LIZ Truss is the overwhelming choice to become the next Prime Minister, a new poll reveals.
In what will be regarded as a blow to Rishi Sunak, 83 per cent of those polled said they’d rather see Ms Truss in Number 10.
The survey of 2,625 voters was carried out by GB News and is the latest boost to Ms Truss’ campaign which has been gaining momentum ever since her ill-tempered TV debate with the former Chancellor.
Of those polled by the channel just 17 per cent – less than ome in five opted for the former Chancellor.
Many of those polled said it was Ms Truss’ pledges on tax and the fact she hadn’t walked out of her Cabinet post that were among the reasons they wanted her to become leader.
Sunak, meanwhile, was described by many as having “betrayed” the PM.
Earlier today Ms Truss told GB News how she had no intention of wasting her time on wallpaper if she got to Number 10.
The Foreign Secretary said there was work to do while also admitting she enjoys winding down by listening to 80’s music and singing karaoke.
She said yesterday: “We’re now going to campaign in the country, I’m very much looking forward to that and putting my case across that we need a bold new economic policy, we need to take full advantage of all the opportunities of Brexit.
“We need to cut taxes and we need to deliver for all the people right across the United Kingdom.”
She added: “What people rise across Britain care about is how we are going to help them with the cost of living, how we’re going to unleash opportunity and I’m somebody who can get things done in government.
“I’ve shown that I’m willing to push things through Whitehall and that’s why we need to cut taxes.
“We shouldn’t raise national insurance in the first place. We need to cut it now, we need a moratorium on the green energy levy to cut people’s fuel bills.
“And we need to power recovery by attracting investment, getting new businesses to set up so if we carry on with our current economic policy that is currently projected to lead to a recession that will not put us in a good place to win the election.
“I’m somebody who can get things done, get the economy growing, put us on a positive footing, but I can also relate to people right across the country.
“I grew up in Paisley, Leeds. I went to a comprehensive school. I understand the struggles people are facing now and I’m the candidate who can really communicate how we are going to change things and turn things around in Britain.”
Asked why she has supported 15 tax rises in the past, she said: “I opposed that in Cabinet at the time.
“I said it was a bad idea at the time but I’m a loyal person. I respect cabinet collective responsibility.
“Once the decision had been made, I was obliged to respect that decision but I’ve always been clear. It was a mistake, breaking our manifesto commitment and putting up taxes. And I would never have done that…”
Ms Truss was asked how she could reconcile cutting taxes with improving public service and she said: “I’m very committed to building the 40 new hospitals we promised and continuing to fund the NHS and education to get economic growth up.
“The fact is we’ve had low economic growth for two decades. And what that means is a lack of opportunities, lack of new jobs or lack of new businesses.
“By reducing taxes and by taking the full advantage of all the opportunities of Brexit, we can get economic growth going and for me economic growth isn’t just numbers on a page, it is about a new job, a new business, making sure the towns and cities across the country that we promised levelling up to get those spades in the ground, they get those new projects going.
“That is what we can deliver. If we unleash economic growth, if we get rid of a lot of the bureaucracy and the red tape that’s still on our statute books from the EU.
“So as well as doing those tax cuts, I would have a programme of massive reforms to our economy to get our growth rate up, that will fund our public services in the future.”
She was asked about the wallpaper in Number 10 and a fact that people would not know about her.
She said: “Believe me, I’m not going to have time to be thinking about the wallpaper in Number 10 because we’ve only got two years until a general election.
“We need to hit the ground running. We need to get on with changing our economy to really deliver for people right across the country. I’m not going to be thinking about wallpaper.
“I think maybe the one thing people don’t know about me is I do love 1980’s music and I do love karaoke.
“I like to enjoy music as well. My favourite song is I Want To Dance by Whitney Houston.”