On Monday, following a contentious Conservative Party race between Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, the UK will finally learn who will succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister.
Beginning at 12:30 p.m. London time, the new Conservative Party leader and the country’s new prime minister will be revealed (7:30 a.m. ET).
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is the front-runner in the contest for Downing Street.
Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister who left Boris Johnson’s administration in July, is her opponent.
After months of scandals threw Johnson’s administration into disarray and compelled him to resign, one of Truss or Sunak will formally assume the role of prime minister on Tuesday.
The aftermath of Brexit, a war in Europe, and a cost-of-living catastrophe will all be left to Britain’s incoming leader. After 12 years in power, the Conservatives are losing support according to polls.
Truss, 47, is the overwhelming favorite among bookies to become the Tories’ fourth leader in just over six years and take on Britain’s dire economic situation.
Sunak, 42, would be the first member of a minority ethnic group. He only joined the House of Representatives in 2015, but he quickly rose through the ranks to become chancellor in early 2020, right when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
He rolled out hundreds of billions of pounds in support to assist firms and employees through a series of lockdowns, which propelled him to national notoriety.
