LONDON: Foreign Minister Liz Truss, the frontrunner to replace British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has a smaller lead over her rival Rishi Sunak than previously thought, according to a poll of party members.
According to the poll of 807 people, conducted by Italian data company Techne, Truss is backed by 48 per cent of Conservative Party members compared to 43 per cent for former finance minister Sunak.
This suggests a tighter race than a previous poll of Conservative members conducted by YouGov on Jul 20 to Jul 21 that showed Truss with a 24 point lead over Sunak.
Sunak and Truss are participating in a summer tour of hustings around Britain for the votes of about 200,000 Conservative members who will choose the next prime minister with the winner announced on September 5.
Taxes have dominated the race so far. Sunak accused Truss of being dishonest with voters with her promises of major tax cuts as soon as she enters office. Sunak said he would make sure inflation is under control before cutting taxes, something Truss says would push the country into a recession.