Liz Truss poised to become UK PM, enjoys support over Rishi Sunak

London, Sep 02: Liz Truss appears poised to take over as the UK's next prime minister heading into the close of voting by Conservative party members on Friday.

Postal and online voting by the estimated 200,000 Tory members began in early August, a month after Johnson announced his resignation, and concludes at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT).

According to AFP, Truss enjoys overwhelming support over Sunak in polling of the members.

But the winner faces a vanishingly short political honeymoon once they return to 10 Downing Street from meeting the queen in the Scottish Highlands.

The UK is in the throes of its worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, with inflation soaring by double digits as energy prices rocket on the back of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Millions say that with bills set to rise by 80 percent from October -- and further from January -- they face a painful choice between eating and heating this winter, according to surveys.

Truss has vowed tax cuts but those would do nothing to benefit the poorest.

For weeks, the Tory front-runner has been ruling out direct handouts, and went further at the final hustings Wednesday by repeating former US president George Bush's promise of no more taxes -- which he soon broke.