Liz Truss wins Conservative Party leadership election
Liz Truss has won the Conservative Party leadership election and will become the UK’s fourth Prime Minister in six years.
She is expected to see the Queen at Balmoral tomorrow when she will officially take office and begin dealing with a catalogue of challenges including the energy crisis, inflation and the cost of living, Ukraine, and the ongoing impact of Brexit.
It ends a two-month period of campaigning since Boris Johnson’s resignation which has seen the Government largely step aside from taking decisions.
Truss came second to former Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the fifth and final ballot of Conservative MPs, 113-137, but was a clear favourite of the membership securing 57% support from nearly 142,000 votes.
She has positioned herself as a low tax, pro-growth politician, and has been at best lukewarm on levelling-up or redistributive policies. But she has not yet been clear how she will seek to tackle the urgent economic challenges that threaten to swamp the finances of businesses and families alike in the coming months.
In her acceptance speech, Truss said: “”During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a Conservative and I’m going to govern as a Conservative. We need to show that we will deliver over the next two years.
“I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply.”
She will appoint her Cabinet shortly. Kwasi Kwarteng to expected to be named as the fifth Chancellor in 38 months – a rate of change at Number 11 not seen for 100 years – with Jacob Rees-Mogg reported to be lined up as Business Secretary and Simon Clarke as Levelling-Up Minister.
Her rival for the leadership, Sunak, is not expected to take a Cabinet position while Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Oliver Dowden, Robert Jenrick are also expected to be left out.
Truss has been MP for South West Norfolk since 2010, having been unsuccessful standing in the West Yorkshire seats of Hemsworth in 2001 and Calder Valley in 2005.
She has held six roles in her eight years in Cabinet – at Environment, Justice, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, International Trade, Women and Equalities, and Foreign Secretary.
Truss, 47, is the first Prime Minister to be born in the 1970s, although she is three years older than Tony Blair and David Cameron were when they took office.
But unlike Blair and Cameron, the last two Prime Ministers to enter office following a general election victory, Truss must plot a way forward by leading a party that has already been in power for 12 years.
East Midlands business leaders have been reacting to the news.
Ben Dorks, CEO of Nottinghamshire-headquartered global software business Ideagen, said: “The immediate focus for the new Prime Minister has to be the cost-of-living crisis, which is impacting every inch of society. Longer term I’d like to see policies that enable British businesses to remain competitive globally, leading to jobs and growth, plus a commitment to initiatives that promote greater social mobility and aspiration for young people, especially those from lower income communities.”
East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said: “We would like to congratulate Liz Truss on winning the Conservative Party leadership vote to be appointed Prime Minister and wish her all the best in the role as she seeks to take our country forward.
“She will be well aware there is a mountain of pressing issues awaiting her on arrival at 10 Downing Street but we would urge Ms Truss to prioritise the escalating energy prices that are the most significant factor in the twin crises in the cost of doing business and cost of living.
“While we understand there is no easy remedy, the worsening economic projections being published daily mean we can’t afford to wait any longer without practical support measures being put in place. Without them, we risk businesses being forced to scale back or shut down altogether – resulting in people losing their jobs and livelihoods.
David Findlay, lead director for Nottingham at JLL said: “Businesses in the East Midlands will be hoping Liz Truss’s confirmation as Prime Minister signals a return to the priorities set out by this Government in 2019. Ensuring the £1.14bn devolution deal signed last week is delivered upon will be top of the wish list for many as a means of levelling up the region, but it’s not the only ask they’ll have.
“Companies in the East Midlands also need the confidence to invest to grow in the coming years. Only by seeing a significant spending uptick in infrastructure, transport links, education and Net Zero schemes in the region will firms feel able to recruit and commit to the East Midlands as a base for business in the long run. A new government means a fresh start, but action is needed sooner rather than later.”
Jennifer Thomas of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said: a“Congratulations to Liz Truss, whose campaign included small businesses, the self employed and unleashing enterprise.
“The challenge now is to deliver action that is big and bold enough to match the scale of the crisis threatening the existence of many small firms, and the jobs, livelihoods and communities which depend upon them.
“Small firms, not protected by an energy price cap, are seeing bills soaring out of control. This is at a time of sky-high taxes, rampant inflation and supply chain disruption, creating a toxic mix which must be addressed urgently.
“Small businesses are crying out for a comprehensive response which cuts taxes, limits spiralling bills, and provides direct cash support for the smallest businesses.
“During the leadership campaign we were pleased that Liz Truss listened to our calls to reverse the recent hike in National Insurance and to look at lifting more small firms out of business rates.
“As she prepares her full package of emergency plans, we are ready and willing to work with the new Prime Minister and her team to protect the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses and the 16 million jobs within them, in communities in all parts of the UK.”
