Britain: Liz Truss is the new prime minister

Liz Truss is the new Prime Minister of Britain, it was officially announced on Monday afternoon.

The current Foreign Secretary has beaten Rissy Shunak in the Tory party's internal battle, taking 57.4% of the votes in the internal party process that preceded it in the summer, becoming the third female Prime Minister in the UK, after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

More specifically, Liz Truss received 81,326 votes out of a total of approximately 142,000 votes cast.

In her first statements following the announcement of her victory, the 47-year-old said she was «going to govern as a Conservative», delivering on the Tory party's promises in the last general election in 2019.

«I campaigned as a Conservative and I will govern as a Conservative,» he said.

Since then, from 2019 onwards, a lot has of course changed internationally (pandemic, war in Ukraine) and within the British borders (inflation, energy crisis).

Liz Truss announced today that she is going to respond to the challenges with a bold growth tax cut plan.

In the same context, he pledged to tackle the «energy bill crisis», which is causing headaches for households and businesses, as well as energy supply problems.

And all this, with an eye on the next parliamentary elections in 2024.

However, she did not fail to praise the outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson whom she thanked. «I also want to thank our outgoing leader, my friend Boris Johnson. Boris, you delivered Brexit. You crushed Jeremy Corbyn. You got the vaccine and stood up to Vladimir Putin. You are admired from Kiev to Carlisle,» said the 47-year-old new prime minister.

Two months after Boris Johnson resigned as leader of the ruling Conservative Party - and amid a cost-of-living crisis ahead of the difficult winter ahead - Britain enters a new phase today under a new prime minister.

Who is Liz Truss?

A politician with a long career and... chameleonic tendencies, who started on the centre-left (as president of the Liberal Democrats youth group at Oxford University) before moving to the right, and from the pro-European Remain camp (before the 2016 referendum) before moving to the Eurosceptic Leave camp (after the referendum).

A politician who hates to lose

In the eyes of her critics, Trash is overly ambitious, opportunistic and sometimes defiant, while even her own people (her brother) speak of a woman who hates to lose. In the eyes of the majority of British voters on the other hand, however, Truss remains an «unknown».

Unknown to many

«She has been through six ministerial posts under three different prime ministers... Yet many Britons don't know her...», write the Washington Post correspondents, outlining a reality that is expected to change de facto starting from September 5 onwards, with Truss now in office as the «new Thatcher».

The 47-year-old comes to take over the reins of the United Kingdom at an extremely difficult time, with everyone against her.

Open fronts with everyone

Moscow is waiting in the corner, as a «long-standing enemy» of the British, with the Ukrainian issue at the forefront.

And the West, on the other hand, does not seem to be waiting for Trash to become prime minister with open arms. Far from it.

American sources are already sending warning messages, through leaks and publications (Financial Times, New York Times), calling on the 47-year-old to change her style and tactics. In this context, Truss is presented as having «precedents» (not only with Lavrov but also with Anthony Blinken.

Warnings

«Based on Truss's tenure at the Foreign Office, diplomats and analysts warn that relations with the United States and, even more so, with Europe could become even more difficult» in the near future, writes Mark Landler in the New York Times.

But the situation is also explosive within the British borders, and on many levels: partisan (for the Tories themselves), political (opposition), social/economic (inflation, energy crisis), and national (independence tendencies and scenarios of a new referendum in Scotland).

It is recalled that the ruling Conservative Party emerged deeply divided from the vote on the motion of censure tabled by the ruling majority MPs against Boris Johnson last June.

The new occupant of Downing Street will take office against an explosive economic and social backdrop: inflation is over 10% and is expected to rise (reaching as high as 18% in the coming months, according to gloomy forecasts), while soaring energy prices threaten families, schools, businesses and hospitals.

Liz Truss pledges to freeze energy bills

Liz Truss said on Sunday she would take immediate action to tackle rising energy bills and boost the country's energy reserves if, as expected, she wins the premiership.

In an article in the Sunday Telegraph, Truss reiterated her commitment to courageously manage Britain's economy, which is facing double-digit inflation and recession.

Noting that she understands «how big a challenge the cost of living is for everyone,» Truss said she will take «decisive action to ensure that families and businesses make it through this winter and next.».

«If I am elected, I intend within the first week of my new government to present immediate actions on energy bills and energy reserves,» he said. «Later in the month, my finance minister will present an economic plan, which will include a broader package of actions for the economy,» he added.

Indeed, as prime minister, Truss is said to be considering freezing energy bills for millions of households this winter, according to the same report.

Inflation and social unrest

Economic policy was at the heart of the campaign of the two Tory leadership candidates.

Truss attracted voters by promising massive tax cuts and adopting a very tough tone towards the unions.

Yesterday, Sunday, Truss assured the BBC that, if elected prime minister, she would act «as early as the first week» to help Britons cope with energy costs, but refused to specify exactly what measures she intends to take.

He also underlined that «within a month» he will present a plan for economic reform to tackle the crisis.

Although she has managed to appeal to the base of the Conservative Party, which has ruled Britain for 12 years, 52% of Britons think she will be an average or even a terrible prime minister, according to a YouGov poll.

As a result, it is not certain that its vague promises will be enough to assuage the indignation of Britons, with many sectors - from transport workers, doctors, lawyers and others - having gone or preparing to go on strike.