Voting has now closed in the Tory party leadership race, with either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak set to be declared the winner on Monday. Polling closed at 5pm on Friday, bringing to an end a long, fractious contest that dominated the summer and saw both candidates clash over competing visions for the country.
The Conservative party said that nearly 20,000 members attended the hustings and a total of 2.2 million people viewed a husting online. Foreign Secretary Ms Truss is believed to be on course for victory and in her final message on Friday she paid tribute to the party members she had met in recent months.
She said: “It has been fantastic meeting and speaking to thousands of members across the whole of the UK over the last six weeks. Our members make our party great and I would like to thank all the volunteers who have helped along the way.
