nomination threshold of 100 and promises to conclude before 28 October, with Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt declaring their candidacies. Boris Johnson was widely expected to attempt a comeback, but, while claiming he had the sufficient amount of support to enter the race, ruled himself out on 23 October. On 24 October, Mordaunt pulled out of the leadership race, and Sunak was declared Leader. YouGov found under Sunak the Conservatives poll below Labour and voters feel they are less competent to handle the big issues. Under Sunak polls stabilised and the Labour lead reduced, but there is still gap of 20 points. Policies Economic policy The Conservative Party believes that a free market and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity. A leading economic theory advocated by Conservatives is supply-side economics. This theory holds that reduced income tax rates increase growth and enterprise (although a reduction in the budget deficit has sometimes taken priority over cutting taxes). The party has recently focused on the social market economy in Britain, promoting a free market for competition with social balance to create fairness. This has included curbs on the banking sector, enterprise zones to revive regions in Britain and grand infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail. One concrete economic policy of recent years has been opposition to the European single currency, the euro. With the growing Euroscepticism within his party, John Major negotiated a British opt-out in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which enabled the UK to stay within the European Union without adopting the single currency. However, several members of Major's cabinet, such as Kenneth Clarke, were personally supportive of EMU participation. Following Major's resignation after the 1997 election defeat, all subsequent Conservative leaders have positioned the party firmly against the adoption of the euro. Following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election, the Conservative Party opposed Labour's decision to grant the Bank of England independent control of interest rates—on the grounds that it would be a prelude to the abolition of the pound sterling and acceptance of the European single currency, and also expressed concern over the removal of monetary policy from democratic control. However, Bank independence was popular amongst the financial community as it helped to keep inflation low. The Conservatives accepted Labour's policy in early 2000. Since returning to power, the 50% top rate of income tax was reduced to 45% by the Cameron-Clegg coalition. Alongside a