Sunak, Truss make it through to final stage of UK leadership contest

Britain’s Conservative Party has chosen Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss as the two finalists in an election to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The pair came first and second in a vote of Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday. Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt came third and was eliminated.

The race pits Sunak, a former Treasury chief who steered Britain’s economy through the pandemic, against Truss, who has led the UK’s response to Russia's offensive in Ukraine as foreign secretary.

The two contenders will spend the next few weeks campaigning for the votes of about 180,000 Conservative Party members around the country, who will vote by postal or online ballot. 

The winner of the party leadership vote will be announced on September 5 and will automatically become prime minister.

Sunak has led every round of voting so far. Truss, who is favoured by the party’s right-wing, and Mordaunt, who has scored highly in polls of party members, are wooing lawmakers in an attempt to clinch the other spot.

Even though Truss has come third in every vote so far, bookmakers say she is favourite to win the contest because she is gaining momentum.

READ MORE: Sunak lead widens as race to replace UK PM narrows to four

Bitter campaign

The bitter campaign has exposed deep divisions in the Conservative Party at the end of Johnson’s scandal-tarnished three-year reign. 

Opponents have branded Sunak a “socialist” for raising taxes in response to the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Sunak has hit back that his rivals are peddling economic “fairy tales.”

The contenders are all trying to distance themselves from Johnson, whose term in office began boldly in 2019 with a vow to “get Brexit done” and a resounding election victory, but is now ending in disgrace.

He clung to office through months of scandals over his finances and his judgment, refusing to resign when he was fined by police over government parties that broke Covid-19 lockdown rules. He finally quit after one scandal too many — appointing a politician accused of sexual misconduct — drove his ministers to resign en masse.

Despite remaining prime minister, he has largely disappeared from the scene, even as Britain faces a summer cost-of-living crisis and labour discontent as inflation hits 9.4 percent.

READ MORE: Conservative rivals clash at heated UK debate

Johnson did not attend any government emergency meetings about the heat wave that brought temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) to Britain this week. Last week he took a ride in a Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jet, with “Top Gun”-style footage released by his office, then threw a weekend party at Chequers, the country house that comes with the prime minister’s job.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who represents the opposition Labour Party, accused Johnson of wanting to “become Tom Cruise” and urged him to resign immediately.