LONDON: Liz Truss became Prime Minister on the promise to usher in a new era of growth by shaking up the British economy. But the resulting uproar wasn’t exactly what she had in mind: markets fell, the pound plunged, her party rioted – and, ultimately, she announced her resignation in just 45 days after taking office.
Truss, 47, was forced to resign after an ill-conceived economic stimulus package she crafted caused economic and political chaos and shattered her support for the Conservative Party.
Truss, a libertarian who staunchly believes in small government and a free market economy, came to power on September 6 after 172,000 Conservative Party members voted in an internal leadership race to choose a scandalous successor. Boris Johnson.
Truss was in many ways the opposite of the populist and agreeable Johnson. Serious and rigid as a public speaker, she called herself “disruptive”, ready to upset existing economic “orthodoxy”. During the election campaign, Truss, who was then Foreign Secretary, pledged to cut taxes and red tape ‘from day one’, boost investment and fix Britain’s ailing economy .
Her views appealed to many conservatives, who backed her with a 57% majority over rival Rishi Sunak, a former Treasury chief who has warned against sweeping tax cuts. Many saw in her echoes of former Prime Minister Margaret thatcherwho framework admired – and sometimes imitated in her style of dress and poses on Instagram.
In the early days of her term as Prime Minister, she gave a taste of things to come when she said she was not afraid to make ‘unpopular’ decisions – such as removing a ceiling on bankers’ bonuses – to boost the UK’s competitiveness.
On September 23, Treasury Chief Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled the Truss government’s vision for growth: a huge package of tax cuts worth 45 billion pounds ($50 billion) which, according to government, would create jobs and improve living standards. But the so-called mini-budget did not explain how the government planned to pay for the tax cuts, leading investors to fear government borrowing was spiraling out of control.
The market verdict was immediate and devastating.
The pound plunged to a record low against the US dollar, the cost of government borrowing soared and the Bank of England was forced to step in to buy government bonds to avert a deeper financial crisis. wide.
Many also questioned Truss’ political judgment on cutting taxes for Britain’s highest earners, as millions struggled to make ends meet with the cost of everything from heating to electricity. grocery store, which was skyrocketing.
Truss stuck to his guns – for a while.
Two weeks after the unveiling of her package, she insisted that she was determined to achieve her priorities: “Growth, growth and growth”. But party members were furious at the damage she had done to their credibility.
On October 14, she fired Kwarteng, her longtime ally, and reversed course – twice – on her tax cut plans. Kwarteng’s replacement as head of the Treasury, Jeremy Hunt, then dropped almost all of Truss’ flagship policies. Truss apologized for going “too far too fast,” but her authority was in tatters and a growing number of conservatives openly called her out.
In recent days, Britain’s bustling partisan press was unusually united in the view that Truss was doomed. Conservative tabloid The Sun called her a “phantom PM”. The left-leaning Guardian compared the Tories to the crew of a mutineer ship.
After The Economist said Truss’ time in government would be ‘about the shelf life of a lettuce’, the Daily Star tabloid put up a live stream featuring a photo of the Prime Minister at side of an iceberg head. He was asking “Can Liz Truss survive this lettuce?” — and triumphantly reported she didn’t when Truss stepped down on Thursday.
She will remain Prime Minister until the party chooses a replacement in the coming week and will have the dubious distinction of being Britain’s shortest prime minister in history. She overtook George Canning, who was Prime Minister for just 119 days in 1827 before his death.
Truss was Britain’s third female prime minister, after Thatcher, who ruled from 1979 to 1990, and Theresa May, who served from 2016 to 2019.
Born in Oxford in 1975, Marie Elisabeth Truss is the daughter of a math teacher and a nurse, who took her to anti-nuclear and anti-Thatcher protests as a child, where she remembers shouting, “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie – out, out, out!”
As an adult, however, she came to admire Thatcher and rebelled against her parents’ leftist views.
She attended a public high school in Leeds, in the north of England – which sets her apart from her many privately educated Tory colleagues – and went to Oxford University.
There, she served as president of the college branch of the Liberal Democratic Party. The economically centrist Lib Dems support constitutional reform and civil liberties, and Truss was an enthusiastic member, putting up “Free the Weed” posters that called for the decriminalization of marijuana.
After Oxford, Truss joined the Conservative Party – “when it was distinctly unfashionable”, she later said.
She worked as an economist for the energy company Shell and the telecommunications company Cable and Wireless, as well as for a right-wing think tank. She was a local councilor in London and stood twice unsuccessfully for Parliament before being elected to represent the East England seat of South West Norfolk in 2010.
Truss secured her first Cabinet post as Food and Environment Secretary in 2014, making her biggest impression with a much-derided speech in which she thundered that it was ‘a shame’ that the Great -Bretagne imports two-thirds of its cheese.
In Britain’s 2016 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, Truss supported the losing side of the “rest”, although she says she has always been a natural eurosceptic. In the years since the vote, she has won over Brexiters with her no-compromise approach to the EU.
When Johnson came to power, he appointed Truss as trade secretary, a role that significantly boosted his profile by signing post-Brexit deals around the world. She was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in September 2021.
