Bitter leadership

ON Monday Britain will find out who has been picked to steer the country through an increasingly dire cost-of-living crisis, industrial unrest, NHS backlogs and climate threats - not to mention the war in Europe.

It has been a long road to this point, with the first of the leadership hopefuls to express their desire to be prime minister having hinted at the prospect back in January.

Six months later an avalanche of resignations brought Boris Johnson’s tenure to an end. Within days, 11 Tories had declared their ambition to replace him.

There was no shortage of drama during the Westminster stage of the contest, as Conservative MPs whittled down the field to the final two candidates through a series of crunch ballots.

And this only intensified when Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak went head-tohead for the favour of Tory members in the run-off for the top job, with blue-on-blue attacks threatening to tear a fissure through the party.

With the Conservative leadership contest being distinctively marked by infighting it leaves many wondering whether the new prime minister will be able to unite the party before the next general election.

Tory attacks have become increasingly brutal since Ms Truss and Mr Sunak secured their places on the final ballot over a month ago.

The two have passionately clashed over tax, foreign affairs and how to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

Supporters of both sides have also dished out criticism of their opponents during the campaign, with some not only condemning policies but also tweeting bruising personal attacks.

In a sign of irreconcilable differences between the two rivals, the former chancellor recently hinted he would not take a cabinet post if Ms Truss wins the race, explaining ministers “need to agree on the big things”.

Mr Sunak reportedly decided to quit Boris Johnson’s Cabinet over how and when to cut taxes.

Asked about reports he could be in line for health secretary if Ms Truss beats him to become the next prime minister, the former chancellor told BBC Radio 2: “I am not focused on all of that and I doubt Liz is. I am not thinking about jobs for me or anyone else.”

He added: “One thing I have reflected on a bit being in government and cabinet [is] you really need to agree on the big things because it’s tough, I found, if you don’t.

“I wouldn’t want to get into a situation like that again.”

The “big things” mentioned by Mr Sunak include how to deal with the cost-of-living crisis and, more generally, tax policy.

During the first television debate, Mr Sunak interrupted the Foreign Secretary around 25 times and accused her of “unconservative and unfunded” plans to cut taxes.

Meanwhile, Ms Truss has branded Mr Sunak’s policies “Gordon Brown economics” and has repeatedly said they would “crash the economy” and

Nadine Dorries was criticised for a tweet during the campaign