LONDON: Britain’s new Conservative leader Liz Truss on Monday vowed “bold” action to confront a biting economic crisis as she was confirmed as successor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a gruelling party contest.

The foreign secretary also resisted pressure for a politically perilous early election to confirm her new mandate, vowing to “deliver a great victory for the Conservative party in 2024”.

Truss beat her rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, by about 57 to 43 percent after a summer-long contest decided by just over 170,000 Conservative members — a tiny sliver of Britain’s electorate.

Truss ignored the applauding Sunak as she marched up to the stage of the central London convention hall, calling it an “honour” to be elected after undergoing “one of the longest job interviews in history”.

“I campaigned as a conservative, and I will govern as a conservative,” she said, touting Tory values of low taxes and personal responsibility. Truss vowed a “bold plan” to address tax cuts and the energy crisis. Details are expected in the coming days.

Truss, 47, will be only the UK’s third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher.

She will formally take office on Tuesday, after Johnson tenders his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.

“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,” Johnson tweeted.

“Now is the time for all Conservatives to get behind her 100 per cent.” The leadership contest began in July after Johnson announced his departure following a slew of scandals and resignations from his government, including Sunak’s.

Truss reserved a portion of her short speech to praising Johnson’s record, including on Brexit and the Covid pandemic, and said he was “admired from Kyiv to Carlisle”.

That won warm applause from the Tory faithful present. However, the right-wing ideologue faces a tough task in winning over public opinion. A YouGov poll in late August found 52 percent thought Truss would make a “poor” or “terrible” prime minister.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2022