By Seyi Odewale
Liz Truss’ emergence yesterday as the 56th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) and her inauguration today appeared to have followed the same trajectory as her predecessor in office, Boris Johnson.
Both, before they emerged as prime ministers, were Foreign Ministers. Johnson served as UK’s foreign minister between July 13, 2016, and July 9, 2018. He was to later emerge as the country’s Prime Minister in 2019, holding sway till yesterday when Truss was elected.
Truss, whose tenure begins today with her inauguration as Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth in Balmoral, transited from Foreign Minister through rigorous rounds of elections.
She defeated her closest rival, ex-finance minister Rishi Sunak, polling 81, 326 to represent 57.4 per cent of the votes cast, while Sunak polled 60,399 to represent 42.6 per cent of the votes.
Again, it is believed that Truss’s trajectory appeared to have taken after the two earlier female predecessors, Margaret Thatcher, and Theresa May, who again were members of the Conservative Party (Tory), which Truss also represents. She becomes the third female prime minister of the UK.
Her acceptance speech yesterday reaffirmed that she will be a hard-nosed conservative like Thatcher as she said would be committed to the Conservative Party’s ideals true to her campaign.
“Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country. I will take bold action to get all of us through these tough times, grow our economy, and unleash the United Kingdom’s potential,” she tweeted.
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“We need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver on a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy; I will deliver on the energy crisis dealing with people’s energy bills but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply. I will deliver it to the National Health Service. But we all will deliver for our country,” Truss said.
Truss’s sojourn to the British parliament began in 2010 when she was elected to represent Southwest Norfolk. She served in several government positions under David Cameron’s premiership and was a high-profile figure on the Remain side of the 2016 Brexit referendum.
She started slowly in the Conservative leadership race but picked up momentum as she rallied the right wing of the party behind her, focusing her pitch on tax cuts and defending Johnson’s legacy — above all on Brexit.
Truss, 46, was born in Oxford, England to left-wing parents. Her father was a university professor and her mother a nurse and teacher.
She studied philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) at Oxford University — the degree of choice for Britain’s political elite. She was president of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats, the left-liberal party’s student branch.
She joined the Conservative Party after graduation. Before politics, she worked for oil and gas company Shell and telecommunications company Cable & Wireless. She is married with two children.
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Meanwhile, The Lagos State House of Assembly has congratulated Truss.
The Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategies and Security, Mr David Setonji, said Truss’s emergence was a good development because it was a reflection of the will of the people, adding that the UK experience was worthy of emulation.
“Her emergence is a reflection of the will of the people which should be emulated. Her emergence was also a good example for African countries, especially for those who have been paying lip service to true democracy,” he said.
The lawmaker noted that Britain had been one of the country’s most reliable allies, especially in her efforts to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to stamp out insecurity.
The spokesperson said the country looked forward to the continuation of the good relationship that bound the two countries together for many years.
