After all that, Sunak entered the final members’ round to be Tory leader and UK PM with a comfortable 24 vote margin of advantage over the runner-up Liz Truss. But her 113 votes are enough of a mandate from MPs to present Sunak with a serious challenge during the summer contest.
What is striking is that the next Tory leader will represent continuity with the Johnson years
Tory members, who according to surveys seemingly prefer Truss to Sunak, can’t be swayed by the idea that Truss would not be able to lead MPs because too few support her – which would have been a credible argument if Sunak had been supported by nearer 200 of his colleagues. So the fight is on. And it is for the economic soul of the Tory party, because there is an important ideological divide between Sunak and Truss – with Truss saying cut taxes now, and Sunak arguing taxes should only be cut after inflation is tamed and the public finances are in better shape.
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