On Sept. 5, 2022, Liz Truss beat Rishi Sunak in a mail-in ballot among Conservative Party members. She replaced Boris Johnson who stepped down in July. On Oct. 5, 2022, Liz Truss announced her resignation down just six weeks into the job.
After the resignation of Boris Johnson, contenders lined up to be the next Conservative Party leader and British prime minister.
A first round of voting was held on July 13, and two contenders out of eight were eliminated. The remaining have moved on to additional rounds of voting, which continue until two candidates remain.
Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak won the most votes in the second round of voting. Mr. Sunak came top with 101 votes, followed by junior trade minister and bookmakers’ favourite Penny Mordaunt on 83 votes and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on 64 votes. Suella Braverman was eliminated.
Mr. Sunak came out on top in the third round on July 18 and increased his vote total to 115. Ms. Mordaunt came second with 82 votes followed by Mr. Truss with 71. Kemi Badenoch won 58 votes and Tom Tugendhat finished last with 31 and has been eliminated.
Mr. Sunak once again finished first in the fourth round on July 19 with 118 votes. He was followed by Ms. Mordaunt, with 92, and Ms. Truss, who picked up 86 votes. Ms. Badenoch came last with 59 votes and has been eliminated.
Mr. Sunak and Ms. Truss finished as the two finalists in the fifth round on July 20. Mr. Sunak won 137 votes while Ms. Truss edged out Ms. Mordaunt 113 to 105.
Mr. Sunak and Ms. Truss spent the summer campaigning for support from about 175,000 Conservative Party members, who will start mail-in balloting next month. The vote ends on Sept. 2 and the result was announced on Sept. 5.
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer and current Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak London, Britain on July 18.JOHN SIBLEY/Reuters
Rishi Sunak
Age: 42
Previous role: Chancellor of the exchequer (finance minister)
What to know: Rishi Sunak was considered a rising star when he was appointed chancellor of the exchequer in 2020. He has degrees from Oxford University and Stanford, and worked at Goldman Sachs and a hedge fund before turning to politics in 2014. He won plaudits early in the pandemic for introducing a number of support programs, but he’s run into trouble lately. He and Mr. Johnson were among 83 officials who each had to pay a £50 ($77) fine for violating COVID-19 lockdown rules. Mr. Sunak also ran into controversy after his wife, Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of an Indian billionaire, disclosed that she had not registered as a British resident which saved her millions in taxes.
He launched his campaign with a slick video highlighting his immigrant background and his devotion to family.
Leadership comments so far: In his campaign launch, Mr. Sunak said the country needed “honesty and responsibility, not fairy tales” to get through tough economic times. “It is not credible to promise lots more spending and low taxes,” he said.
First round voting: Mr. Sunak secured the most Tory votes overall, with 88 of the party’s 358 MPs casting ballot in his favour.
Second round voting: Mr. Sunak came top with 101 votes.
Third round voting: Mr. Sunak came top with 115 votes.
Fourth round voting: Mr. Sunak came top with 118 votes.
Fifth round voting: Mr. Sunak came top with 137 votes.
Conservative party leadership contender Liz Truss looks on before the live Conservative leadership debate on July 15.Victoria Jones/The Associated Press
Liz Truss
Age: 46
Current role: Foreign Secretary
What to know: Ms. Truss is a darling of the Conservative Party’s grassroots and has regularly topped polls of party members carried out by the website Conservative Home.
She has held several cabinet posts since first winning a seat in 2010, and is currently Foreign Secretary. Ms. Truss cut short her trip to a Group of Twenty foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia this week to return to London for campaigning. An economist by training, she is on the right wing of the party and believes strongly in the free market. Ms. Truss initially campaigned against Brexit but after the 2016 referendum said she had changed her mind.
Leadership comments so far: In a post for the Telegraph declaring her candidacy, Ms. Truss said she would “start cutting taxes from day one” if elected. She would also cut a National Insurance increase, focus on low taxes and “put the COVID debt on a longer-term footing,” she wrote.
First round voting: Ms. Truss placed third, with 50 votes.
Second round voting: Ms. Truss placed third, with 64 votes.
Third round of voting: Ms. Truss placed third, with 71 votes.
Fourth round of voting: Ms. Truss placed third, with 86 votes.
Fifth round of voting: Ms. Truss placed second, with 113 votes.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated incorrectly that Rishi Sunak's wife, Akshata Murty, had registered as a British resident. The article has now been corrected to note she disclosed that she had not registered as a British resident.