THE SQUIZ
It’s been almost 2 months since UK PM Boris Johnson resigned, and tonight Aussie time, his successor will be announced. It follows a process where the Conservative Party’s parliamentarians picked 2 candidates – Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former finance minister Rishi Sunak. Then about 160,000 rank and file members could vote for the person who will become the nation’s new prime minister. Johnson has been caretaker PM during the period, and in the last week, he’s been spruiking his record. Meanwhile, Truss and Sunak have been crisscrossing the UK stumping for votes.

WHO’S GOING TO WIN?
Dunno, but Truss is the frontrunner. During their many appearances – including one TV debate where the moderated fainted – the rising cost of living has been the dominant topic. Truss is the 47yo Foreign Secretary – she’s a big fan of Margaret Thatcher’s and has promised to focus on lowering taxes as the way through these tricky economic times. As for Sunak, he’s a 42yo teetotaler who became Chancellor (aka Treasurer) in February 2020. That means it was his job to steer the UK economy through the pandemic. He was one of Johnson’s top colleagues who resigned in July over the issues that ultimately brought his government down. Sunak strongly opposes Truss’s plan to cut taxes – he says it will fuel inflation. Last week, he said he would rather lose than “win on a false promise” of matching Truss’s promises.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
There are a few things to get through this week… We’ll find out who the winner is at 9.30pm tonight Aussie eastern time. Then on Tuesday local time, Queen Elizabeth will swear in her 15th PM – and this time, it will be different… It will take place at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she spends the summer, rather than at Buckingham Palace in London. With her mobility issues, she’s not travelling. Whoever wins will have a tag-along… Johnson will give his resignation to the Queen in person. Then on Wednesday, it’s straight into with Prime Minister’s Question Time in the House of Commons with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. He says neither Sunak nor Truss have a handle on the UK’s problems and says a new Tory leader will not mark a “new dawn”. The latest the next general election can be held is January 2025.