To regain the lead in the campaign to be the next Conservative leader, Liz Truss has promised to stimulate the economy with tax cuts.
As she launched her candidacy, the foreign secretary stated that she was “ready to be prime minister from day one.”
After the first round of voting by Tory MPs, she is currently third behind Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak.
The MPs are eliminating candidates until just two remain, who will then face a vote by Tory Party members.
The second round of votes by MPs will occur later.
The secret ballot, in which the candidate with the lowest score will be eliminated, takes place between 11.30 and 13.30 BST, with the outcome anticipated at 15.00.
Tory Party members will vote to determine the next party leader and prime minister.
Wednesday’s first round of MP voting eliminated former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi from the race.
Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, and Tom Tugendhat, together with the top three candidates Mr. Sunak, Ms. Mordaunt, and Ms. Truss, remain in the campaign to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.
In a speech starting her campaign, Ms. Truss vowed to abandon “business as usual” economic management, stating that it had produced “decades of sluggish growth.
She pledged to reverse the April increase in National Insurance and the planned increase in corporation tax next year, as well as establish “low tax zones” to encourage business.
She reaffirmed her support for Mr. Johnson’s leveling-up initiative to minimize regional disparities “conservatively.”
To emphasize her government experience, she stated that she had “consistently delivered” and demonstrated that she would not “give in to Whitehall.”
Tax cuts tussle
It follows a rival tax proposal presented by Ms. Mordaunt on Wednesday, in which she stated that she would reduce fuel VAT and raise income tax levels.
Their proposals differ from those of former chancellor Mr. Sunak, who believes that tax cuts should be postponed until inflation declines.
He stated that combating inflation would be his “number one priority” and warned that inflation “makes everyone poorer.”
He continued, “I don’t cut taxes to win elections; I win elections to cut taxes.”
