The winner of the leadership contest will be announced Truss was widely expected to be the winner The delivery process begins
LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Liz Truss is expected to be named leader of the ruling Conservative Party and Britain’s next prime minister on Monday, poised to take power at a time when the country faces a cost-of-living crisis, industrial unrest and recession. After weeks of an often ill-tempered and divisive party leadership contest that pitted Truss against Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister, Monday’s announcement at 11:30 GMT will trigger the handover from Boris Johnson. He was forced to announce his resignation in July after months of scandal. On Tuesday, the winner will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth, who will ask the new leader to form a government. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up A long-time front-runner in the race to replace Johnson, Truss, if appointed, would become the fourth Conservative prime minister since the 2015 election. During that time, the country has been rocked from crisis to crisis and now faces a long recession caused by soaring inflation that hit 10.1% in July. Truss, 47, foreign secretary under Boris Johnson, vowed to act quickly to tackle Britain’s cost of living crisis, saying within a week she would draw up a plan to tackle rising energy bills and secure future supplies fuel. Speaking in a television interview on Sunday, he declined to elaborate on the measures he says will reassure millions of people who fear they will not be able to pay their fuel bills as winter approaches. read more She has signaled during her leadership campaign that she would challenge the convention by repealing tax increases and cutting other contributions that some economists say would fuel inflation. That, along with a pledge to review the Bank of England’s mandate while protecting its independence, prompted some investors to dump the pound and government bonds. The Institute for Fiscal Studies last month questioned whether Britain’s next prime minister has room to make big, permanent tax cuts. read more
“SECOND DIFFICULT POST-WAR SHORT”
Truss faces a long, expensive and difficult backlog that opposition lawmakers say is the result of 12 years of poor Conservative government. Several have called for an early election – which Truss has said she will not allow. Veteran Tory lawmaker David Davis described the challenges he will face as prime minister as “probably the second most difficult short tenure of any post-war prime minister” after Conservative Margaret Thatcher in 1979. “I really don’t think any of the candidates, not even one who has been through it, really knows how big this is going to be,” he said, adding that the cost could run into tens of billions of pounds. Truss has said she will appoint a strong cabinet, abandoning what a source close to her called “presidential-style” governance. First he will turn to the pressing issue of rising energy prices. Average annual household utility bills are expected to rise 80% in October to £3,549 ($4,084), before an expected rise to £6,000 in 2023, decimating personal finances. Britain is lagging behind other major European countries in its bid to support energy bills, which opposition lawmakers blame on a “zombie” government unable to act while the Conservatives were in charge. read more In May, the government set out a £15bn support package to help households with energy bills as part of its £37bn cost of living support programme. Italy has budgeted more than 52 billion euros ($51.75 billion) so far this year to help its people. In France, increases in electricity bills are capped at 4% and Germany said on Sunday it would spend at least 65 billion euros to protect consumers and businesses from rising inflation. ($1 = 0.8690 pounds) ($1 = 1.0049 euros) Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Elizabeth Piper Editing by Frances Kerry Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
