Liz Truss’s Tory leadership win over Rishi Sunak tighter than expected

VICTORY for Liz Truss was a tighter affair than expected with some polls predicting a far more comfortable win.

The PM-elect defeated Rishi Sunak by 81,326 to 60,399 votes amongst Tory members following the painfully long summer contest.

The margin of the win – 57 to 43 per cent – came despite Truss polling around 69 per cent in one poll of party members at the beginning of August.

Pollster Martin Boon, from Deltapoll, last night said: “It may be that the Liz Truss team shut down a little with a couple of weeks to go knowing they were in the lead.

“It could have led to a late surge in support for Rishi Sunak.

“But overall, it is also extremely hard to poll Tory members as you don’t know how representative your sample is compared to the whole membership.”

The result comes just two years after Rishi Sunak enjoyed a stunning 53 per cent approval rating after splashing billions in furlough cash in a bid to save millions of jobs.

He stormed into the Treasury following Sajid Javid’s shock resignation, making him one of Britain’s youngest Chancellors and putting him in prime position to be the next PM.

Radical bailouts for struggling firms and the popular Eat Out to Help Out scheme even saw him dubbed “Dishy Rishi”.

Mr Sunak last night said: “It’s right we now unite behind the new PM, Liz Truss, as she steers the country through difficult times.”