The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party has elected Liz Truss, earlier the country’s Foreign Secretary, as its next Prime Minister, making her the third woman to hold the top role in the country’s political executive. She ascends to the post at a difficult time for the U.K., economically and politically — the government is challenged by soaring energy costs and recessionary headwinds; and the war in Ukraine has left the country scrambling to find alternatives to Russian fuel while standing up to Moscow’s belligerence. Making matters harder, her path to the top has not inspired confidence in terms of her standing within the party. While she secured her victory with the backing of 81,326 of her party’s members, her rival and former Chancellor, Rishi Sunak garnered 60,399 votes in the final contest, a much narrower margin than expected and the narrowest margin of any election for party leadership held in the past two decades. It is also concerning that Ms. Truss won the support of less than 50% of Conservative Party members, as nearly 20% of them did not vote. In terms of policy implications this poses a challenge: in the coming months Ms. Truss will have to win over a Conservative Party cohort that prefers fundamentally different approaches to hers in tackling the most serious crises that the U.K. faces. For example, with her plan to introduce £30 billion in tax cuts including reversing the rise in National Insurance, temporarily dropping green levies on energy bills, and scrapping a planned rise in corporation tax, there are likely to be party members who will oppose her proposals.
Nevertheless, if there is one strength that Ms. Truss has demonstrated in the past, it is her adaptable politics, especially at times when this trait could improve her prospects in the big picture. Indeed, she has moved far from her political origins as a Liberal Democrat and also from her former position on Brexit as a Remainer. It was considered a politically astute move by her to steer clear of the Conservative coup that ended her predecessor Boris Johnson’s tenure in office, yet she managed simultaneously to avoid being seen as a staunch insider of Mr. Johnson’s political circle. She will need a strong measure of these skills to accomplish the mammoth tasks of lifting up the enervated reputation of the Conservative Party among the British public, carrying it past the sleaze scandals that plagued the Johnson government and, importantly, bringing down the soaring cost of living by tackling the energy crises and reinvigorating the sluggish U.K. economy with the right macroeconomic policy mix. Towards achieving this, Ms. Truss may do well to tap into her recent experience crafting post-Brexit deals with the European Union — and even extending that model to trading partners across the world. One thing is clear: she will have to hit the ground running and deliver positive results soon, else face harsh judgement by her constituents.
