Liz Truss officially became the UK’s new prime minister today after meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
But Truss, who was elected leader of the governing Conservative party and will succeed Boris Johnson when formally invited to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II, is said by critics to carry her principles lightly.
Beyond her alleged opportunism, the summer’s acrimonious battle between Truss and former chancellor Rishi Sunak for the Tory leadership has also raised questions about her apparent lack of political depth and maturity.
- Liz Truss has officially become PM. Truss flew to Scotland to meet the Queen on Tuesday, the final, formal step in her ascension to prime minister. She beat rival Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership contest on Monday after a weeks-long campaign.
- Boris Johnson stepped down. Shortly before Truss’s meeting with the Queen, Boris Johnson had to make an altogether more humbling appointment. He tendered his resignation to the monarch to clear the path for Truss to take over; weeks ago, he was forced to quit after his lawmakers lost confidence in his scandal-ridden premiership.
- ‘They changed the rules.‘ Johnson said goodbye in a defiant, at times bitter speech outside Downing Street, during which he nodded to the lawmakers who moved to oust him by suggesting that they “changed the rules” to do so. He declined to apologize for the scandals over honesty and integrity that sunk his tenure.
- Truss will arrive in Downing Street. The new Prime Minister has landed in London after her whirlwind trip to Scotland. She’ll go straight to Downing Street and is expected to make a statement outside its famous black door (or, if the weather has its say, inside the building.)
- A new Cabinet will be named. Speculation is rife about who will take senior roles in Truss’s first Cabinet. She’ll be expected to promote many allies who backed her leadership campaign. Kwasi Kwarteng and Suella Braverman are tipped for promotions; two Johnson loyalists, Nadine Dorries and Priti Patel, have quit.
Then, on Wednesday:
- Truss’s first PMQs. The new Prime Minister faces a daunting task on her second day in the job: her inaugural Prime Minister’s Questions, when Labour leader Keir Starmer will likely grill her on her plans to tackle the cost of living crisis.