Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak discuss the BBC in Stoke-on-Trent, England July 25, 2022. JACOB KING / AP
Rishi Sunak was slightly aggressive, the parting spotless and the suit very well tailored. Liz Truss, less rigid and more confident than usual, wore a royal blue dress in the colors of the Conservative Party. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer and the British Foreign Secretary clashed for an hour on Monday, July 25, during the first debate organized between the two candidates to succeed Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street.
Exchanges have been lively and have focused on the purchasing power crisis since the start of the campaign in mid-July, with Mr Sunak insisting on defending the need to tackle inflation as a priority (now at over 9% in the UK). ), Liz Truss insists on her ‘bold’ agenda of massive tax cuts ‘from day one’ The miserable state of the national health system and Brexit were hardly mentioned.
Rishi Sunak lags behind in the polls
The two politicians fought in an auditorium in Stoke-on-Trent, a Midlands town known for having voted overwhelmingly in favor of Brexit in the 2016 referendum, and faced an audience of a few dozen residents who had voted conservative in the general election of 2019. In reality, they were addressed directly to the 160,000 members of the party who will be responsible for voting between them from August 1st to September 2nd. The name of the new British Prime Minister will be announced on September 5th.
Also read: In the UK, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are the finalists in the Conservative camp to succeed Boris Johnson
Rishi Sunak, 42, had little to lose. The ex-Chancellor, who despite himself is cataloged as a moderate and has been accused of “treason” by those close to Mr Johnson (his resignation on July 5 hastened the Prime Minister’s ouster), is lagging behind in polls. According to a YouGov poll released July 21, 62% of party members polled preferred Liz Truss, compared to 38% who said they would vote for Mr. Sunak. Despite his fluency in speaking, this son of Indian immigrants who had made a fortune in finance couldn’t turn the tide on Monday night. According to a poll conducted by Opinium after the debate, 39% of respondents (conservative voters or not) found Liz Truss the most compelling, with 38% preferring her colleague.
At her best, Ms. Truss, 47, avoided missteps and delivered a less than usual robotic performance. She seemed calmer than her conversation partner, who kept interrupting her. Mr Johnson’s foreign secretary certainly had a difficult start to the campaign – she narrowly climbed into the leading duo – but her positioning on the right of the party is beginning to pay off.
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