LONDON — Britain’s new Conservative leader
Liz Truss Monday vowed “bold” action to confront a biting economic crisis as
she was confirmed as successor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a grueling
party contest.
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The foreign secretary also resisted pressure for a
politically perilous early election to confirm her new mandate, vowing to
“deliver a great victory for the Conservative party in 2024”.
Truss beat her rival, former finance minister
Rishi Sunak, by about 57 to 43 percent after a summer-long contest decided by just
over 170,000 Conservative members — a tiny sliver of Britain’s electorate.
Truss ignored the applauding Sunak as she marched up
to the stage of the central London convention hall, calling it an “honor” to be
elected after undergoing “one of the longest job interviews in history”.
“I campaigned as a conservative, and I will govern
as a conservative,” she said, touting Tory values of low taxes and personal
responsibility.
Truss vowed a “bold plan” to address tax cuts and
the energy crisis. Details are expected in the coming days.
Truss, 47, will be only the UK’s third female prime
minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher.
She will formally take office on Tuesday, after
Johnson tenders his resignation to
Queen Elizabeth II.
“I know she 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,” Johnson tweeted.
“Now is the time for all Conservatives to get behind
her 100 per cent.”
The leadership contest began in July after Johnson
announced his departure following a slew of scandals and resignations from his
government, including Sunak’s.
Truss reserved a portion of her short speech to
praising Johnson’s record, including on Brexit and the Covid pandemic, and said
he was “admired from Kyiv to Carlisle”.
That won warm applause from the Tory faithful
present. However, the right-wing ideologue faces a tough task in winning over
public opinion.
A YouGov poll in late August found 52 percent
thought Truss would make a “poor” or “terrible” prime minister.
Forty-three percent said they did not trust her “at
all” to deal with the burning issue of the rise in the cost of living, as
energy prices and inflation generally rocket amid
Russia’s war in Ukraine.
‘Worst in-tray’
The Tory winner faces “the
worst in-tray for a new prime minister since Thatcher”, The Sunday Times wrote.
Millions say that with energy bills set to rise by
80 percent from October — and even higher from January — they face a painful
choice between eating and heating this winter, according to surveys.
The Times and Daily Telegraph newspapers reported
Monday that Truss was considering freezing energy bills for consumers, with the
government reimbursing suppliers.
But polls show public support for an early general
election, and the Conservatives face a growing challenge to retain their grip
on power with the opposition Labour party riding high.
Labour leader Keir Starmer sent his own
congratulations to Truss.
“But after 12 years of the Tories all we have to
show for it is low wages, high prices, and a Tory cost-of-living crisis,” he
tweeted.
“Only Labour can deliver the fresh start our country
needs.”
Truss became foreign minister a year ago after
holding a series of ministerial posts in departments including education,
international trade and justice.
She began her political journey as a teenage member
of the centrist Liberal Democrats before switching to the Conservatives.
In 2016, she campaigned for the
UK to remain in the
European Union but switched allegiance when Britons backed Brexit.
Her love of photo opportunities and style of dress —
posing in a tank in Estonia and wearing a fur hat in Moscow — have earned her
comparisons to Tory icon Thatcher.
Storm clouds
Monday’s announcement by
Conservative officials set in motion a carefully choreographed chain of events.
For the first time in her 70-year reign, the
96-year-old monarch will appoint the prime minister at her Scottish retreat,
Balmoral, rather than at
Buckingham Palace in London.
The queen has been suffering mobility problems and
has canceled a number of public engagements.
On Tuesday morning, Johnson will deliver a farewell
speech at Downing Street before flying to Scotland — where heavy rain is
forecast — to hand his resignation to the queen.
Truss is expected to fly separately to accept the
queen’s invitation to form a new government, to ensure continuity of government
in case of any mishaps.
On her return to Downing Street, the new prime
minister will then give a short address to the nation. By tradition, that
happens on the steps of Number 10.
But it may have to be moved indoors with forecasts
for thundery downpours, matching Britain’s dismal outlook as the Truss
government starts life.
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