Blow to Rishi Sunak, ex-candidate backs rival

PTI

London, July 30

Rishi Sunak’s campaign to be elected the Conservative Party leader and the next British Prime Minister suffered a blow on Saturday as a former candidate endorsed his rival Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Tom Tugendhat, the Tory backbencher and head of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, who was in the initial shortlist before being knocked out of the race earlier this month, said he preferred Truss’ campaign pitch with its promise of immediate tax cuts.

The former soldier in the British Army said after watching the candidates go head-to-head in live TV debates, “only one has convinced me she’s ready. Liz has always stood up for British values at home and abroad. With her at the helm, I have no doubt that we will move with determination to make this country safer and more secure.” He said both contenders had “huge qualities and many talents” but Truss had an advantage on the world stage because of her Cabinet position. This follows the endorsement of another Tory heavyweight Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who also threw his support behind Truss — describing her as “authentic, honest and experienced”.

Sunak was initially the frontrunner in the race in the ballots of his party colleagues, winning the most support from MPs in the first few rounds of voting. According to another report in ‘The Times’, even Sunak’s former boss is feeling sorry for him, telling friends he did not think that Sunak, the man he blamed for his downfall, was going to make it.

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