, Columnist
Why British Conservatives Went Cold on Rishi Sunak
The former chancellor who started the race in the lead is now lagging badly against Liz Truss.
Rishi Sunak on the campaign trail.
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A year ago, Rishi Sunak was the runaway favorite to be the next Tory leader, with Liz Truss polling only a third of his support. He started the contest in front in surveys of members and won the parliamentary stage of the race comfortably.
Polls now put Truss miles ahead. And while the voting by Conservative Party members, less than 1% of the British electorate, doesn’t end until early September, some nine in 10 say they have already made up their minds. What happened?