London: Liz Truss has been elected as Britain’s next prime minister after winning a leadership race for the governing Conservative party at a time when the country faces a cost of living crisis, industrial,l unrest, and a recession.
Truss was elected as the next leader of the Conservative Party after weeks of a contentious and frequently tense leadership race that pitted the foreign minister against the former finance minister Rishi Sunak.
Truss’ election followed scandal-ridden Boris Johnson, who, on July 8, announced he would quit as British prime minister after he was abandoned by ministers and most of his Conservative lawmakers.
Bowing to the inevitable as more than 50 ministers quit and lawmakers said he must go, an isolated and powerless Johnson spoke outside his Downing Street to confirm he would resign.
“The process of choosing that new leader should begin now. And today I have appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will until a new leader is in place,” Johnson said.
Now, Johnson will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday to officially tender his resignation. Truss will follow him and be asked to form a government by the monarch.
Foreign minister under Boris Johnson, Truss, 47, has promised to act quickly to tackle Britain’s cost of living crisis, saying that within a week, she will come up with a plan to tackle rising energy bills and secure future fuel supplies.
Truss has signalled during her leadership campaign she would challenge convention by scrapping tax increases and cutting other levies in a move some economists say would fuel inflation.
