London: Former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is closing the gap to catch up with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, a rival in the 10 Downing Street race that separates the two, in a latest poll of Conservative Party members on Tuesday. Data tables for a survey of 807 Conservative members conducted by the Italian public affairs company Tecne for a private client and ended last week show Sunak at 43 percent, Truss at 48 percent, while 9 percent in the election to replace Boris. are undecided. Johnson as Tory leader and British Prime Minister.
This is in sharp contrast to a YouGov poll conducted at the end of the knockout stages last month, which suggested Truss had a 24-point lead over the 42-year-old British Indian former minister.
“It didn’t really make us feel like Liz was doing as the polls are suggesting. She’s getting really good feedback wherever she goes and a lot of people are still making up their minds,” The Times’ newspaper quoted a source from Sanak Abhiyan as saying.
“Liz’s support seems very soft,” said the source.
The survey asked Tory members their thoughts on the two finalists and their policy plans. It found that the 47-year-old Truss was ahead of the craze among party members and voters who supported the Tories in 2019 on most issues.
However, Sunak led Truss to ‘qualify’ by 10 points, 52 percent to 42 percent, to become prime minister, and 51 percent to 43 percent to be official.
Sir John Curtis, a polling expert, said it was possible the race was closer than expected.
“We have to bear in mind that since Tory lawmakers decided it was a contest between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, we have an opinion poll of the people who will actually have the vote, that is the Conservative member, ‘ he told GB. news’.
“That poll put Liz Truss well ahead, once you removed one in five or so who didn’t express an idea, she was at 62 percent, well ahead of the required 50 percent. But That survey is now almost a fortnight old,” he said.
Curtis also flagged a more recent poll of Conservative councillors, saying the truss was at 31 percent and Sunak at 29 percent, with 30 percent undecided.
This came as another party heavyweight and former candidate, Trade Minister Penny Mordant, endorsed Truss as the “hope candidate” in the leadership election.
She was the latest of several new high-profile supporters for foreign secretary, including former leadership candidates Nadim Zahavi and Tom Tugendhat, as well as former cabinet minister Brandon Lewis and West Midlands mayor, Andy Street.
Meanwhile, as ballots are being posted for Conservative Party card-carrying members to cast their votes, there are concerns by Boris Johnson loyalists registering protest votes in the election.
According to ‘The Daily Telegraph’, more than 10,000 members have supported the so-called ‘Boris Ballot’ campaign to change leadership rules to include Boris Johnson as the candidate in the final round.
But now one of the people behind that campaign is urging members not to spoil their ballots by writing to Boris as a protest against his early departure as party leader.
Former Tory David Campbell-Bannerman said, “I ask all those who supported the Boris ballot campaign not to spoil their ballots. Please don’t write Boris on ballots, etc., don’t destroy ballots or vote.” Give.” Member of the European Parliament (MEP) who was coordinating the campaign with Conservative peer Lord Peter Cruddas.
“We cannot allow the man who brought down Boris – Rishi Sunak – to win under any circumstances,” he said.
Campbell-Bannerman said that although the “Boris ballot” had not been put into practice, “efforts are on” to restore him as prime minister.
Johnson, who is on vacation celebrating a lavish wedding party with his wife Carrie over the weekend, is not believed to have supported the campaign to get members to vote on his leadership.