London : Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak won the most votes in the first round of voting to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, as two candidates were eliminated. Sunak scored 88 votes, ahead of junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt on 67 and foreign Secretary Liz Truss on 50. Finance minister Nadhim Zahawi and former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt were eliminated. Lawmaker Kemi Badenoch received 40 votes, Tom Tugendhat received 37 and Suella Braverman received 32. Rishi Sunak said he would run the economy like Margaret Thatcher, the former Conservative prime minister, if he becomes the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, The TelegraphĀ reported on Tuesday. “We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly. That’s my economic approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that’s what she would have done,” Sunak said. The next British leader faces a daunting in-tray while support for the Conservatives is also falling, polls show. Britain’s economy is facing rocketing inflation, high debt, and low growth as people grapple with the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades. All of this is set against a backdrop of an energy crunch exacerbated by the war in Ukraine which has sent fuel prices soaring.London : Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak won the most votes in the first round of voting to succeed Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister, as two candidates were eliminated. Sunak scored 88 votes, ahead of junior trade minister Penny Mordaunt on 67 and foreign Secretary Liz Truss on 50. Finance minister Nadhim Zahawi and former cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt were eliminated. Lawmaker Kemi Badenoch received 40 votes, Tom Tugendhat received 37 and Suella Braverman received 32. Rishi Sunak said he would run the economy like Margaret Thatcher, the former Conservative prime minister, if he becomes the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, The TelegraphĀ reported on Tuesday. “We will cut taxes and we will do it responsibly. That’s my economic approach. I would describe it as common sense Thatcherism. I believe that’s what she would have done,” Sunak said. The next British leader faces a daunting in-tray while support for the Conservatives is also falling, polls show. Britain’s economy is facing rocketing inflation, high debt, and low growth as people grapple with the tightest squeeze on their finances in decades. All of this is set against a backdrop of an energy crunch exacerbated by the war in Ukraine which has sent fuel prices soaring.