LONDON (Fwrd Axis) — Liz Truss will become Britain’s new Prime Minister after winning the race for the leadership of the Conservative Party on Monday, replacing Boris Johnson.
The 47-year-old was the clear front-runner in the race as a tax-cutting, anti-“woke” candidate as she vowed to take a hard line on post-Brexit dealings with the European Union. Truss defeated Rishi Sunak, 57% to 43% in the final runoff.
Truss inherits a country facing a winter energy crisis, widespread strikes, and economic recession. She will be appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday in Scotland, a break from a tradition usually performed in London.
Liz Truss will become the third female to lead Britain after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Johnson announced back in July he would step down as Britain’s leader after several headline-making scandals, from “Partygate” when he and his staff disregarded Covid lockdown protocol to hold private parties with no masks or social distancing guidelines to allegations of abuse by Conservative lawmakers.
“This is a tough time for families up and down the country,” Johnson said in a farewell address on Tuesday. “We can and we will get through it and we will come out stronger on the other side.”
“It’s time for us all to get behind Liz Truss and her team and her programme and deliver for the people of this country,” he said.
Truss said she intends to “deliver” on the issues plaguing the U.K. and more, with details of her economic plan to come in the next week.
Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats called for an early election in October.
“I’ve listened to Liz Truss during the Tory leadership (campaign) and I was looking for a plan to help people with their skyrocketing energy bills, with the NHS crisis, and so on, and I heard no plan at all,” he told the BBC.
