Britain: In the final straight the battle for the leadership of the Tories

In Britain, as the days go by, the battle for the leadership of the Conservatives is intensifying. In the heat of the moment, the two gladiators — former Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak and Secretary of State Liz Truss — are continuing their election campaign at a feverish pace. For about two weeks now, they have been addressed exclusively to members of the Conservative party who have the right to vote until September 2nd.

The polls give Liz Truss a clear lead, as do the bookmakers who now consider her the favourite. She is supported by prominent figures of the Conservatives such as the Minister of Defense Ben Wallace. Wallace is extremely popular in Britain mainly for his handling of the war in Ukraine. In fact, many members of the party would like him to have even claimed the leadership.

Liz Trazz is also backed by Boris Johnson’s team. Whatever one may say about the British Prime Minister, he still has a strong current in the party’s base. His faults aside, the Conservatives do not forget that he was the one who achieved a very large victory in the 2019 election. That is why some even at the last moment hope that he will remain in office or at least return at some point. .

Traz has long systematically cultivated a profile reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher. For members of the Conservative Party, Thatcher is still regarded as one of the most successful prime ministers in the country’s recent history.

The negatives of Tras include her difficulty to answer journalists’ questions directly, as well as her few blunders, which often come back to the news.

On the other hand, the former tsar of the British economy seems to be gaining impressions in the confrontations between them. Sunak is undoubtedly more communicative than his co-candidate. He answers the questions with ease, bringing out a youthful – dynamic character.

In his negatives, they attribute to him a kind of arrogance that at the moment does not help him. One of the main issues of this election campaign is how to restore the lost trust in the political system. He also has the “traitor’s gut” attached to him. He was one of the first to resign from the government while Boris Johnson was the man who, according to many, promoted him.

The profile of the electorate

Conservative party membership is estimated at around 170,000. The vast majority of them belong to the middle class. 56% of them live in London and the South East of England. 63% are men and 37% women. About 40% are over 65 years old so they are generally people with very conservative views. It is remarkable that 76% of the members of the Conservative party are defenders of Brexit.

Regarding the political positions of the two candidates, their only substantial difference has to do with the economic policy they will implement. Tras has stated that if elected, from the first day he will proceed with tax reductions in order to help citizens from the rapid increase in the cost of living. Sunak, on the other hand, has said that his priority is to control inflation and stabilize the British economy.

For the rest, they more or less agree that they will follow the same policy by implementing the party manifesto as it has been prepared during the 2019 pre-election period. After all, both of them were members of the same government.

Source: AMPE