Liz Truss to be the next UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak loses race
Liz Truss will to become the third woman PM of UK. (Photo: Reuters)
Almost two months after Boris Johnson resigned, Liz Truss was named leader of the ruling Conservative Party on Monday (September 5). On Tuesday (September 6), she will become Prime Minister when she visits the Queen Elizabeth II in Balmoral, Scotland for an invitation to form the government.
Truss won 81,326 votes compared to former UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak's share of 60,399 votes, reported BBC. She will to become the third woman PM of UK after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.
Truss thanked the party members and said she will take bold action to get UK through these tough times.
I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party.
— Liz for Leader (@trussliz) September 5, 2022
Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country.
I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential. pic.twitter.com/xCGGTJzjqb
The Indian-origin Sunak was the top runner in the initial stages. But, as the voting reached the national level, Truss emerged as the clear favourite.
How was the UK PM chosen: The two finalists Sunak and Truss were chosen by Conservative lawmakers after several rounds of voting. The final two candidates were then put to a vote of the full party membership across the country, which is about 180,000 people, by postal ballot. The voting ended on September 2.
Who is Liz Truss? The 46-year-old MP from South West Norfolk worked as an accountant for Shell and Cable & Wireless, and was Deputy Director of the right-of-centre Reform think tank before joining politics.
She ran unsuccessfully for Parliament twice before being elected to represent the eastern England seat of South West Norfolk in 2010. Truss was once opposed to Brexit but under Johnson's government, she started supporting the idea of leaving the European Union.
Why Sunak lost: Considered a better public speaker, Sunak came under fire for clinging to fiscal orthodoxy to tackle the economic crisis and also by his image as a wealthy technocrat, reported AFP.
Another reason why Truss got ahead in the final stages of the race was the fact that the loyal base of Boris Johnson supporters blames Sunak's resignation as the Chancellor being the trigger point for Johnson's exit.
General elections: It is not mandatory for the PM to hold general elections immediately. But, there will be pressure on Truss from the public to hold the general elections and let the people decide who they want as their next leader.
According to a survey by Ipsos published in the Evening Standard, 51 per cent of adults in the UK support the idea of a general election in 2022. If the PM doesn't call for an early election, the next polls will be held before January 24, 2025.