Liz Truss will replace Boris Johnson as Britain’s new Prime Minister after defeating Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership election.
Key Points:
- Liz Truss has been elected as the new leader of the Conservative Party and will be sworn in as Britain’s 56th Prime Minister on Tuesday.
- He defeated former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak by 81,326 votes to 60,399 of Conservative Party members.
- Truss will replace Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign in July after a series of controversies engulfed his government.
Truss, the Foreign Secretary, defeated the former Chancellor of the Exchequer by 81,326 votes to 60,399, winning 57% of the vote.
She will go to Balmoral in Scotland on Tuesday to be sworn in by the Queen as the UK’s 56th Prime Minister, becoming the third woman to hold the role after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Ms Truss said it was “an honour” to be elected leader of the Conservative Party and thanked Mr Sunak, saying the leadership contest showed the “depth and breadth” of talent within the party.
He also paid tribute to the outgoing prime minister, calling Johnson “my friend” in a speech after the election result.
“Boris, you did Brexit, crushed Jeremy Corbyn, launched the vaccine and stood up to Vladimir Putin,” he said.
“You are admired from Kyiv to Carlisle.”
The announcement ends a two-month process that saw eight candidates whittled down to two, Ms Truss and Mr. Sunak, who launched nationwide campaigns to convince the 172,000 members of the Conservative party that they were the best candidate to replace Mr. Johnson to lead the game. the party and the country.
Johnson was forced to resign in July after a series of resignations from his government, stemming from a series of controversies that engulfed the former prime minister.
Mrs Truss, 47, will have to step up, with Britain facing a cost-of-living crisis and a war on Britain’s doorstep following Ukraine’s invasion of Russia
He promised to deliver a plan that would cut taxes and boost economic growth in an effort to tackle spiraling energy costs.
“I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy,” Ms Truss said.
“I will deal with the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long-term problems we have around energy supply.”
He will also have to bring together the deep divisions within the Conservative party which has seen a popular prime minister fall and bicker between factions and supporters of both candidates.
More to come.