After Tory MP Kemi Badenoch was eliminated from the race to lead the UK Conservative Party, it appeared that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss might be poised to challenge the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, in the run-off, and become the country’s next prime minister.
According to recent YouGov research, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt has lost the “commanding lead” she previously enjoyed among her fellow party members, finding herself on 42 percent to Truss’ 48 percent.
Meanwhile, Sunak himself is expected to lose to either Mordaunt (his 37 percent to her 51 percent) or Truss (his 35 percent to her 54 percent), YouGov survey data suggests.
This development comes as Britain’s retiring Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has been accused of directly intervening in the succession process, MailOnline reports.
Having withdrawn the Conservative whip from defence committee chairman Tobias Ellwood, a Mordaunt supporter, Johnson ensured that Ellwood could not vote in the fourth round of the party leadership campaign, the media outlet notes, adding that this development sparked suggestions that Johnson might be trying to aid his “preferred successor” Truss.
On 7 July, Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister of the UK, after a flood of resignations from his government.