Liz Truss Wins Tory Leadership Race to Become Next UK Prime Minister
11:38 GMT 05.09.2022 (Updated: 15:20 GMT 28.05.2023)
© AP Photo / Frank Augstein
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The British foreign secretary will be the UK's third female prime minister following Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Liz Truss has won the Conservative Party leadership race and will replace Boris Johnson as the next British prime minister. She is expected to enter 10 Downing Street on September 6. Some 81,326 conservatives cast their votes for Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and around 60,399 for former-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
The Foreign Secretary will thus become the 56th British prime minister and the 15th during the rule of Queen Elizabeth II. She also marks the third time the country is led by a female prime minister.
In her speech in the wake of the election, Truss vowed to "take bold action" to navigate the country through "tough times" and boost the British economy. She namely vowed to handle the energy crisis and high electricity bills, as well as lower taxes.
I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party.
— Liz for Leader (@trussliz) September 5, 2022
Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country.
I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential. pic.twitter.com/xCGGTJzjqb
Truss further promised to "deliver" on her post and bring the party to victory in the next general election, which is currently scheduled for 2024. In her speech, the to-be-sworn-in new prime minister did not elaborate on which aid packages she will introduce to help Brits with surging inflation and electricity bills, with media reports suggesting that they could be substantial, but still insufficient.
"I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people's energy bills," Truss said
Truss spent the summer rallying support among Tories along with her rival, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
The Tory leadership contest was triggered by Boris Johnson's July announcement that he would resign following a plethora of scandals and an exodus of government officials and Cabinet ministers over the handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher.
Reactions to Liz Truss' Election as Next UK Prime Minister
Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer congratulated Truss on her victory in the Tory race, but stressed that for real change to happen in the country, his party must replace the conservatives in government. He placed responsibility for the current cost-of-living crisis on the Tories and suggested that it was time for a change.
"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. Only Labour can deliver the fresh start our country needs," Starmer stated.
Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in turn, called on his party to "get behind" newly elected Truss "100%". He expressed confidence that she will succeed in tackling the cost-of-living crisis and uniting the country. Rishi Sunak, who lost the race, echoed Johnson's sentiment and urged the party to unite behind Truss.
26 August 2022, 02:14 GMT
Scotland's Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon also congratulated Truss on her victory and promised to try and build a "good working relationship" with the incoming PM despite "deep political differences".
At the same time, Sturgeon did not miss the opportunity to deliver a jab, noting that Truss' 57% of votes amount to only "47% of the total [Tory Party member] electorate". As such, her victory would have been deemed "invalid" if it was held by the rules London applies to Scotland independence referendums.
Foreign Countries React to Liz Truss' Election
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also congratulated Liz Truss on her victory, adding that he looks forward to their two countries' continuing cooperation "in these challenging times" and "as partners and friends".
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it sees no preconditions for improvement in relations with the UK under the new leadership since Truss has repeatedly promised to continue the destructive path set forth by Boris Johnson in relations with Russia.
"At the same time, it is important to understand that the outgoing prime minister also took over from his predecessors in terms of the policy of destroying the foundations of Russian-British cooperation. Moreover, every time after another provocation by the British, accompanied by unfounded accusations and unilateral sanctions, we called on the British side to reason and refrain from actions that harm ties between our countries and peoples," director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's second European department Sergey Belyaev said.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that she expects a constructive relationship between the EU and the UK under Liz Truss, specifically noting that it must include "full respect of our agreements" possibly referring to London's attempts to break or undermine the Northern Ireland Protocol.
