The Rt Hon Liz Truss MP has been elected as Leader of the Conservative & Unionist Party in the UK.
There were 172,437 eligible electors. Turnout was 82.6%. Rishi Sunak received 60,399 votes
Liz Truss received 81,326 votes. There were 654 rejected ballots.
58,378 electors voted by post and 84,001 electors voted online. Sir Graham Brady MP was the returning officer for the membership vote.
Commenting, Conservative Party Chairman the Rt Hon Andrew Stephenson MP said: “I’d like to congratulate Liz Truss on her election as our new leader.
“This contest has shown the strength of our Party across the UK, with twelve sold out hustings filling concert halls, hippodromes and arenas and over six hundred questions answered.
“I want to thank both candidates for their commitment to this process and the team at CCHQ for putting on a great contest.
“Now is the time for our Party to unite behind our new leader and get on with the important work of delivering for the people of our country and tackling the challenges ahead.”
The two candidates took part in twelve Conservative hustings across the country and all four nations of the UK, answering 614 questions in total. Nearly 20,000 members attended the hustings (19,859), and a total of 2.2 million people viewed a husting across online platforms.
The Law Society of England and Wales said on the announcement of the results of the Conservative Party leadership election that the new PM takes over at pivotal time for justice.
That Prime Minister Liz Truss, will have an opportunity to reset the government’s approach to the rule of law and address the crisis in the justice system,
“We call on the new prime minister to demonstrate a renewed respect for the rule of law at home and with international partners when she takes office,” said Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce.
“The Bill of Rights Bill in particular needs a complete rethink as the current draft represents a lurch backwards for British justice which would disempower people in Britain while giving the state more unfettered authority.”
“Our criminal justice system is facing a make-or-break moment with huge backlogs in the courts delaying justice for victims and defendants, while chronic underfunding is forcing solicitors to leave this area of work in droves and leading to the collapse of our vital network of duty solicitor schemes.
“We call on the PM to immediately implement the minimum 15% criminal legal aid rate increase recommended by Lord Bellamy to ensure the wheels of justice keep turning.
“Investment should be made across the entire justice system, including on court buildings, to ensure timely access to justice is available to all.”
“We are all facing a cost-of-living crisis and it is essential that solicitors are there when individuals and businesses need them to deal with legal and financial challenges caused by spiralling costs,” added I. Stephanie Boyce.
“Solicitors are also feeling the squeeze of increasing costs of doing business, especially professional indemnity insurance hikes and we call on the new PM to take action to address this and ensure they are there to carry out their vital work on behalf of others.
“We also hope that there will be support for small law firms faced with rising energy costs.”
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