Truss extends poll lead over Sunak

It’s been a day of ups and down for both leadership campaigns. Liz Truss performed her first big u-turn of the contest, reneging on a plan to link public sector pay to local living costs following a cross-party backlash. Rishi Sunak’s supporters are talking this up as a moment that could change the dynamics of the race; Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and former Wales secretary Simon Hart among those to go on the attack.

But even if it does dent support for Truss, Team Sunak appears to have a long way to go. This evening YouGov published a new poll of the Tory membership: it shows that the Foreign Secretary has extended her lead over Sunak from their poll a fortnight ago. According to YouGov, Truss now has a lead of 34 points over Sunak, with Truss up seven points from the last poll. When the ‘don’t knows’ are taken into account, 60 per cent of party members surveyed say they will back Truss, while 26 per cent will back Sunak; 13 per cent remain undecided.