Truss set to prevail as leadership race nears end

LONDON • The race to become Britain's next prime minister is in its final week, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss appearing poised to secure the top job, along with daunting challenges.

Ms Truss, 47, has consistently outrun 42-year-old former finance minister Rishi Sunak by wide margins in polls of Conservative Party members who will decide the contest, which started in early July.

An estimated 200,000 Tories have been able to vote since earlier this month for their preferred candidate, before postal and online ballots close on Friday.

The winner, to be announced next Monday, will replace outgoing leader Boris Johnson in Downing Street the following day - only to face immediate crises over the spiralling cost of living.

The unenviable job of leading Britain through its highest inflation in 40 years and warnings of an imminent recession arose after Mr Johnson announced in early July that he would be standing down.

It followed months of scandals that eventually saw Mr Sunak and dozens of other ministers resigning from government, forcing Mr Johnson's departure. However, some ministers and MPs - including Ms Truss - remained loyal to the end, arguing that Mr Johnson deserved more time to turn around his controversy-tarred three-year tenure.

Nearly 10,000 Tory members are reportedly so angry at his enforced resignation they are pushing the ruling party to allow a vote over whether to accept it.

The Conservative hierarchy is resisting the move, while Downing Street has distanced itself from the campaign, insisting Mr Johnson will back the winner of the leadership fight.

Whoever that is may struggle to reunite the party, with the splits worsened by the bitter battle between Ms Truss and Mr Sunak.

Eight Conservative MPs initially qualified to run in the race, before the party's MPs whittled that number down in five ballots.

Mr Sunak was the early front runner, topping all those votes of Conservative MPs, while Ms Truss repeatedly finished third.

She scraped into the final pairing on July 20 by just eight votes.

However, once the run-off began she quickly became the front runner, winning the endorsements of big hitters in Mr Johnson's outgoing Cabinet and stealing the support of several MPs from her rival's camp. Mr Sunak, who has faced a backlash from some Tory members over his part in ousting Mr Johnson, has been relegated to long-shot contender.

The two candidates have sparred over their policies and records in several television debates as well as a dozen hustings in front of party members - the last of which will be held in London tomorrow evening.

With surveys showing Ms Truss leading by more than 30 points, the contest seems effectively over.

However, recent polls of the wider electorate show the challenge ahead for the country's next leader. The main opposition Labour Party now boasts a double-digit lead over the Conservatives in a deteriorating economic landscape. The next general election is due by January 2025 at the latest, but could come sooner, with most people expecting it in 2024.

The leadership contest has been dominated by how to respond to Britain's growing economic woes, with the rival candidates and their camps descending into open political warfare.

First elected to Parliament in 2015 and a Brexit supporter during the 2016 referendum, Mr Sunak has accused Ms Truss of "fairytale economics" and claimed her proposed tax cuts if made prime minister will worsen inflation.

But analysts say the campaign has shown Ms Truss - first elected an MP in 2010 - possesses superior political experience and skills.

"She was able to communicate effectively," said polling expert John Curtice, noting that Mr Sunak had appeared a "bit brittle".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE