As the race to replace PM Boris Johnson heats up further, a poll of Conservative Party members on Saturday revealed that Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is 22 percentage points ahead of her challenger Rishi Sunak in the contest to become the United Kingdom’s next Prime Minister.
Opinium which conducted the poll reported that among 450 party members who had determined how they would vote in the upcoming leadership contest, 61 per cent will vote for Truss, while former finance minister Sunak received a mere 39 per cent votes.
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The total sample size, including those who did not vote, was 570.
Less than a third of them, 29 per cent as per Reuters, said they had already voted, and 47 per cent claimed to have made up their minds. Only 19 per cent indicated that they might reconsider.
An earlier poll by YouGov had shown similar numbers, it suggested a 24-point lead for the foreign secretary. The results of the July poll showed a headline voting intention of 62 per cent for Truss and 38 per cent for Sunak.
60 per cent of party members said they would vote for her in comparison to 26 per cent who supported Sunak, according to a YouGov poll for The Times.
Also read | Both Truss, Sunak willing to serve on the other’s cabinet in case of loss
The leadership election which is being held by postal ballot began on 4 August and will run until early September. The results will be announced on September 5.
A replacement for Prime Minister Boris Johnson is being chosen by the nearly 200,000 members of the ruling Conservative Party. In July, after a slew of scandals and a parliamentary uprising, Johnson announced he would resign once the party selected a replacement.
(With inputs from agencies)
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