UK Prime Minister race: Liz Truss gains upper hand over rival Rishi Sunak, here's how

London: In a bid to succeed Boris Johnson as the UK`s Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has offered attractive tax cuts and other promises which have given her an unbeatable lead over former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.

As per the latest estimate by betting exchange firm Smarkets, Truss has been rated at 90.09 per cent, in the race for the next permanent leader of the Conservative Party, after Boris Johnson. While Rishi Sunak received only 10 per cent. The British public has lapped up the promises of immediate tax cuts by Truss which would put more money in their pockets and have just about rejected Sunak`s economic policies which are more in touch with reality.

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The final two candidates, fighting for the UK PM post, have gone head-to-head in a debate in their first official grilling in the presence of Conservative party members in Leeds on Thursday.Truss is leading in surveys of Tory members after vowing immediate tax cuts as Britain confronts a slump in living standards.

Rishi Sunak in his speech, after Truss announced immediate tax cuts, said, "In the face of challenges, understand to get a grip of inflation and borrowing first," adding that the government has already tried having low corporation tax to get businesses to invest and it hasn`t worked.His support shrunk as his party members believed that Sunak has stabbed Boris Johnson in the back.

Former Chancellor Sunak faced a tough evening during the hustings for his lifestyle and dishonesty towards PM Boris Johnson whereas Truss had a fairly good time as she was backed by maximum support for the Prime Ministerial candidature. Earlier, the YouGov survey and Smarkets revealed that Truss extends her lead over Rishi Sunak.

According to the Smarkets, Sunak`s chance of becoming the next PM has shrunk to 10 per cent and Truss rated 89.29 per cent, while other candidates even don`t have a 1 per cent chance. Meanwhile, YouGov Survey in their previous report said that Truss extends her lead over Rishi Sunak as she gained 24-points. Now, the two had finally announced and their summer campaign began, a new YouGov poll of Tory members suggests that Truss retains her strong advantage. According to the survey, 31 per cent of the members intends to vote for Rishi Sunak, while 49 per cent intend to vote for Liz Truss.

A further 15 per cent currently don`t know how they will vote, and 6 per cent currently say they will abstain.This puts the headline voting intention at 62 per cent for Truss and 38 per cent for Sunak (i.e. after people who are currently unsure or won`t vote are excluded) - a 24-point lead for the foreign secretary.The Tory leadership race was triggered after Johnson was forced to step down on July 7 amid an avalanche of resignations of government officials, who protested against his scandal-plagued leadership. Johnson will continue to serve as caretaker prime minister until a new Tory leader succeeds him.