By Ben Kerrigan-
Voting has closed in the Conservative leadership contest to decide who will replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. The two contenders, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, will find out which of them has won the ballot of Tory members at 12.30 BST on Monday and the winner will be formally appointed prime minister on Tuesday by the Queen.
Ms Truss is the clear favourite to become prime minister, according to polls of Tory members. She has promised to deliver billions of pounds in tax cuts in an emergency Budget if she wins power.
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Meanwhile the European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič issued a warning to whomever takes over the reins from Boris Johnson next week that any unilateral action to scrap part of the Brexit deal is legally and politically of “great concern” across the continent.
Truss and Sunak have both committed to carrying through with the Northern Ireland protocol bill in their leadership campaigns, but the thorny issue of Northern Ireland border has proved a tough one to resolve.
“The unilateral action is naturally of great concern,” Šefčovič told an audience that included invited ministers from the British and Irish governments.
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“It is not for the UK government alone to change our bilateral agreement and modify the conditions under which goods can enter the EU’s single market and reach our consumers.”
He added: “This is simply legally and politically inconceivable. The clear breach of international law is extremely damaging to mutual trust and respect between the EU and the UK.”
He told the British and Irish Association conference in Oxford, Šefčovič said the two agreements the UK has with the EU were founded on “trust” and depended on “legally binding commitments being respected”.
“There are no two ways about this,” he said, adding that a unilateral move would send a signal to the rest of the world that the UK leadership is not interested in cooperation with the EU at a precarious time of war and a cost of living crisis.
The next Uk prime minister will have the unenviable task of addressing all the issues that have surrounded the Brexit deal.
Both Truss and Sunak have come under pressure to spell out how they would protect households from the rises, as well as give help to businesses, which are not covered by the price cap.
Ms Truss has vowed to reverse April’s rise to National Insurance and cut green levies on energy bills to help households with costs. She has signalled she would provide more support on top of this, but has offered no details.
Mr Sunak has said he would make further payments to pensioners and the low-paid over winter, on top of the payments they are already due to receive. The contest began in mid-July, when Mr Johnson was forced out by a ministerial revolt over a string of scandals.
The original field of 11 contenders was whittled down to two in a series of Tory MP ballots, with the final two going into a run-off to be decided by the membership, which stands at around 160,000.
Although Mr Sunak had the most support among Tory MPs, opinion polls have suggested Ms Truss enjoys more support among party members.
Mr Sunak thanked his supporters and said he had “loved every second” of his “six weeks on the road”.
Ms Truss also thanked volunteers on her campaign, and said if she is elected she would “do everything in my power to make sure our great nation succeeds”.
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