UK: Liz Truss elected new PM, pledges tax cuts

Following weeks of what became a divisive race between the final two candidates, foreign secretary Liz Truss was elected by the ruling Conservative Party to be the next British prime minister. Following the announcement of her victory, Truss pledged to unveil a plan for tax cuts and reiterated her pledge to take action on energy.

Truss was announced as the winner in the leadership race Monday by the Conservative Party against former finance minister Rishi Sunak. Truss won by 81,326 votes to Sunak’s 60,399 in what would be an expected result. The top British diplomat pledged to take action on the rising energy bills and tax cuts after the announcement.

“I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy,” said Truss. “I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply.”

Truss will be succeeding Boris Johnson, who announced his resignation in July, and her election victory also comes at a time when the country faces a crisis in the cost of living, industrial unrest, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Truss, however, appeared to rule out another national election before 2024 when she pledged to deliver a victory for the Conservative Party.

Despite winning the leadership race, Truss’s victory margin of votes indicates a divide within the party, the narrowest in any Conservative leadership election in the last 100 years. Truss also won the support of less than 50 percent of the party’s members, with nearly one in five people not voting.

Truss is set to follow Johnson to Scotland to meet with Queen Elizabeth. Johnson will officially tender his resignation during the meeting and Truss will be asked to form a government.

Following Truss’s election victory, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Culture minister Nadine Dorries announced that they would be stepping down from their positions. Patel and Dorries resigned shortly after the announcement of Truss’s victory, citing that Truss would appoint others in their current positions.

British attorney general Suella Braverman is likely to be appointed to replace Patel, according to a Conservative lawmaker. However, the Daily Mail Monday reported that Truss offered Dorries to stay in her position.