Liz Truss Wins the Conservative Election
Words Destiny Fakoya
The ballots are in and it’s been decided that Liz Truss will replace Boris Johnson as the new Prime Minister. Liz Truss former foreign secretary defeated Rishi Sunak by 81,326 votes to 60,399 as Britain faces an economic storm and social unrest. The former No.10 chief of staff cautions, Ms Truss “will face one of the most difficult inheritances of any prime minister” in the last 50 years.
Truss won the position of the next Prime Minister with 57.4% of the vote- a lower margin than her predecessors, and Rishi Sunak gained 42.6%; illuminates the former chief of staff words further. Despite, winning the battle she still secured less than 60% of the vote. It is quite telling of the battle she faces ahead of the 2024 election to sway the opinion of more Tory members as well as the general public in her favour to win the “great victory for the Conservative party in 2024”.
Truss victory when scrutinised further indicates that she lies in a rather precarious situation regarding her cabinet. With 57.4% of votes, Ms Truss has sufficient lee-way to choose her cabinet members freely from her top team. However, the lower margin surrounding her victory connotes that she ought to ponder on making more strategic appointments that will foster a larger goal of uniting the party by offering positions to MPs across the Tory party. Despite winning Tory leadership her victory was smaller than most Tory MPs predicted as confessing behind the scenes; who expected her margin to be larger than 18 percentage points.
Her policy guidebook in the last seven weeks of her campaign is another indication of Truss desire to appease the general public and propel herself from greater obscurity, a challenge her rival Rishi Sunak never really had to face. Nevertheless, therein lies another predicament, by embracing tax cuts many of Tory members are worried it could jeopardise the upcoming election and urge her to reevaluate her economic stance. By offering modern- day Thatcher economics such as considering freezing the energy bills this coming winter as a bid to help with the cost of living crisis. As well as, the reversal of a 1.25 per cent in National Insurance, the scrapping of Corporation tax rise from 19 to 25 per cent due in April. Her policies appear to be on par with the Furlough scheme introduced by former rival Rishi Sunak. Truss claims her term as Prime Minister will consist of free-market policies and smaller government intervention but by involving herself with the policies above. It is contradictory to the position she has taken under the various conservative governments from Johnson to Cameron opting for a more Conservative approach. Oppositions claim the challenging road Truss faces reflects 12 years of poor Conservative government.
Truss has won the Tory conservative leadership vote despite vague details regarding the financial support programme. But critics question the cost freezing energy bills will have on Britons should it be extended – likely cost billions of pounds; as Truss remains vague on the process by which financial support will be carried out. Consequently, Ms Truss will need to make do on some of her promises for her tenure as Prime Minister to go more smoothly than her Predecessor Boris Johnson. She may have successfully progressed under three Tory Prime Ministers; Johnson, May and Cameron; she has never been tested as she will in the next coming months as she manoeuvres the economic turmoil in Britain. As economists predict inflation will rise to 20 per cent early next year, and are unconvinced that her measures will curb inflation with most casting votes that it will actually increase inflation.