Advantage Liz Truss in the race to be prime minister

Liz Truss is the front-runner to be the next prime minister, after Tory MPs voted her into the final two of the leadership contest alongside Rishi Sunak.

The Foreign Secretary picked up more new votes than any rival on Wednesday, as she leapfrogged Penny Mordaunt, the trade minister, who was knocked out of the contest.

Mr Sunak, the former chancellor, has now softened his critique of Ms Truss, writing in The Telegraph that he respects his opponent and that tax cuts ultimately are needed for growth.

Ms Truss on Wednesday night launched an attack on the former chancellor's record, saying that the Government has been "going in the wrong direction on tax".

On Wednesday, bookmakers had Ms Truss as the favourite after a string of recent polls found Conservative Party members – who will decide the contest – favoured her over Mr Sunak.

Mr Sunak topped the final ballot of Tory MPs with 137 votes, up 19. Ms Truss came second on 113, up 27, while Ms Mordaunt got 105, up just 13.

The race is much closer than when Boris Johnson and Theresa May won their contests. Both got the backing of more than half of Tory MPs to enter the final two. Mr Sunak got just over a third.

Within hours of the result, members of Ms Truss and Mr Sunak's camps were picking out the flaws in the other candidate, as battle lines were drawn for the six-week run-off.

Ms Truss was being painted as unelectable and an economic risk by Mr Sunak’s allies, who have argued the former chancellor is the “sensible” choice given the economic uncertainty.

But figures in the Foreign Secretary’s camp have dubbed Mr Sunak the “business as usual” candidate and are sure to note the economy may be heading for recession after his watch.

An intense summer of campaigning is to come, with a dozen in-person hustings and at least two television debates. About 160,000 party members will decide, with a result on Sept 5.

Mr Sunak wrote in his piece for The Telegraph: “My values are Thatcherite. I believe in hard work, family and integrity. I am a Thatcherite, I am running as a Thatcherite, and I will govern as a Thatcherite.”

The article also included the line “the best way to achieve economic growth is cutting taxes and bureaucracy” – stressing his belief in tax cuts when possible, after a fortnight of attacks on that front.

Mr Sunak said of his opponent: “I am sure Liz Truss, who I like and respect, shares some of these values.

“But the most important question for our Conservative family is: who in government will best advance these values? And who gives our party the best chance of defeating Keir Starmer at the next election to safeguard them for the future?

“Because this contest is about more than just being the next Conservative leader – it is about becoming the custodian of our United Kingdom.”

Ms Truss vowed to "immediately" cut taxes, writing in The Daily Mail: "We cannot have business-as-usual managerialism on the economy.

"We have been going in the wrong direction on tax, with the tax burden at its highest in 70 years ...

"I will beat Labour in 2024 by governing as a true tax-cutting, freedom-loving Conservative."

The foreign secretary pledged to "drive tax-cutting, enterprise-boosting, business-friendly Conservative policy through the Whitehall Blob".

She also said that she "will stand up to people who talk down our country" and "reject dehumanising identity politics, cancel culture and the voices of decline."

Ms Mordaunt had been in second place in all of the four rounds of Tory MP votes, but fell into third place by just eight votes on the final ballot.

Her supporters blamed a “smear campaign” for damaging her bid. Simon Case, the UK’s top civil servant, has launched a leak inquiry after government information about Ms Mordaunt’s private ministerial views made the press.

Ms Mordaunt said: “I want to congratulate both Rishi and Liz in getting through to the next stage. I pay tribute to anyone who puts themselves forward for such a demanding role.

"Politics isn’t easy. It can be a divisive and difficult place. We must all now work together to unify our party and focus on the job that needs to be done.”

On Wednesday, figures close to both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss’s campaign offered insights into how they would approach the next six weeks.

Mr Sunak’s allies accept that he has ground to catch up with party members, with an increased number of media appearances and public events expected to win them over.

“The more people see him, the more they’ll like him,” said one leading MP supporter of Mr Sunak, with hopes that waverers will pick him given the seriousness of the economic crisis.

But there is an acceptance that changing the minds of party members quickly is crucial, with paper ballots landing on doorsteps the week after next.

On Wednesday, Mr Sunak accepted that Ms Truss was the front-runner in the race, saying in a video released by the campaign that he started the second phase of the contest “behind”.

Mr Sunak said: “Now we’ve got a job to do to take that message to the membership, right?

“And yes, look, do we start behind? We do. But we’ve already moved the numbers a huge amount in the space of a week.”

Ms Truss’s decision to vote to stay in the European Union in the 2016 referendum and what critics dub a stilted communication style are sure to be targeted by Sunak allies.

The Foreign Secretary’s supporters will double down on arguments that it is time to change the economic approach by borrowing to cut tax now to trigger economic growth.

She will be framed as more in line with the “Conservative values” shared by grassroots Tories. She is backed by prominent Brexiteers and figures on the party’s Right.

Mr Sunak’s record in the Treasury, with the UK gripped by soaring inflation and stuttering growth as the tax burden rises to its highest point in 70 years, will be put front and centre.

“Liz talks about levelling up in a Conservative way. Rishi, by his own admission, is a bit more business as usual,” said an ally of Ms Truss on Wednesday.

There will also be a new scramble for endorsements, with former Tory leadership rivals Ms Mordaunt, Sajid Javid, Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat yet to announce whom they back.

Mr Sunak has picked up the support of Baroness Davidson, the former Scottish Conservative leader, who wrote in The Telegraph that he was “the person best placed to steer us through those choppy economic waters”.

Mr Johnson, delivering his final Prime Minister’s Questions, appeared to issue a coded rebuke to Mr Sunak as he warned future leaders against listening to the Treasury, which Mr Sunak headed up for much of his premiership.

More than 4,000 party members have also now backed a drive to change the rules to allow Mr Johnson to be allowed into the leadership contest.

Lord Cruddas, the Tory donor leading the push, wrote in The Telegraph: “We must not underestimate the sheer indignation amongst members, who are sending emails in their thousands to the Conservative party chairman demanding a Boris ballot.”

Mr Johnson is understood to have voted in some of the Tory MP ballots in the last week. Number 10 declined to say who he backed.

The Prime Minister is due to leave office on Sept 6, making way for either Mr Sunak or Ms Truss.