UK: Truss advances ahead of Sunak in new pre-poll survey

On Thursday, Conservative Party members voted to send both Sunak and Truss through to the final stage of the party's leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson.

One of them will now be selected as the next Prime Minister by the party membership in a ballot running from August 4 until early September.

Earlier this week, figures suggested that Truss, 46, would beat the 42-year-old former Chancellor in a hypothetical head-to-head by 19 points.

Now, with the final two announced a new poll of Tory members suggests Truss retains her strong advantage.

According to the survey of 730 Conservative Party members on Wednesday and Thursday, 62 percent said that they would vote for Truss and 38 percent opted for Sunak, excluding those who said they wouldn't vote or did not know.

Truss has a 24 percentage point lead, up from a 20-point lead two days before.

Truss beats Sunak in every age category, amongst men and women and amongst those who voted Brexit, reports said.

The only category where Sunak beats Truss is among 2016 Remain voters.

This is a striking reverse, given that Truss supported Remain during the referendum while the ex-chancellor campaigned for Brexit, the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.

It marks a remarkable turnaround for Sunak. He was the frontrunner during all five rounds of voting by Tory MPs, but polling suggests he is now the underdog amongst the party membership.

(With UNI inputs)