In the last vote of Conservative MPs on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak obtained 137 votes, against 113 for Liz Truss. Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Penny Mordaunt has been eliminated.
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It will be her or him. Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Minister Liz Truss qualified on Wednesday July 20 for the final duel in the race for Downing Street. Clearly, in seven weeks, one of the two will become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in place of Boris Johnson.
According to the results announced by Graham Brady, the person responsible for organizing the internal election, it was Rishi Sunak who came out on top by obtaining 137 votes from Conservative MPs, ahead of Liz Truss (113 votes). Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Penny Mordaunt, who only received 105 votes, was eliminated.
After the resignation on July 7 of Boris Johnson, swept away by scandals, it is now certain that the British government will be led either for the first time by a non-white man, or for the third time by a woman. The last two competitors will be decided by the 200,000 members of the Conservative Party, following a postal vote, the result of which is expected on 5 September.
The final race seems very open. According to a YouGov poll (link in English) released Tuesday, Rishi Sunak would be largely beaten in the final. Conversely, Liz Truss, who had been deemed unconvincing last week, managed to close the gap. She also seems best placed to get the votes of Kemi Badenoch, who represents, like her, the right wing of the Tories.