London, Sep 5 (Agency) Liz Truss on Monday won the Conservative Party leadership race beating Indian-origin leader and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a close match.”I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country.” I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential,” Truss who took over 80,000 votes, tweeted. On Tuesday, she will become the Prime Minister when she visits the Queen in Balmoral for an invitation to form her UK government, the BBC reported. The result was announced at a conference centre in Westminster. About 57 per cent of valid votes cast were for Liz Truss.
Turnout was pretty high too, with 82.6 per cent of members casting a vote, with 654 rejected, possibly spoiled or filled out incorrectly, the BBC report said. For comparison, Boris Johnson won 66.4 per cent of the votes in 2019, David Cameron 67.6 per cent in 2005 and Iain Duncan Smith 60.7 per cent in 2001, it added. Truss takes over 80,000 votesBBC said while Truss won 81,326 votes, Sunak’s share was 60,399 votes.Truss also addressed the Queen Elizabeth II Centre auditorium where she received a huge standing ovation on her victory. She thanked the party for “organising one of the longest job interviews in history”, as well as her supporters.Truss hailed her opponent Sunak. She said the campaign was “hard-fought”. She ended her speech with: “We will deliver, we will deliver, we will deliver”, adding that the party will defeat Labor in next poll.