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Liz Truss promised a ‘bold plan’ to cut taxes, deal with the energy crisis and deliver a Tory victory in 2024 as she prepares to take office as the UK's next prime minister.
She defeated rival Rishi Sunak by 81,326 votes to 60,399 to win the Tory leadership, and will replace Boris Johnson in Number 10 on Tuesday.
Truss said Tory beliefs in freedom, low taxes and personal responsibility ‘resonate with the British people’.
‘During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a conservative and I will govern as a conservative,’ she said.
‘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 promised Tory members ‘we will deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024’.
Johnson will depart No 10 on Tuesday and Ms Truss will fly to Balmoral in Scotland to meet the Queen for the formal handover of power.
She praised ‘my friend’ Johnson as she accepted her victory in the Tory leadership contest.
‘Boris, you got Brexit done, you crushed Jeremy Corbyn, you rolled out the vaccine, and you stood up to Vladimir Putin. You were admired from Kyiv to Carlisle.’
Truss did not enjoy the support of the majority of MPs during the parliamentary stage of the contest, with former chancellor Sunak coming out on top among fellow Tories.
And the 57% to 43% margin of victory, while comfortable, is still narrower than the last three Tory leadership contests that went to a vote.
As well as dealing with a daunting set of economic challenges, along with domestic and international political problems, Truss will have to reunite a Tory party which has spent weeks indulging in blue-on-blue infighting.
She said it had been a ‘hard-fought campaign’ that showed ‘the depth and breadth of talent’ in the party.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said: ‘We've heard far more from the latest prime minister about cuts to corporation tax over the summer than we have about the cost-of-living crisis, the single most important thing that's bearing down on so many millions of households.
‘That shows not only that she's out of touch, but she's not on the side of working people.’
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called for a general election, saying: ‘Under Liz Truss, we're set to see more of the same crisis and chaos as under Boris Johnson.’
source: PA
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