The two candidates vying to be Britain’s next prime minister will face off in a TV debate Monday, after both sought to woo the Conservative Party’s right-wing base by backing a controversial plan to deport some asylum-seekers to Rwanda. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak are battling to succeed the discredited Boris Johnson as head of Britain’s governing party. They were chosen by Conservative lawmakers from an initial field of 11 candidates as finalists to replace Johnson, who quit as party leader on July 7 after months of ethics scandals triggered a mass exodus of ministers from his government. The winner will automatically become prime minister, governing a country of 67 million — but will be chosen by about 180,000 Conservative Party members. They will vote over the summer with the result announced Sept. 5. Johnson remains caretaker prime minister until his successor is chosen. Also read: Britain’s Boris Johnson battles to stay as PM amid revolt Truss, 46, and 42-year-old Sunak have wooed Conservatives by doubling down on policies thought to appeal to the Tory grassroots. Both are backing a contentious deal agreed by the Johnson government with Rwanda to send some migrants who arrive in Britain in small boats on a one-way trip to the East African nation. The deportees would be allowed to apply for asylum in Rwanda, not the U.K. The government says the policy will deter people-traffickers from sending migrants on hazardous journeys across the Channel. Political opponents, human rights organizations and even a few Conservative lawmakers say it is immoral, illegal and a waste of taxpayers’ money. The first scheduled deportation flight was grounded after legal rulings last month, and the whole policy is now being challenged in the British courts. Also read: Sunak, Truss emerge as finalists in UK leadership race On Sunday, Sunak said “no options should be off the table” despite questions over the policy’s legality and morality. Truss said she was “determined” to see the Rwanda plan through and raised the possibility of expanding it to additional countries. Truss also said she would expand the size of the U.K. Border Force, while Sunak has suggested housing asylum-seekers on cruise ships. Hard-line policies like the Rwanda plan are less popular with voters as a whole than with Conservatives, but the British electorate won’t get a say on the government until the next national election, due by the end of 2024. Truss and Sunak have already clashed over economic policy, with Truss promising immediate tax cuts and Sunak — who shepherded Britain’s economy through the coronavirus pandemic — saying he will get inflation under control before slashing taxes. He says borrowing more to cut taxes would be “immoral.” The leadership election is taking place during a cost-of-living crisis driven by soaring food and energy prices, partly due to the war in Ukraine. While many countries are experiencing economic turbulence, in Britain it’s compounded by the country’s departure from the European Union, which has complicated travel and business relations with the U.K.’s biggest trading partner. Both Sunak and Truss are strong supporters of Brexit, which was the signature policy of the Johnson government. But the two have sparred on topics such as policy toward China, with allies of Truss accusing Sunak of changing his stance on relations with Beijing. Sunak says China represents the “biggest-long term threat to Britain,” and says that if elected he would close the 30 Confucius Institutes in Britain. Funded by the Chinese government, the institutes teach Chinese language and culture, but have been accused of spreading pro-Beijing propaganda. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, a longtime China critic who backs Truss, said Sunak’s Treasury had previously “pushed hard for an economic deal with China.” “Where have you been over the last two years?” he said.

Former United Kingdom (UK) Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss emerged as the final two candidates in the country's Tory leadership race on Wednesday. International Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt was knocked out in the final round of ballot among Conservative lawmakers. Sunak won 137 votes, Truss received 113. The contest to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister will now go before the Conservative Party's 200,000-odd dues-paying members, who will select the winner later this summer via mail-in ballot. The winner, to be announced on Sept. 5, will automatically become Johnson's successor. Though Sunak has won each of the five rounds of voting by lawmakers, a YouGov poll published on Tuesday showed that he was less popular with the party's grassroots. He is predicted to lose to Truss, a favorite of the party's right wing, in the head-to-head contest. Also read: UK leader hopefuls jostle as Johnson digs in for final weeks Both candidates have made pledges on tax cuts as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite. However, Sunak dismissed as "fairytales" his rivals' promises of immediate tax cuts, arguing that inflation must be brought under control first. Inflation in the UK rose by 9.4 percent in June, hitting a fresh 40-year high, official statistics showed on Wednesday. Truss, on the other hand, promised to start cutting taxes from day one. The Tory leadership race was triggered after Johnson was forced to step down on July 7 by an avalanche of resignations of government officials, who protested against his scandal-plagued leadership. Johnson continues to serve as caretaker prime minister until a new Tory leader succeeds him. Johnson, who won a landslide victory in the general elections in 2019, lost support after he was caught in a string of scandals, including the Partygate scandal and the Chris Pincher scandal involving his appointment of Pincher, a politician accused of sexual misconduct, to a high-level post. But Johnson defended his record in his last appearance in the Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before the ballot results were announced. The lawmakers will start their summer recess on Thursday. Also read: Embattled UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson agrees to resign Claiming that "mission largely accomplished - for now," he once again touted his achievements of pulling off the Brexit deal, rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine and helping Ukraine during his three-year premiership. Johnson signed off his farewell speech by saying "Hasta la vista, baby" (See you later), a famous phrase used by Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Terminator, sparking speculation that he aims to make a political comeback.