Liz Truss has been elected leader of the Conservative Party and will become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She will succeed Boris Johnson, who resigned in July of this year.
Mary Elizabeth Truss is 47 years old. She has already held a number of ministerial posts. She has headed departments responsible for the environment and justice. Her responsibilities have also included equality, economics and foreign trade.
She began her political career years ago in the centrist Liberal Democrat party and only later took an ideological turn to the right, associating herself with the Conservatives now in power. In the run-up to Brexit, she advocated for the UK to remain in the European Union.
Truss was head of diplomacy in Boris Johnson’s government from 2019.
Significant challenges lie ahead for the new Prime Minister. Energy prices are soaring, the country is facing a deep crisis, and support for the Conservative Party is melting away.
Since the beginning of December last year, the Conservatives have been losing in all polls to the opposition Labour Party, and their loss is now around ten percentage points. On top of this, the economic situation; the rising cost of living, the highest inflation in 40 years, and forecasts that the UK will fall into a five-quarter recession by the end of the year are adding pressure on the new Conservative government.
The Green Party has warned that Premier Liz Truss risks further worsening the climate crisis and deepening inequality across the country. The Greens are calling on the new Prime Minister to address the immediate impact of the cost of living situation and solve the climate crisis.
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: “The election of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, by such a small and unrepresentative group of people, is a disaster for Britain and the climate.”
As stated by The Guardian: “Truss’s own pronouncements – more oil drilling, more gas fracking – and many of her cabinet appointments suggest action on net zero could be undermined rather than boosted by her government.”
According to Investment Week, Truss’s promises to boost the green economy have been counterbalanced by her frequent criticism of large-scale rural solar farms, her support for fracking, and promises to scrap regulation and ditch green levies on energy bills.
Moreover, as reported by Daily Record, Liz Truss has been accused by the Scottish Greens of giving a “nod and wink” to climate change deniers after she suggested scrapping the green levy on fuel bills. Last month, Truss indicated that one of her first actions as prime minister would be to temporarily scrap the green levy, which helps fund a range of environmental policies.
The Green party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said the UK was already “living beyond its means” environmentally. He warned: “Just last week, the UK witnessed the hottest temperatures on record, and the consequences of climate disruption became clear for all to see. As wildfires raged, and people lost everything as their homes were burnt to the ground, the two candidates to become our next prime minister were talking more about economic growth than tackling the climate crisis.”
Tanya Steele, CEO of World Wildlife Fund, commented: “Urgent action now will improve energy security, help tackle the cost of living crisis, and create green jobs and investment across the country. We need firm commitment from Liz Truss that she will help bring our world back to life so that people, nature and the economy can thrive.”
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