- Liz Truss beat Rishi Sunak to become Britain’s new prime minister
- Boris Johnson resigned as prime minister in July
- Britain’s new leader will have to tackle one of Europe’s worst energy crises
LONDON – Britain will get its third prime minister in just over three years as the ruling Conservative Party announced Monday it had chosen Liz Truss to be its new leader after an internal party contest.
Truss replaces Boris Johnson, a controversial maverick who defied many of Britain’s political traditions. Johnson resigned in July after senior members of his government turned against him amid a series of scandals connected to breaking his own coronavirus lockdown rules and waning appetite for his brand of populist politics.
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Because Britain elects a party, not a specific leader, the party in power has some scope to swap in a new prime minister. Truss was selected by about 160,000 grassroots members of the Conservative Party. That figure represents less than 1% of the U.K.’s 67 million population.
The new prime minister takes office Tuesday and assumes power as household energy bills in the U.K. soar to unaffordable levels for millions of people.
Truss, 47, has sought to portray herself as the political heir to Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s “Iron Lady” and first female leader who advocated with zeal for free markets, lower taxes and the…
