We hope new British PM will be more ‘balanced’ towards Russia, says Kremlin

O Kremlin said on Thursday (21) that Moscow expects the next prime minister of the United Kingdom to adopt a balanced position towards Russia.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, the spokesperson for the KremlinDmitry Peskov, said: “We hope that the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom will lean towards a more balanced rhetoric towards our country”.

Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak and the country’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will fight to become Britain’s next prime minister after winning a final vote between lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party, settling the duel. who will define the replacement of Boris Johnson.

Sunak and Truss reach final stage of dispute to replace Boris Johnson in UK

Former British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Liz Truss, reached, on Wednesday (20), the final phase of the dispute for the leadership to replace the Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Sunak received 137 votes and Truss secured 113. Former Secretary of Defense Penny Mordaunt was eliminated from the race with 105 votes.

Johnson resigned as party leader earlier this month after a series of scandals that led to dozens of ministerial resignations. Ten Conservatives ran to replace him, and in five rounds of voting, members of parliament reduced it to two.

Sunak has led all rounds of voting among Conservative lawmakers, but it is Truss who appears to have gained the upper hand so far among the 200,000-member ruling party that will ultimately choose the winner.

The final stretch of a weeks-long dispute will pit Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs banker who has raised the tax burden to the highest level since the 1950s, against Truss, a Brexit convert who has promised to cut taxes and regulation.

Whoever triumphs when the result is announced on 5 September will inherit some of the toughest conditions in Britain in decades. Inflation is on track to hit 11% a year, growth is stagnant, industrial action is up and the pound is near historic lows against the dollar.

Britain under Johnson, and aided by Truss, has also taken a hard line against Brussels in its post-Brexit negotiations in Northern Ireland, drawing legal action from the European Union and threatening future trade ties.

Eleven candidates originally put their names forward, but in a fifth and final vote of Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday, Commerce Minister Penny Mordaunt was eliminated.

Polls show that Truss would beat Sunak in the party membership race, opening up a chance for the party to elect a leader who was not the most popular choice for lawmakers in Westminster.

Truss thanked her supporters. “I’m ready to go all out from day one,” she said on Twitter.

Sunak said on Twitter: “Thankful that my colleagues trust me today. I will work night and day to deliver our message across the country.”

Mordaunt, who was just eight votes behind runner-up Truss, urged the party to unite after an often ugly leadership contest so far.

“Politics is not easy. It can be a divisive and difficult place,” she said in a statement. “We must all now work together to unify our party and focus on the work that needs to be done.”

The race so far has focused on promises, or no promises, to cut taxes at a time when many parts of the state are struggling to function, along with defense spending, energy policy, Brexit and social issues like trans rights.

With both candidates serving in high-ranking positions in the Johnson administration, they may also be limited in their ability to present themselves as a fresh start.

Researcher Hopkins said a new party leader “usually gets a small jump in the polls, but it will be an uphill battle to regain support because this administration has been badly damaged.”