Soon after Liz Truss was declared the winner of the Conservative leadership race, the newly-elected prime minister walked past his rival and fellow party member Rishi Sunak without offering him a consolatory handshake.
The result was announced on Monday by the returning officer of the leadership contest and chair of the Conservative Party’s powerful 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, Sir Graham Brady, at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre near Downing Street.
Truss was elected by the lowest ever margin for a Conservative leader with 57 per cent of the vote compared to 43 per cent for Sunak.
As she was invited to the stage, Truss appeared to ignore her rival as she ascended onto the stage to take the plaudits, reported the Independent.
Sunak sat quietly and nodded his appreciation towards Truss while a round of applause reverberated through the room.
Addressing the audience, Truss said, “We need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy.
“I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply.”
She did, however, mention Sunak’s name while paying respects to her other Tory rival candidates.
“I would like to pay my respects to my Tory leadership rival candidates, especially Rishi Sunak. It has been a hard-fought campaign. I think we have shown the depth and breadth of talent in our Conservative Party.”
(With inputs from agencies)
