UK Prime Minister Candidate Truss Widens Approval Rating Gap with Sunak to 24%P

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] According to Bloomberg News on the 21st (local time), Foreign Minister Liz Truss, who advanced to the final runoff with a dramatic comeback victory in the Conservative Party leadership race to select the next UK Prime Minister, has widened her lead in support over her rival, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

In a survey conducted by polling firm YouGov among 730 Conservative Party members, 62% expressed support for Truss. The proportion supporting former Chancellor Sunak was only 38%. Respondents who did not support either candidate or were unsure were excluded from this survey result tally.

In a previous YouGov survey, the support gap between the two candidates was 19 percentage points, but this has now widened by an additional 5 percentage points. This increases the likelihood of Foreign Minister Truss's comeback.

In the five rounds of voting held earlier to select the final two leadership candidates, former Chancellor Sunak ranked first in all rounds. Minister Truss ranked third in rounds 1 through 4 but pushed Penny Mordaunt, International Trade Secretary, who had consistently held second place, down to third in the final fifth round, securing second place and advancing to the runoff.

Although former Chancellor Sunak maintained first place throughout the leadership race, polls for the final runoff, which is a head-to-head contest, consistently showed him trailing candidate Truss.

The final winner is expected to be announced on September 5 after a six-week campaign period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.