Liz Truss takes over as United Kingdom’s new PM

Liz Truss took over as the new prime minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday, The Guardian reported.

On Monday, Truss was named as the leader of the country’s ruling Conservative Party after she secured 81,326 of the 1,72,437 votes cast by her party members. Her competitor Rishi Sunak got 60,399 votes, while 654 of them were rejected.

Earlier in the day, Queen Elizabeth accepted Boris Johnson’s resignation as prime minister at Scotland’s Balmoral Castle, Reuters reported.

This was the first time during the queen’s reign that the handing over of power took place at her summer retreat at Aberdeenshire instead of Buckingham Palace, according to the Associated Press. This was because the queen, who is 96 years old, has been having problems in travelling.

Truss on Monday said that she was honoured to have been elected as the leader of the Conservative Party.

“Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country,” she said. “I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential.”

Johnson congratulated Truss on her “decisive win” and said that it was time for all Conservatives to fully support her. “I know she has the right plan to tackle the cost of living crisis, unite our party and continue the great work of uniting and levelling up our country,” he said.

On July 7, Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister following his involvement in the partygate scandal.

The controversy pertained to parties organised by Johnson and his staff members during lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease. Johnson resigned after over several ministers and aides from Johnson’s Cabinet quit in two days beginning with former minister Sunak and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid.