UK foreign secretary Liz Truss, who defeated Indian-origin former chancellor Rishi Sunak to be named the winner of the Conservative Party leadership contest on Monday and will now go on to take charge as British Prime Minister, thanked Tory members for putting their trust in her to lead and deliver for the country.
“I am honoured to be elected Leader of the Conservative Party. Thank you for putting your trust in me to lead and deliver for our great country,” Truss said in her first tweet after being named the winner of the Conservative Party leadership contest.
“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 added.
The 47-year-old senior cabinet minister was widely expected to become the third female British Prime Minister after 1,70,000 online and postal votes cast by Tory members, ending Sunak’s historic run as the first member of Parliament of Indian heritage to compete for the top job at 10 Downing Street.
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Truss polled 81,326 votes, compared to Sunak’s 60,399 in an election with a high turnout of 82.6 per cent, with 654 rejected ballots from a total of 172,437 eligible Tory voters.
“We will deliver, we will deliver and we will deliver,” declared Truss in her acceptance speech.
Truss – the third female Prime Minister in Britain after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May – said the campaign was “hard-fought” and showed “the depth and breadth of talent” in the party.
She said she has a “bold plan” to cut taxes and grow the UK economy.
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The result was formally announced by the returning officer of the leadership contest and chair of the Conservative Party’s powerful 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, Sir Graham Brady, at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre near Downing Street in London.
While the over 1.5-million-strong Indian diaspora stood firmly behind the UK-born MP for Richmond in Yorkshire, other sections of the Conservative Party including those who trace their roots to other parts of the sub-continent were expected to be more divided.
Truss’s campaign pledge to reverse Sunak’s tax hike plans while he was Chancellor to tackle the cost-of-living crisis facing the country seems to have worked in favour.
While Sunak’s approach of wanting to focus on fighting soaring inflation and using targeted measures to offer support to those most in need did connect with audiences at the nearly dozen party hustings, that clearly wasn’t enough to turn the tide in his favour.
(With inputs from PTI)
