The foreign secretary appealed to the right wing of her party through her libertarian, free-market philosophy and a pledge to immediately cut more than £30 billion in taxes. Even though she’s the longest continuously-serving member of the cabinet, she’s successfully branded herself as the candidate for change who will break with what she calls the economic orthodoxy.from Sunak and economists that she risks further stoking inflation that’s already at a four-decade high.
On the international scene, Truss will have to grapple with the status of the Brexit deal governing Northern Ireland, and the UK’s deteriorating relationship with the European Union as a result of her own bill to override it. She’s said she will continue to take a hard line against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, and has promised to crack down on Chinese investment in the UK.
The UK’s fourth prime minister in just over six years will also have to fix her party’s standing with the electorate after a series of damaging scandals under Johnson, followed by government paralysis this summer as she and Sunak traded blows in their acrimonious battle for the leadership.