A survey of voters in Wakefield, who go to the polls for a by-election on June 23 to elect a new MP, suggests the Tories could lose by as much as 20 points.
The survey also shows a majority in favour of ousted leader Boris Johnson, with 55 per cent saying that Tory MPs were wrong to effectively force him to resign and 40 per cent saying they were right.
The British Indian former Chancellor received 118 votes in the fourth round of voting by his party colleagues, just shy of the 120-mark.
The first round of ballots will be cast on Wednesday in the race to elect a new Conservative Party leader who will succeed Boris Johnson as United Kingdom Prime Minister, with British Indian former finance minister Rishi Sunak holding on to his lead.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a triple blow following crushing defeats for his Conservative Party in two important by-elections that also prompted the resignation of the party's chairman and one of his close allies, raising another major challenge to the embattled premier's leadership.
The 42-year-old British Indian MP for Richmond in Yorkshire maintains his lead in the race to replace Boris Johnson as nominations formally opened for the contest.
A new survey of Conservative Party members, who will be casting their ballots to pick the new Tory leader to succeed Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister, on Wednesday shows a widening lead for Foreign Secretary Liz Truss over Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest.
Rishi Sunak on Wednesday clinched his place for the final leg of the race to succeed Boris Johnson and will go head-to-head with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss as one of two finalists to take charge as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister.
Sunak, who formally launched his campaign earlier, remains the frontrunner in the race with reportedly the highest number of MPs behind him.
The race to replace Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader and the British prime minister entered the final countdown stage on Friday, when voting officially closes for Tory members to choose between former chancellor Rishi Sunak or Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
With the former prime minister stepping aside on Sunday night saying it was "simply not the right time" for his comeback, the prospect of a Diwali victory for Sunak cannot be ruled out.
With Rishi Sunak now firmly placed as the candidate to beat, the battle lines are drawn for second place in the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister, with the remaining five contenders set for their first public clash on Friday.
British Indian former Cabinet minister Rishi Sunak maintained his lead as the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and next UK prime minister widened on Sunday with a total of nine candidates in the fray, with Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt emerging as an early second favourite.
Sunak joins fellow Indian-origin candidate Suella Braverman, the UK Attorney General who is among the early Tory MPs to announce her plan to contest.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday finally agreed to step down as Conservative Party leader, triggering a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will go on to become the new premier, according to reports from Downing Street.
As the voting process for the new Conservative Party leader formally opened with postal ballots being mailed out to Tory members from Monday, Rishi Sunak vowed to cut the basic rate of income tax by 20 per cent in a few years if he is elected Britain's prime minister.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has extended a commanding 28 point lead over former British chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak in the race to be the next leader of the Conservative party and the United Kingdom's prime minister, according to the latest YouGov survey.
Rishi Sunak tightened his grip on the race to replace Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister as he bagged 101 votes to again emerge as the winner of the latest voting round on Thursday.
The video shows the 42-year-old British Indian former minister interacting with voters and is also seen catching a quick power nap on a bench as a voiceover praises his efforts to "fight for every inch".
Even before Boris Johnson stepped out of 10 Downing Street on Thursday to deliver his resignation speech as Conservative Party leader and triggering a leadership race for a new British prime minister, at least one Indian-origin candidate is already lined up to compete for the "best job in the world".
The 42-year-old British Indian politician acknowledges "playing catch-up" to Liz Truss in the race as he continues his campaign tour of the UK to win over Conservative Party members' votes.
Her intervention comes just days after her dramatic exit from Cabinet over a breach of the ministerial code and a scathing attack on Truss' leadership.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday said he was sad to announce his resignation as Conservative Party leader, triggering a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will go on to become the new PM.
The crux of the UK prime ministerial frontrunner Rishi Sunak's message was around honesty as he clashed with his four remaining rivals in the first televised debate of the race to replace Boris Johnson as the Conservative Party leader.
Former UK chancellor Rishi Sunak is closing the gap to catch up with rival, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in the race to 10 Downing Street, with only five points separating the two in a latest poll of the Conservative Party members on Tuesday.
Following is the chronology of the main events illustrating Sunak's second shot at UK prime minister's post.
Glimpses from Liz's truncated reign as prime minister.
A few days back, Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, presented a grim scenario of the crop's prospects in the 2024-25 season that starts in October. Addressing the association's annual general meeting, Ganatra said the area under the crop could go down by at least 10 per cent in the coming season due to falling yields and realisation, leading to farmers losing interest. The fear of a decline in acreage comes against the backdrop of India's cotton production probably falling to its lowest in a decade, according to estimates.
Rishi Sunak speaks at a Conservative Friends of India event at the Dhamecha Lohana centre in Harrow, London.
Rishi Sunak on Monday is all set to make history on Diwali as Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party, following Penny Mordaunt's withdrawal from the race.
Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss will chair her final Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday morning before she makes her way to Buckingham Palace to formally tender her resignation to the 73-year-old monarch.
In another move aimed at continuity, James Cleverly will stay in his post as Foreign Secretary despite not being a Sunak loyalist.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday sacked his Indian-origin Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, and replaced her with James Cleverly, while former premier David Cameron, in an unusual move, is back in the frontline government as the new foreign secretary.
The 42-year-old barrister, who until now served as the Attorney General in the Boris Johnson led government, was among the first contenders to throw her hat in the ring to replace Johnson as Tory leader and Prime Minister.
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak convincingly won over an audience of Conservative Party members in a head-to-head television debate with rival Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in the leadership contest to elect a new Tory party leader and British prime minister.
The postal ballot papers were to be mailed out from Monday but are now expected to start being issued a few days later, with a delivery deadline set as next Thursday.
"I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign," the 42-year-old barrister said.
Rishi Sunak on Tuesday scripted history when he was appointed by King Charles III as Britain's first Indian-origin prime minister after being elected unopposed as the new leader of the governing Conservative Party on Diwali.
Prime Minister Liz Truss has unveiled one of the United Kingdom's most diverse cabinets, with key frontline posts going to ethnic minority members of Parliament, including Indian-origin Suella Braverman as the home secretary.
If elected, 42-year-old Sunak will go on to make history as the first Prime Minister of the UK of Indian heritage.
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