In his bid to win the support of the Conservative Party, former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has followed the lead of his rival Liz Truss and has now also promised tax breaks. His announcement of a temporary reduction in VAT on energy consumption, relieving citizens by around five billion euros, was widely perceived as a “change in tactics” and “a U-turn”. Although Sunak won the most votes in the conservative group, polls of members show he is well behind the foreign secretary. Next week, the more than 160,000 members will receive ballot papers, and party strategists believe most of them will vote very soon. Numerous public events with the candidates and other television appearances are planned until the end of the party’s internal election campaign, which ends on September 5 with the announcement of the winner.
On Monday night, the dramaturgy of the candidate race had to be adjusted again after a TalkTV presenter passed out live and the televised duel was interrupted. The journalist is doing well now. Sky News had recently removed an advertised television showdown from the show because Truss and Sunak had canceled on short notice. But even with the two failures, the Brits had the opportunity to watch Truss and Sunak live on three occasions as they react to questions. The next meeting is scheduled for next week.