Liz Truss has been elected leader of England’s ruling Conservative Party and succeeds Boris
Johnson as the country’s prime minister.
Truss, age 47, had previously served as England’s foreign secretary and was the front-runner in
the race to replace Johnson. She also previously served as minister for the environment, justice,
and international trade.
Truss won the Conservative leadership race by appealing to right-wing hardliners as a tax-
cutting candidate who would take a hard line in future dealings with the European Union (EU).
She beat former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak by a vote of 57% to 43% in the leadership
contest. She assumes the top job heading into a potential winter energy crisis, widespread
union strikes, and an economic recession in England.
As leader of Britain’s largest political party, Truss will be appointed prime minister by Queen
Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in Scotland later today (September 6). Truss becomes England’s
third female prime minister, following Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Boris Johnson announced his resignation this past July after multiple scandals led a majority of
his own party to abandon him.
Most of Britain’s 67 million people had no say in Truss’ election. Instead, she was chosen by the
Conservative Party’s 180,000 members. Truss has not proven to be overly popular in public
opinion polls.
The next general election in England might not take place until 2025. Current polls give the
opposition Labour Party a large lead over the Conservatives following the scandals that plagued
Boris Johnson.
Truss has said that her priorities will be England’s cost-of-living crisis that includes rising bills for
food and energy (electricity and gas bills are set to triple in the coming months), fears of rolling
blackouts this winter, and inflation that has sent wages falling.
In her acceptance speech over the weekend, Truss vowed to cut taxes and said: “I will deliver
on the energy crisis.”
