Liz Truss is the UK’s next Prime Minister, beating Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative party leadership race. After today’s 12:30pm announcement confirming the news, she will step into the role from tomorrow afternoon.
Truss, who is the current Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development affairs and MP for South West Norfolk is taking over from Boris Johnson, who will travel to Balmoral tomorrow (September 6) to meet the Queen and resign.
The Queen will then appoint Liz Truss as 56th Prime Minister of Britain, and it is expected the new Tory leader will deliver her first speech outside 10 Downing Street at around 4pm, before appointing new cabinet members in the following hours.
The news was delivered at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak only learning the result minutes before the announcement. Usually, the new Prime Minister is welcomed at Buckingham Palace, but this time will take place at Balmoral Castle due to concerns over the Queen travelling.
On Wednesday (September 6), Truss will face Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer at her first Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons. Inevitably, the new PM will face questions about the alarming rise to the cost of energy bills as winter looms, and Truss has promised to “act immediately” and reveal her plan for tackling the crisis within one week of taking over.
Boris Johnson served in office since July 24, 2019, when he won the Tory leadership before going on to win the December 2019 general election. Following a mass resignation of cabinet members in July this year over scandals including ‘Partygate’, he stepped down himself, but has held the post until the outcome of the Tory leadership election. Johnson is expected to deliver his farewell speech tomorrow at around 8:30am.