Rabat – The UK’s Conservative Party decided today on the successor for Boris Johnson as party leader and Prime Minister, with the majority voting for Foreign Secretary Liz Truss like the polls predicted.
After five rounds of voting by conservative MPs narrowed down the original pool of eight candidates down to two, Truss made the ballot along with former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
She secured more than 81,000 votes, out of the 172,000 that showed up to the ballots. Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Private Members’ Committee, said the ballot was secure and fair, noting a turnout rate of 82.6%.
Truss said it is an honor to have been elected a party leader, thanking rival Rishi Sunak and outgoing PM Boris Johnson. She also said the party’s values of “freedom and personal responsibility” resonate with the public.
Truss will have to tackle the UK’s ongoing cost of living crisis and energy shortages. In a recent interview with the BBC, she promised to announce a plan to deal with the country’s soaring energy costs within a week, although she gave no details on her plan.
The UK’s new conservative PM had previously voiced her rejection of “handouts” as a form of helping people cope with the rising cost of living. She instead appeared to vow that her tax cut program would see more money being given to the richest people for the sake of stimulating growth in the economy.
Former PM Boris Johnson stepped down as party leader and Prime Minister after support for him fell among conservatives, leading to mass resignations among the party’s MPs.
Although opposing Labour leader Keir Starmer had called for a “fresh start,” without a Tory in charge, the new prime minister was decided through an election in the Conservative party.
