Conservative Party lawmakers in the UK have knocked one more contender from the race to replace outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. At the end of the second vote Thursday, former British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak came out on top with Penny Mordaunt placed second. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was placed third. These three have maintained their positions from the first vote that happened on Wednesday. Suella Braverman, the candidate who got the least number of votes in the second ballot, has been eliminated from the race. The contest was triggered when Johnson resigned as Tory leader last week, after his party revolted following months of ethics scandals and government ministers began resigning en masse. He will remain in office as a caretaker prime minister until his replacement as party chief is chosen. Rishi Sunak Sunak launched his leadership bid with a campaign video in which he promised to confront the difficult economic backdrop with “honesty, seriousness and determination”, rather than piling the burden on future generations. Sunak, 42, became finance minister in early 2020 and was praised for a Covid-19 economic rescue package, including a costly jobs retention programme that averted mass unemployment. But he later faced criticism for not giving enough cost-of-living support to households. Revelations this year about his wealthy wife’s non-domiciled tax status, and a fine he received for breaking Covid lockdown rules, have damaged his standing. His tax-and-spend budget last year put Britain on course for its biggest tax burden since the 1950s, undermining his claims to favour lower taxes. Brexit: Sunak voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum. Promise: Focus on rebuilding economy, no tax cuts till public finances improve Penny Mordaunt The former defence secretary was sacked by Johnson when he became prime minister after she endorsed his rival during the 2019 leadership contest. Mordaunt, 49, was a passionate supporter of leaving the EU and said that she would aim to deliver the benefits of Brexit and recover from recent economic shocks such as the pandemic. Currently a junior trade minister, Mordaunt called the Covid lockdown-breaking parties in government “shameful” and has said that if she is prime minister, leadership has to change to be less about the leader. Brexit: Was supporter of the Leave campaign during the 2016 EU referendum Promise: VAT cut on fuel, promise to raise income tax thresholds in line with inflation Liz Truss The foreign secretary has been the darling of the Conservative Party’s grassroots and has regularly topped polls of party members carried out by the website Conservative Home. Truss, 46, has a carefully cultivated public image and was photographed in a tank last year, echoing a famous 1986 photo of Thatcher. She spent the first two years of Johnson’s premiership as international trade secretary and is now in charge of dealing with the EU over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, where she has taken an increasingly tough line in negotiations. Brexit: Initially campaigned against Brexit but after the 2016 referendum said she had changed her mind Promise: Tax cuts, rollback of the National Insurance increase Tom Tugendhat The chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, and a former soldier who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, he is relatively untested because he has never served in cabinet. Tugendhat, 49, has been a regular critic of Johnson and would offer his party a clean break with previous governments. He says he is a low tax Conservative who didn’t support the rise in National Insurance, and has said fuel tax is “crippling” for many people. Brexit: Voted to remain in the EU Promise: Has vowed to slash National Insurance and the duty on fuel Kemi Badenoch Elected to parliament for the first time in 2017, Badenoch, 42, has held junior ministerial jobs, including most recently minister for equalities, but has never served in cabinet. A former Conservative member of the London Assembly, she has also served as vice-chair of the Conservative Party. Brexit: Supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum Promise: Lower taxes to boost growth, tight spending discipline Written by Reuters, ENS
