample size, including those who did not express a preference to vote, was 570. Less than a third of them, 29%, said they had voted and more than 47% said they had decided. Only 19% said they could still change their mind.
The leadership vote is taking place by postal ballot, with the winner to be announced on September 5. The poll was conducted from August 8 to August 12.
The poll found that the top three reasons for backing Ms Truss were dislike of Mr Sunak, that she was more trustworthy and that she remained loyal to Mr Johnson. Mr Sunak’s resignation contributed to Mr Johnson’s downfall.
Supporters of Mr. Sunak say he is the better economically and the most competent or smart of the two candidates.
The pollster said they had observed ‘Johnson nostalgia’ among party members, suggesting 63% would rather Johnson stay in power than Ms Truss take over. The preference for Mr Johnson over Mr Sunak was even stronger at 68%.
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