On Monday, the Conservative Party is set to announce that Liz Truss will succeed Theresa May as party leader and prime minister of Britain. She will assume office as the country struggles with a cost of living crisis, industrial discontent, and a recession.
Truss and Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister, contested the party leadership for weeks, and Monday’s announcement at 1130 GMT will signal the beginning of a handover from Boris Johnson. Following months of controversy, he finally announced his resignation in July.
The new leader will be asked to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday when the victor will visit Scotland. Truss has been the frontrunner to replace Johnson for some time, and if he is appointed, he will be the fourth prime minister to come from the Conservative Party since the last election in 2015
. During that time, the country has been hit by a series of crises, and it is now in the midst of what economists predict will be a protracted recession due to the skyrocketing inflation that reached 10.1% in July.
Truss, 47, who served as foreign minister under Boris Johnson, has promised to act swiftly to address Britain’s cost of living crisis. She has pledged to develop a strategy to address growing energy costs and ensure future fuel supply within a week.
She said in a Sunday TV interview that millions of people worry they won’t be able to pay their fuel bills this winter, but she wouldn’t indicate what steps she plans to take to allay those fears. During her bid for leadership, she gave hints that she would go against conventional wisdom by, for example, vetoing tax rises and reducing other levies that some economists have warned would lead to inflation.
Some investors have dumped the pound and government bonds as a result of this and a promise to review the Bank of England’s remit while retaining its independence.
Last month, the Institute for Fiscal Studies expressed skepticism that Britain’s next prime leader will have the room to undertake big, lasting tax cuts.
Mahnur is MS(development Studies)Student at NUST University, completed BS Hons in Eng Literature. Content Writer, Policy analyst, Climate Change specialist, Teacher, HR Recruiter.
