Liz Truss will succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister after defeating Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership election.
The MP for South West Norfolk beat the former Chancellor in the vote of Conservative Party members, after a spiky and protracted leadership contest. After winning with 81,326 votes to Mr Sunak's 60,399, she will be appointed as Prime Minister tomorrow (September 6.)
Ms Truss was first elected to parliament in 2010 and served in the governments of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson. After being appointed as a junior minister in 2012, she became Environment Secretary in 2014, Justice Secretary in 2016, Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2017, International Trade Secretary in 2019 and Foreign Secretary in September of last year.
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After Mr Johnson resigned, Ms Truss launched her candidacy for party leader on July 10, promising to cut taxes, deliver an emergency budget for the cost of living crisis, reverse the National Insurance rise, scrap an increase in corporation tax, remove the green energy bill levy, and to oppose any further windfall tax on energy firms if she succeeded Mr Johnson.
Mr Johnson announced his resignation on July 7 , after a deluge of ministerial resignations made his position untenable. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak was among the first ministers to resign during that period, following Health Secretary Sajid Javid. Their resignations came after Mr Johnson's handling of the row over former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher was called into question .
The outgoing Prime Minister apologised for appointing Mr Pincher to a government role despite being aware of a previous complaint made against him. Mr Pincher quit as deputy chief whip in July of this year, following claims that he groped two men at a private members’ club, but Mr Johnson was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019.
After Mr Johnson announced his resignation, Mr Sunak, Ms Truss, Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Penny Mordaunt, Tom Tugendhhat and Nadhim Zahawi were confirmed as the eight candidates to compete in the contest. After five ballots of Tory party members, this was whittled down to just Mr Sunak and Ms Truss.
The two have taken part in a number of debates over the summer and voting closed at 5pm on Friday, September 2. It was a long, tetchy contest that saw the two candidates present competing visions for the country's future.
Mr Sunak became the early favourite, receiving the most votes in each of the MP polls, gaining 137 to Ms Truss' 113 in the final round. However, as the process continued and Conservative members began to vote, his opponent became viewed as the more likely winner.
Ms Truss’ campaign began in a faltering manner, with many criticising her media performances. However, her reputation - and chances of victory - burgeoned as the contest went on. A former Remainer who is now a firm advocate of Brexit, Truss is seen as an adaptable figure within the parliamentary party and was able to woo party members with promises of a conservative fiscal approach, built around tax cuts.
After she and Mr Sunak saw off the most likely challengers of Ms Badenoch and Ms Mordaunt, the battle between the two became rather tempestuous, with hustings and debates characterised by fierce disagreements over economic policy and each other’s track record in government. Once voting closed on Friday (September 2), Mr Sunak appeared to admit defeat, with all signs pointing to a Truss victory. Such a result was confirmed today.
Having been crowned the new Conservative Party leader, Ms Truss will be appointed Prime Minister at Balmoral tomorrow (September 6).
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