This week, the Conservative leadership contest caravan moves from parliament to the membership in the country. Ballots are expected to land on the doormats of 150,000 Tory party members in the next few days, while the finalists Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak will go head to head in another televised debate on Sky News on Thursday at 8pm.
But have Tory members already made up their minds? Polls have shown Truss pulling ahead of the former chancellor among the rank and file. Stephen Bush, who helms the Inside Politics newsletter, warns that Sunak has limited time to close the gap with Truss, as “most Conservative members will vote right away when their ballot papers arrive”.
Whoever clinches victory in the leadership race will be inheriting a wave of industrial discontent. Thousands of BT employees will walk out on Monday for the second of two strikes, led by the Communication Workers Union, in a dispute over pay. In response to BT’s…
