Despite his sharp decline in the opinion polls, former British finance minister and candidate in the race for Downing Street Rishi Sunak appeared to have convinced many Conservative voters on Thursday. During a question session And televised answers, which also featured his competitor, Liz Truss.
After a 90-minute live broadcast in which the two candidates were able to talk at length regarding their project without facing each other, the Conservative Party members who were present voted for their preferred candidate by a show of hands.
After falling more than thirty points behind his rival in terms of voting intentions according to the latest opinion polls, Sunak raised eyebrows following it was found that he managed to convince the vast majority of those present.
new boss
Conservative Party members vote throughout August to elect their new leader, who will replace Boris Johnson in Downing Street following the latter’s resignation following a series of scandals.
After emerging victorious in the previous confrontations with its opponents, Al-Khamis Terrace seemed to be under siege, both in terms of its economic policy and its volatile positions.
from the debate
When an audience member asked her, “Do you intend to apologize?” About a plan to cut salaries for employees in the most disadvantaged areas, an idea she abandoned a few hours following it was announced, Truss said, “There’s no shame in saying it’s not working the way I wanted it to and that I’ve changed my mind.”
To the laughter of the audience, journalist Kay Burley asked her, “Can you show the real Liz Terrace?”, listing the Secretary of State’s fluctuating positions on Brexit and Ukraine, including the issue of the monarchy.
On the other hand, Sunak seemed to have convinced the audience, who often applauded him. He once more showed his differences with his rival on economic issues, stressing that the “origin of the problem” is inflation, not taxes.
In the debate, which was broadcast by the British Sky News network, parts of which were followed by “Al-Arabiya.net”, the British Foreign Minister explained that the Conservative Party won the elections following pledging to provide job opportunities, pointing out that the party will fulfill this.
She also said that the party wants a new generation of young members, and stressed that it will provide the necessary funds for health care in Britain.
Taiwan and Ukraine
In parallel, on the issue of the island of Taiwan, she made it clear that “democracies like Taiwan” must be defended, and said that the United Kingdom was already exporting weapons to the region.
The question comes in the context of what Truss said regarding Ukraine, noting that Kyiv should have been armed earlier in the face of the Russian operation.
“The UK has licenses to export to Taiwan, but that’s how far the UK has to go at this point,” she added.
When asked if she would go to Taiwan as prime minister, Trace refused to say she would, according to Sky News.
Sunak, for his part, pledged to increase the defense budget to protect Britain, and noted that he raised the budget for combat forces when he was in charge of government funds.
It is noteworthy that Sunak and Terrace are fighting to succeed Johnson, who resigned as the head of the ruling Conservative Party on July 7, following months of moral scandals that led to a mass exodus of ministers from his government.
