Queen Elizabeth II is expected to formally name Liz Truss as UK’s 56th Prime Minister, on Tuesday after defeating Sunak.
Liz Truss, 47, is to become UK’s 56th Prime Minister after the announcement was made by Sir Graham Brady on Monday in London at the end of a leadership election in which only the 180,000 dues-paying members of the Conservative Party were allowed to vote.
Truss beat rival Rishi Sunak, the government’s former Treasury Chief.
Truss had promised to increase defense spending and cut taxes, while refusing to say how she would address the cost-of-living crisis.
The election saw Truss scoring 81,326 votes to Sunak’s 60,399, according to The Associated Press.
It was gathered that there has been vacancy in the last two-months because of the election which created much demands by consumers, workers and businesses asking the government to take action to mitigate the impact of soaring food and energy prices.
Recall that Prime Minister Boris Johnson stepped down in July, and since then lost authority to make major policy decisions.
“Johnson was forced to resign after a series of ethics scandals that peaked in July when dozens of cabinet ministers and lower-level officials resigned over his handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior member of his government.
Under Britain’s parliamentary system of government, the center-right Conservative Party was allowed to hold an internal election to select a new party leader and prime minister, without going to the wider electorate. A new general election isn’t required until December 2024.”
According to the Times of London, Truss won with 57% of the vote – a slightly narrower margin than what early polls had suggested. Turnout was 82.6%.
In remarks following her victory, she paid tribute to “my friend” Johnson, saying: “You were admired from Kyiv to Carlisle.”
She said it was an honour to be elected leader of the party and that expressed gratitude to those who worked on her campaign and that of Mr Sunak.
“We will deliver a great victory for the conservatives in 2024,” Truss added, according to the Times.
