Liz Truss will succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister on Tuesday, becoming the third woman to enter Downing Street, following her election as Conservative party leader. Ms Truss arrived at Balmoral Castle in Scotland just after 12pm to meet Queen Elizabeth who will formally appoint her as prime minister. Later this afternoon she will make a statement in Downing Street.
She is expected to announce her full cabinet on Tuesday evening with business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng set to become chancellor of the exchequer, James Cleverly as foreign secretary and Suella Braverman as home secretary. Priti Patel resigned as home secretary on Monday and neither she nor deputy prime minister Dominic Raab is expected to be in Ms Truss’s cabinet.
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Ms Truss (47) defeated former chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak by 57 per cent to 43 per cent in a vote of Conservative party members. Following the announcement in Westminster, she paid tribute to her predecessor Boris Johnson and promised to show that her government could deliver on its promises over the next two years.
“During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a Conservative and I will govern as a Conservative. My friends, we need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver 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. And I will deliver on the National Health Service,” she said.
Irish reaction
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said her appointment is an opportunity to “reset” the post-Brexit relationship between Britain and Ireland.
There is an expectation in Government Buildings that Mr Martin and Ms Truss will speak by phone in the coming days after she is officially in place at 10 Downing Street.
Making sense of a united Ireland, with Brendan O'Leary
Mr Martin expressed hope that negotiations on resolving the dispute over the Brexit agreement’s Northern Ireland protocol can resume.
The Taoiseach congratulated Ms Truss and said: “I see this as an opportunity to reset relationships between Great Britain and Ireland post-Brexit and also between the European Union and the United Kingdom.”
[ Analysis: Liz Truss faces trouble ahead due to her vulnerable positionOpens in new window ]
Sinn Féin Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill has urged the new prime minister to work on the restoration of Stormont to help those “struggling with rising costs” and called for a “change of tack from the British government”.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said Ms Truss must take decisive action over the protocol before there could be any restoration of powersharing at Stormont.
