By DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press
LONDON (`) – Liz Truss became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday and immediately faced the daunting task ahead of her: curbing rising prices, boosting the economy, easing labor unrest and restoring a national health system beset by long waiting lists and staff shortages.
Truss quickly began appointing senior members of her cabinet while dealing with an inbox dominated by the energy crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which threatens to push energy bills to prohibitive levels, to shut down businesses and leave the poorest people in the country shivering at home this winter.
Truss – Britain’s third prime minister – named a top team that differed in gender and ethnicity but remained true to her and her free-market policies. Kwasi Kwarteng becomes Britain’s first black female finance chief and Therese Coffey her first female Deputy Prime Minister. Other appointments include James Cleverly as Secretary of State and Suella Braverman as Secretary of the Interior, responsible for immigration and law and order.
Truss made her debut speech outside her new home on Downing Street in a break between torrential downpours and said she will cut taxes to boost economic growth, bolster the National Health Service and “handle on” the energy crisis, although she has few provided details on how it would implement these policies. She is expected to unveil her energy plans on Thursday.
British news media reported that Truss plans to cap energy costs. The cost to taxpayers of the move could reach £100 billion ($116 billion).
“We should not be intimidated by the challenges we face,” Truss said in her first speech as Prime Minister. “As strong as the storm is, I know the British are stronger.”
Truss, 47, took office at Balmoral Castle in Scotland earlier in the day when Queen Elizabeth II formally asked her to form a new government in a carefully choreographed ceremony dictated by centuries of tradition. Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson officially resigned shortly before during his own audience with the Queen, two months after announcing his intention to step down.
It was the first time in the Queen’s 70-year reign that the transfer of power took place at Balmoral rather than Buckingham Palace in London. The ceremony was moved to Scotland to provide certainty about the timetable as the 96-year-old Queen was having issues getting around that forced palace officials to make daily decisions about her trip.
US President Joe Biden, who had worked closely with Johnson in fighting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was quick to congratulate Truss.
“I look forward to deepening the special ties between our countries and working closely together on global challenges, including continuing to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression,” he said on Twitter.
Truss became Prime Minister a day after the ruling Conservative Party elected her leader in an election in which the party’s 172,000 dues-paying members were the only voters. As party leader, Truss automatically became prime minister without the need for a general election, because the Conservatives still have a majority of MPs in the House of Commons.
But as a national leader, elected by less than 0.5% of UK adults, Truss is under pressure to show quick results.
Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, on Tuesday called for snap elections in October – something Truss and the Conservative Party are highly unlikely to do as the Tories plummet in the polls.
Johnson, 58, became Prime Minister three years ago after his predecessor Theresa May failed to get Britain out of the European Union. Johnson later won an 80-seat majority in Parliament on a promise to “get Brexit done”.
But he was forced out of office by a series of scandals, culminating in the resignation of dozens of cabinet secretaries and junior officials in early July.
Many people in the UK are still learning from their new leader, a former accountant who entered Parliament in 2010.
Unlike Johnson, who became a media celebrity long before he became prime minister, Truss rose quietly through the Conservative ranks before being appointed foreign secretary, one of the highest cabinet posts, just a year ago.
In theory, Truss has time to make a name for herself: she doesn’t have to call a national election until the end of 2024. But opinion polls are already giving the main opposition Labor Party a steady lead, and the worse the economy gets, the greater the pressure will be.
As well as Britain’s domestic woes, Truss and her new cabinet will also face several foreign policy crises, including the war in Ukraine and frosty post-Brexit relations with the EU.
As foreign minister, Truss was a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia.
Truss has also pledged to increase UK defense spending to 3% of gross domestic product from just over 2% – another expensive promise.
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