Conservative leadership election: will Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss become the next prime minister and what are their policies?

Conservative leadership election: will Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss become prime minister, and what are their policies?

Credit: Getty

Politics


Conservative leadership election: will Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss become the next prime minister and what are their policies?

By Amy Beecham

3 years ago

2 min read

Our next prime minister is set to be announced today. Here’s what you need to know about their policies.

Following Boris Johnson’s resignation announcement in July, the next leader of the Conservative party will be announced today (5 September). 

After Tom Tugendhat, Jeremy Hunt, Nadhim Zahawi, Kemi Badenoch, Penny Mordaunt and Suella Braverman were all eliminated from the ballot earlier in the leadership contest, former chancellor Rishi Sunak and foreign secretary Liz Truss now remain as hopefuls to become Tory leader, with Truss currently the favourite to become our next prime minister. After Conservative party members finished voting on Friday, the results are set to be unveiled at 12.30pm today.

But what can we expect from a prime minister Sunak or Truss? Stylist investigates where each candidate stands on key issues including abortion, the cost of living crisis, LGBTQ+ rights and tackling male violence against women.

What do Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss plan to do about the cost of living crisis?

After chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said last week that the government is “making sure we’re doing the work so on 5 September the new prime minister can hit the ground running and get those things into place”, what have both Sunak and Truss pledged so far to ease the burden on the 45 million people in the UK expected to be in fuel poverty by January?

Both candidates have promised to “tackle” the cost of living crisis with various tax cuts. During hustings on 17 August, Truss told the audience that she would immediately reduce taxes and introduce a moratorium on the green energy levy in an effort to curb record inflation if elected.

Truss also refused to rule out further measures, but said “my first preference is always to reduce taxes” and ruled out a further windfall tax on energy firms.

However, Sunak later accused her of setting up a “moral failure” if she does not support the most vulnerable people through the cost of living crisis.

“No tax cut, and Liz’s tax plan, is not going to help those groups of people. For someone working really hard on the national living wage, it’s worth just over a quid a week. And for someone who’s a pensioner, without any earnings, it’s worth zero. Now I want to provide direct support to those groups of people,” he told an audience in Cheltenham earlier in the week.

Who will become the next prime minister: Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss?

Credit: Getty

How did Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss vote on key issues?

Abortion

While former prime minister Boris Johnson described the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs Wade as a “big step backwards”, how have Truss and Sunak previously voted on abortion rights?

Sunak, the MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire, has chosen to abstain from all major votes on abortion rights since he became an MP, including ‘pills by post’ and the Northern Ireland abortion referendum.

According to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Truss ignored their calls to publicly condemn the decision to revoke Roe v Wade and has otherwise largely been silent on abortion rights, abstaining in recent votes. However, she did vote to reform abortion law in Northern Ireland in 2019.

LGBTQ+ rights

Truss has voted in favour of LGBTQ+ rights at almost every opportunity – except for extending same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland, a vote she was absent from.

However, as the Gay Times points out, since Truss became equalities minister in 2019, conversion therapy remains legal despite saying she is “determined” to bring an end to it and plans to meaningfully reform the Gender Recognition Act have been scrapped.

Sunak, on the other hand, has not been an MP long enough for any significant votes on LGBTQ+ rights, but in 2019 he was absent for one on extending same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland.

He has previously expressed that trans people should be “respected” but also highlighted that he sees biology as “fundamental” in the context of toilets and sports. Sunak also reportedly “believes we must be able to call a mother a mother and talk about breastfeeding, alongside trans-inclusive language where needed”.

Welfare

Despite the country facing record levels of inflation amid a crippling cost of living crisis, Sunak has consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability.

Earlier this year, the former chancellor said that technical problems had stopped him raising benefits more after announcing in his Spring Statement that a 3.1% uplift would be given to some benefit claimants.

According to TheyWorkForYou, Truss has also consistently voted for welfare spending reductions and against paying higher benefits for longer to disabled people who cannot work due to illness or disability.

She has also consistently voted against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people and has also voted in favour of the bedroom tax on social tenants.

Tackling male violence against women

In November 2021, while serving as foreign secretary, Truss launched a major global campaign to tackle sexual violence against women and girls in conflict around the world.

She announced that women and girls would be at the centre of her foreign policy priorities, pledging more than £20 million of new funding to help stop violence against women and girls around the world.

“Women and girls across the world should live without fear of violence, with access to education and employment, and the chance to reach their full potential,” she said in a statement.

When launching his campaign for prime minister, Sunak stated: “If I become prime minister I will protect women’s rights and ensure women and girls enjoy the same freedom most males take for granted in feeling safe from assault and abuse.”

However, multiple charities have repeatedly called on him to help young victims of sexual assault access safe housing and to provide urgent and immediate support to the most vulnerable women exposed to the cost of living crisis.

Images: Getty

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