Dear Editor,

THIS is a rejoinder to my missive that Rishi Sunak would go down to defeat in the leadership race for the Tory or Conservative Party in the UK (Sep 5). The results are in. Liz Truss has won and should be congratulated by our government. She will succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister on Tuesday; it was a long campaign.
Opinion polls had Sunak trailing almost two to one. I had indicated that he would close the gap in spite of the polls. Indeed, he did narrow the gap going down to defeat 43 per cent to 57 per cent. The results surprised pundits and even Liz Truss supporters who wanted an emphatic victory of two to one. Truss would now have to reach out to Sunak’s supporters offering them Cabinet berths to unite the party. A majority of Tory MPs had favoured Sunak over Truss as Tory leader and Prime Minister. But party members decide the leadership. Some 97 per cent of the membership is white.
Opinion polls have Labour ahead of Tory in the next general elections due by 2025. Polls show Sunak more popular than Truss among voters. This is all the more reason that Truss would reach out to Sunak; she will offer him a Cabinet berth of his choice. Initially, I felt he would decline. But I now feel that he may accept a position to remain in the news, just in case Truss falters.
As for Guyanese and Caribbean Briton voters, with hardly any being members of the Tory party, they like Sunak. It is too early to tell whether they will support Truss in a general election. In the last election, a sizable chunk of Guyanese, Indian, and “Trini” voters cast ballots for Tory because they felt Labour had surrendered too many benefits to the EU.
Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram