Liz Truss Has Won The Tory Leadership Election And Will Be The Next Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
New Prime Minister Liz Truss Expected To Freeze Energy Bills
LIZ TRUSS has won the Tory leadership election and will be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Foreign Secretary Rishi Sunak was defeated by 81,326 votes to 60,399.
It ends the gruelling and often bitter two-month struggle to replace Boris Johnson. While the campaign has ended, the party is still divided.
Ms Truss is the fourth Conservative prime minister in six years.
She praised her predecessor and ruled out an early general election in her victory speech.
After thanking her family, her friends, her supporters, and Mr Sunak she added: “I also want to thank our outgoing leader, my friend, Boris Johnson,” she told Tory MPs and activists in Westminster’s QEII centre.
She continued: “Boris, you got Brexit done, you crushed Jeremy Corbyn, you rolled out the vaccine and you stood up to Vladimir Putin. You were admired from Kyiv to Carlisle.”
There was a slightly awkward pause before the crowd respectfully applauded.
Ms Truss said: “I know that our beliefs resonate with the British people, our beliefs in freedom, in the ability to control your own life, in low taxes, in personal responsibility.
“And I know that’s why people voted for us in such numbers in 2019 and as your party leader, I intend to deliver what we promised those voters right across our great country.
“During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a Conservative and I will govern as a Conservative.
“My friends, we need to show that we will deliver over the next two years.
“I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy.
“I will deliver on the energy crisis dealing with people’s energy bills but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply.
“And I will deliver on the national health service.
“But we all will deliver for our country. And I will make sure that we use all the fantastic talents of the Conservative Party, our brilliant Members of Parliament and peers, our fantastic councillors, our MS, our MSPs, and all of our councillors, activists and members right across our country.
“Because my friends, I know that we will deliver, we will deliver, we will deliver, and we will deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024.”
Mr Johnson will stay Prime Minister until tomorrow morning, when he will fly to Balmoral to tender his resignation to the Queen, following a farewell speech from Downing Street at roughly 8.30 a.m.
Ms Truss will also fly to Aberdeenshire to meet the 96-year-old queen, who is becoming increasingly fragile.
When the 47-year-old arrives in Downing Street later in the afternoon, around 4 p.m., she will need to act quickly to deal with skyrocketing energy bills, raging inflation, and a cost-of-living crisis that threatens to impoverish millions.
She will also inherit Ukraine’s war. Though we should expect some consistency with her predecessor here.
Ms Truss has stated that President Zelensky will be her first call as Prime Minister.
There will very certainly be no explicit policy pronouncements until tomorrow’s address from No. 10’s steps.
Her new cabinet will be announced tomorrow as well. The next chancellor is expected to be Kwasi Kwarteng, the next foreign secretary will be James Cleverly, and Suella Braverman will succeed Priti Patel as home secretary.
Alister Jack is likely to remain as Secretary of State for Scotland.
Liz Truss, the next Prime Minister, pledged in her victory speech to “deliver on the energy crisis” by addressing both prices and supplies.
A freeze on energy bills is one of several alternatives being considered in Whitehall to assist struggling people in dealing with the rising cost of gas and electricity.
According to industry insiders, the government will support bill freezing.
“I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply,” she said.
In response, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “There can be no justification for not freezing energy prices.
“There’s a political consensus that needs to happen. She needs to ask the question of how she’s going to pay for that. Labour made it clear; it needs to be a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.”
Ms Truss’s team is said to have been working on an energy bill assistance plan “for weeks”. A statement on what they want to do is scheduled for this Thursday.
“Lots of measures have been considered, some have progressed, and some have not” a source said. Her team have not denied they might introduce a freeze on energy bills.
Several meetings have taken place between the government and the energy industry.
On a recent trip to the United States, Nadhim Zahawi, the incumbent chancellor who is slated to carry on in another post, is said to have discussed the plan with industry leaders.
Ms Truss’ appointment was hailed by business groups, but they encouraged her to take “big bold action” to assist businesses that, unlike consumers, are not covered by an energy price ceiling.
Energy bills, according to Federation of Small Businesses head Martin McTague, “must be addressed urgently.”
“The exceptional circumstances we now face mean that Government must play a central role in supporting our economy,” said CBI Director-General Tony Danker.
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