Liz Truss Crowned Next British PM, Promises To Deliver

Ms. Liz Truss has been named as the new Conservative leader Monday afternoon and will become British Prime Minister Tuesday.

Truss vowed to be ‘bold’ in cutting taxes and reviving the economy after defeating Mr. Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership contest earlier Monday.

Truss takes the helm of a country in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis after seeing off the former Chancellor’s challenge with support from 81,326 party members, compared to Sunak’s 60,399.

The 57 per cent to 43 per cent result –closer than some had expected– was announced by 1922 committee chair Sir Graham Brady in a glitzy ceremony at the QE2 Centre in Westminster.

Ms Truss said it was an ‘honour’ to be the new leader of the ‘greatest political party on Earth’.

“I know that our beliefs resonate with the British people,” she said.

“I campaigned as a Conservative and I will govern as a Conservative… I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy,” the new Tory Leader added.

In a nod to the looming prospect of a general election, she added: “We will deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024.”

Outgoing PM Boris Johnson will deliver a farewell address outside No. 10 Downing on Tuesday and then go to Balmoral in Scotland to ask the Queen to accept his resignation.

Truss, the new leader, having travelled to Scotland separately, will be welcomed by the Queen and asked to form a new government.

She will enter power tomorrow after a bitter and divisive election campaign against ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak, who faced fury from Tories who accused him of toppling Boris Johnson.

Truss will arrive at No. 10 Downing Street by 4pm to address the nation for the first time.

Then they will make senior Cabinet appointments and have meetings for updates on matters of national security.

On Wednesday, the New Cabinet will meet to discuss issues including cost of living crisis. Then later Truss, as new PM will answer Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, Truss has paid tribute to her ‘friend’ Boris Johnson, who will formally hand over power to her tomorrow, saying he ‘got Brexit done, crushed Jeremy Corbyn, rolled out the vaccine, and stood up to Vladimir Putin’.

Tweeting his congratulations, Mr Johnson said Ms Truss “has the right plan to tackle the cost of living crisis, unite our party and continue the great work of uniting and levelling up our country”.

The new premier –Britain’s 56th– faces one of the toughest in-trays in decades, with inflation fears mounting as gas prices soar again and the Pound slides further.

Speculation is growing that Ms Truss will opt for a bold furlough-style move to freeze energy bills – possibly by loaning companies money to hold down costs.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said he is praying for Ms Truss ‘at a time of such significant challenges’.

Truss told the BBC yesterday that she will reveal fresh support for struggling households within a week, but refused to spell out details.

Truss’s political journey has taken her from a teenage Lib Dem to a Tory prime minister before she is 50.

She grew up in Paisley, Leeds and Canada, as her academic father moved between teaching posts.

John Truss and his nurse wife Priscilla, were both Left-wingers who took their daughter on CND marches.

After a brief flirtation with the Liberal Democrats, Ms Truss moved to the Right after encountering Conservative students at Oxford University, where she read PPE.

She was elected MP for South West Norfolk in 2010.

Alongside the new PM will be her husband, Hugh O’Leary. She and the chartered accountant married in 2000 and until now enjoyed a very private marriage that will now be thrust centrally into the spotlight.

In 2009, it was revealed she had an 18-month affair with MP Mark Field four years previously.

According to Mr Field, the Oxford-educated son of an Army major, the affair ended in June 2005. But the story led to unsuccessful attempts to deselect her as a candidate in Norfolk.

The members of South West Norfolk Conservative Association insisted furiously that they were told nothing about this ‘skeleton in the closet’ before they voted for her.

The marriage survived and the couple went on to have two children.

Like Rishi Sunak, she served for years under Boris Johnson in senior Cabinet posts. Ms Truss also served under her predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron in a ministerial career that stretches back to 2012.

She first attracted public attention in 2014 when she was made environment secretary. That year she made a viral speech to the Conservative Party Conference slamming UK cheese imports and highlighting the importance of ‘pork markets’ in China.

She was moved to justice secretary and lord chancellor by Theresa May after the Brexit referendum before heading to the Treasury as chief secretary.

Under Boris Johnson she was international trade secretary before becoming Foreign Secretary in place of Dominic Raab last year, after he was criticised for staying on a Mediterranean holiday while Kabul fell to the Taliban. She was also equalities minister before Kemi Badenoch.

While international trade secretary she negotiated free trade deals with nations including Australia, Japan and Singapore.