Mary Elizabeth Truss, or Liz Truss as she is popularly called, is all set to become the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She has trumped Rishi Sunak in the race that saw Britain’s Conservative Party member elect a new leader from among themselves. Truss (47) has become the third female prime minister of the UK after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Initially trailing Sunak, Truss surged ahead as rounds of voting took place. She then consistently led 42-year-old Sunak in polling among estimated 200,000 Tory members eligible to vote. The leadership contest began in July when departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned following a string of scandals.
Truss got 81,326 votes while Sunak got 60,399 votes.
After her victory, Truss took to Twitter to celebrate.
“I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country. I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential,” she tweeted.
I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party.
Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country.
I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential. pic.twitter.com/xCGGTJzjqb
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) September 5, 2022
Previously, Truss told the Daily Mail that as prime minister she would “do everything in my power to make sure everyone, no matter where they are from, has the opportunity to go as far as their talent and hard work takes them”.
In spite of her brave face, Truss faces a tough task of winning over the general public of the country.
A YouGov poll in late August found 52 per cent people thought Truss would make a “poor” or “terrible” prime minister.
Forty-three per cent said they did not trust her “at all” to deal with the burning issue of the rise in the cost of living.
Truss is entering the office just when energy prices in UK have gone up. There is a palpable anger among the public. She takes office when Europe is affected by the war in Ukraine. Russia has been leveraging its position as Europe’s major gas provider to exert political pressure. Energy shortage in Europe may cause greater problems as winter months approach.
(With inputs from agencies)
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