Liz Truss Set To Become UK PM

Insight Bureau: Liz Truss appears primed and ready to become the UK’s next prime minister after a long and arduous nationwide tour, a dozen hustings and three televised debates, as Conservative party members cast a ballot on Friday. The outcome of the summer-long campaign among both Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and former chancellor Rishi Sunak will be announced on Monday, before Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally tenders his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II the following day.

Voting by the estimated 200,000 Tory members began in early August, a month after Johnson announced his resignation, and closing at 5:00 p.m. (1600 GMT). In polling of members, Truss receives overwhelming support over Sunak.

Notably, the United Kingdom is experiencing its worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, with inflation in the double digits as energy prices skyrocket as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. According to surveys, millions of people say they will have to choose between eating and heating this winter because their bills are expected to rise by 80% from October to January.

Truss has promised tax cuts, however they will not benefit the poorest. For weeks, the Tory front-runner has ruled out direct handouts, and at the final hustings on Wednesday, he went even further, repeating former US President George Bush’s promise of no new taxes – which he soon broke. The main opposition party now has a double-digit lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls, as the economic landscape becomes the most bleak since Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979.