A year later, she achieved her dream of becoming Prime Minister – a triumph that proved to be short-lived.
Truss, 47, was forced to resign after an ill-conceived economic stimulus package she crafted caused economic and political chaos and shattered her support for the Conservative Party.
Truss, a libertarian who staunchly believes in small government and a free market economy, came to power on September 6 after 172,000 Conservative Party members voted in an internal leadership race to choose a scandalous successor. Boris Johnson.
Truss was in many ways the opposite of the populist and agreeable Johnson. Serious and rigid as a public speaker, she called herself “disruptive”, ready to upset existing economic “orthodoxy”. During the election campaign, Truss, who was then Foreign Secretary, pledged to cut taxes and red tape ‘from day one’, boost investment and fix Britain’s ailing economy .
Her views appealed to many conservatives, who backed her with a 57% majority over rival Rishi Sunak, a former Treasury chief who has warned against sweeping tax cuts. Many saw in her echoes of former Prime Minister Margaret thatcherwho framework admired – and sometimes imitated in her style of dress and poses on Instagram.
In the early days of her term as Prime Minister, she gave a taste of things to come when she said she was not afraid to make ‘unpopular’ decisions – such as removing a ceiling on bankers’ bonuses – to boost the UK’s competitiveness.
On September 23, Treasury Chief Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled the Truss government’s vision for growth: a huge package of tax cuts worth 45 billion pounds ($50 billion) which, according to government, would create jobs and improve living standards. But the so-called mini-budget did not explain how the government planned to pay for the tax cuts, leading investors to fear government borrowing was spiraling out of control.
The market verdict was immediate and devastating.
The pound plunged to a record low against the US dollar, the cost of government borrowing soared and the Bank of England was forced to step in to buy government bonds to avert a deeper financial crisis. wide.
Many also questioned Truss’ political judgment on cutting taxes for Britain’s highest earners, as millions struggled to make ends meet with the cost of everything from heating to electricity. grocery store, which was skyrocketing.
Truss stuck to his guns – for a while.
Two weeks after the unveiling of her package, she insisted that she was determined to achieve her priorities: “Growth, growth and growth”. But party members were furious at the damage she had done to their credibility.
On October 14, she fired Kwarteng, her longtime ally, and reversed course – twice – on her tax cut plans. Kwarteng’s replacement as head of the Treasury, Jeremy Hunt, then dropped almost all of Truss’ flagship policies. Truss apologized for going “too far too fast,” but her authority was in tatters and a growing number of conservatives openly called her out.
In recent days, Britain’s bustling partisan press was unusually united in the view that Truss was doomed. Conservative tabloid The Sun called her a “phantom PM”. The left-leaning Guardian compared the Tories to the crew of a mutineer ship.
After The Economist said Truss’ time in government would be ‘about the shelf life of a lettuce’, the Daily Star tabloid put up a live stream featuring a photo of the Prime Minister at side of an iceberg head. He was asking “Can Liz Truss survive this lettuce?” — and triumphantly reported she didn’t when Truss stepped down on Thursday.
She will remain Prime Minister until the party chooses a replacement in the coming week and will have the dubious distinction of being Britain’s shortest prime minister in history. She overtook George Canning, who was Prime Minister for just 119 days in 1827 before his death.
Truss was Britain’s third female prime minister, after Thatcher, who ruled from 1979 to 1990, and Theresa May, who served from 2016 to 2019.
Born in Oxford in 1975, Marie Elisabeth Truss is the daughter of a math teacher and a nurse, who took her to anti-nuclear and anti-Thatcher protests as a child, where she remembers shouting, “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie – out, out, out!”
As an adult, however, she came to admire Thatcher and rebelled against her parents’ leftist views.
She attended a public high school in Leeds, in the north of England – which sets her apart from her many privately educated Tory colleagues – and went to Oxford University.
There, she served as president of the college branch of the Liberal Democratic Party. The economically centrist Lib Dems support constitutional reform and civil liberties, and Truss was an enthusiastic member, putting up “Free the Weed” posters that called for the decriminalization of marijuana.
After Oxford, Truss joined the Conservative Party – “when it was distinctly unfashionable”, she later said.
She worked as an economist for the energy company Shell and the telecommunications company Cable and Wireless, as well as for a right-wing think tank. She was a local councilor in London and stood twice unsuccessfully for Parliament before being elected to represent the East England seat of South West Norfolk in 2010.
Truss secured her first Cabinet post as Food and Environment Secretary in 2014, making her biggest impression with a much-derided speech in which she thundered that it was ‘a shame’ that the Great -Bretagne imports two-thirds of its cheese.
In Britain’s 2016 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, Truss supported the losing side of the “rest”, although she says she has always been a natural eurosceptic. In the years since the vote, she has won over Brexiters with her no-compromise approach to the EU.
When Johnson came to power, he appointed Truss as trade secretary, a role that significantly boosted his profile by signing post-Brexit deals around the world. She was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in September 2021.
A year later, she achieved her dream of becoming Prime Minister – a triumph that proved to be short-lived.
