UK: Queen Appoints Liz Truss As New Prime Minister

Liz Truss on Tuesday became Britain’s new prime minister after meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, who asked her to form a new government. She will be the third female Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. The Conservative Party’s 172,000 members on Monday elected Truss to lead their party. Truss, the former foreign minister polled a total of 81,326 votes to defeat her closest rival the former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who polled 60,399 votes. “The Queen received in Audience The Right Honourable Elizabeth Truss MP today and requested her to form a new Administration,” a Buckingham Palace statement said. “Ms Truss accepted Her Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon her appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury,” the statement added. Truss, 47, has promised to tackle Britain’s cost of living crisis, saying that she will cut taxes to grow the economy, tackle rising energy bills and securing future fuel supplies. Meanwhile, her predecessor, Boris Johnson had formally stepped down during his own audience with the queen at her Balmoral estate in Scotland.