What have Tory leadership rivals Truss and Sunak pledged for the country?
Voting in the Conservative Party leadership race will be delayed by more than a week after GCHQ warned that cyberhackers could meddle with members’ ballots.
The National Cyber Security Centre – the listening post of GCHQ and one of the government’s three intelligence organisations alongside MI5 and MI6 – said there are vulnerabilities in the voting system, The Telegraph reported.
Its general warning did not make specific mention of hostile countries such as China, Iran or Russia – the latter of which the US accused of interfering in its 2020 presidential contest.
But the change of plan means postal ballots will arrive at the addresses of about 160,000 Tory members as late as 11 August, after they were previously meant to be sent out from Monday.
This means that members will have less than a month to return their votes by Friday, 2 September, for counting before Boris Johnson’s successor – foreign secretary Liz Truss or former chancellor Rishi Sunak – will be announced on Monday 5 September.
Ballot delay gives Sunak time before votes cast as Truss open up 34-point lead in poll
Rishi Sunak appears to have lost ground in the Tory leadership race but a reported ballot delivery delay over security concerns could give him more time to make an impression before votes are cast.
A YouGov poll puts Liz Truss well ahead of Mr Sunak in support from party members, with her lead increasing to 34 points.
Despite the ex-chancellor having secured the backing of significantly more Tory MPs in the early stages of the contest, the deciding ballots are being sent out this week to the more staunchly right-wing party faithful, who have long favoured the foreign secretary.
New polling by YouGov now suggests that 60 per cent of Tory members intend to choose Ms Truss to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister – compared to just 26 per cent who want Mr Sunak in Downing Street.
More in this report from Andy Gregory:
Liz Truss opens up 34-point lead over Rishi Sunak in new poll
Some 60 per cent of members intend to vote for foreign secretary, YouGov finds in survey conducted largely prior to her U-turn fiasco
Namita Singh3 August 2022 05:10
Voting delay in Tory leadership contest after GCHQ raises hacking warning
The Conservative Party leadership race will observe about a week of delay in voting after GCHQ warned about potential vulnerabilities in the voting system.
In the general warning, it did not make any specific mention of the hostile countries such as China, Iran or Russia, that could be accused of meddling with the member’s ballot.
But the change of plan means postal ballots will arrive at the addresses of about 160,000 Tory members as late as 11 August, after they were previously meant to be sent out from Monday.
My colleague Lamiat Sabin has more:
Voting in Tory leadership contest delayed after GCHQ hacking warning
About 160,000 members of the Conservative Party will also no longer be allowed to change their votes
Namita Singh3 August 2022 04:57
Welcome to the UK politics blog for 3 August 2022 where we provide you with the latest on the Tory leadership contest.
Namita Singh3 August 2022 04:30