In Liz we Truss! Now two-thirds of Tories back her for next PM
LIZ Truss was served a significant boost yesterday as yet another poll put her comfortably on course to become prime minister.
A YouGov survey of Conservative party members revealed 66 per cent were backing Miss Truss compared with 34 per cent supporting Mr Sunak, excluding undecided and non-voters.
Although the 32-point advantage is slightly smaller than in previous polling a fortnight ago, the study of 1,089 people for Sky News between Friday and Wednesday has cemented the Foreign Secretary’s position as the frontrunner. Just 13 per cent of those eligible to vote remain undecided and nearly six in ten have already voted.
Last night leading pollster Sir John Curtice said Miss Truss would now almost certainly become prime minister. The professor of politics at Strathclyde University said there was only a tiny chance of victory for Mr Sunak, adding he would be ‘extraordinarily surprised’ if the Foreign Secretary did not win the leadership.
Of the YouGov survey, he said the pollsters had a ‘pretty good record’, adding: ‘Unless there is something that’s gone seriously astray this time it is difficult to believe that Sunak is going to make it.’ He told The Times: ‘There’s a 5 per cent chance that Sunak could win it. Something would have to happen. Truss would have to foul up in some spectacular fashion. Even then it might be too late.’
Sir John said that Miss Truss had come across as the better politician during the race and had stuck to a very clear narrative.
It was confirmed last night that Miss Truss will now take part in a one-toone interview with the BBC’s Nick Robinson, to be shown on August 30.
Miss Truss now has the declared support of more Tory MPs than Mr Sunak, 152 to 124. Allies close to Miss Truss said the figures will be a fresh hammer-blow to the former chancellor, who has until now managed to maintain the support of the majority of Tory parliamentarians.
Yesterday she received a high-profile endorsement from the widow of former Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Lady Trimble said that she was ‘confident’ that her husband’s legacy of peace in Northern Ireland would be safe in Miss Truss’s hands.
Lord Trimble, who died last month, helped negotiate the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Having served as leader of the Ulster Unionist party for a decade from 1995, he joined the Conservatives in 2007.
Lady Trimble wrote: ‘I believe that in this contest, Liz Truss has the best record and a viable plan to protect our Union and Northern Ireland’s integral place within it. I know David thought the same.
‘She has already proven her resolve and bravery in the face of opposition to our most valuable asset, and I am confident that my husband’s legacy, peace in Northern Ireland, will be safe with her.’
Mr Sunak faced another bump in the road yesterday when Jacob Rees-Mogg accused him of frustrating attempts to save money in Whitehall while he was chancellor.
Some senior Conservatives have even speculated Mr Sunak could be entering his final days in UK politics. They fear that owing to the personal nature of his campaign there is no chance of him serving in a Truss government.
One said: ‘I think he is finished from that perspective. I can see Cabinet positions being given to Suella (Braverman) and Kemi (Badenoch), but not Rishi. I think he’s gone and burned his boats.’
With 15 days until the new leader is announced on September 5, Education Secretary James Cleverly said future leadership elections could be wrapped up more quickly.
He told LBC Radio it would be ‘legitimate’ to review the process.
Today Miss Truss will use hustings in Manchester to pledge to continue levelling up and encouraging investment in the area. Tory MP Jake Berry, chairman of the
‘Proven her resolve and bravery’
Northern Research Group, said: ‘Liz’s ambitious, growth-led vision for the North will deliver on levelling up.
‘Stronger regions, empowered to seek investment, centres of educational excellence and a commitment to more money remaining in people’s pockets will tackle regional inequality in a Conservative way.’