After her meeting with Queen Elizabeth II in her Scottish residence at Balmoral, Liz Truss became the new British Prime Minister on Tuesday, September 6. The fifty-sixth in history and the third woman. Back in London, the former head of diplomacy said she was determined to “making Britain work again” and to do “a nation of aspiration”. She promised “tax cuts and reforms” to grow the economy. Expressions straight out of the guide of the dyed-in-the-wool curator and the good business manager.
“Governing like a conservative”
Nothing new or surprising from him. On Monday, following the announcement of her victory against her former finance colleague Rishi Sunak, she promised: “I campaigned like a Conservative and I will govern like a Conservative. » His first ministerial appointments confirmed this direction. With Kwasi Kwarteng in finance, Suella Braverman in the interior and James Cleverly in foreign affairs, the ultra-liberal wing of the conservative party took power. For this ethnically diverse government, like its predecessor, reducing taxes and the size of state trumps everything. A real change with the more moderate policy of Boris Johnson, who had placed the emphasis on the neglected regions of the United Kingdom.
In order to achieve these long-term ambitions, Liz Truss will first have to resist “to the severe global winds caused by the appalling Russian war in Ukraine and the consequences of Covid”. His priority will be “dealing with the energy crisis”. She will unveil her plan this week to ensure that “people will not end up with unacceptable energy bills” and for “protect the country’s supply”. And for good reason: electricity and gas prices are supposed to almost triple from 1is october. It is rumored in the British media that it would cancel the increase in tariffs, which would therefore either be borne by the State, and therefore by taxpayers, or reimbursable in the long term by users.
Its credibility at stake on energy prices
These details will matter because the Prime Minister will play her credibility there. “Liz Truss is viewed with suspicion by voters, explains Tim Bale, professor of political science at London’s Queen Mary University. To change this initial perception, it will need to deploy a response to rising energy prices that shows it understands the scope of the problem and is ready to help people. »
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This first series of measures is however only the first hurdle to pass for the new Prime Minister. His time is running out. The next general election will take place no later than two years from now, at the end of 2024. “His fate will ultimately depend on the state of the economy.continues Tim Bale. Will the country experience a recession? What will be the level of inflation? In what state will the health system be, in great difficulty? » The new British leader did not say a word in her speech on the reform of the NHS (National Health Service, public health system) which she nevertheless promised to carry out in her program.
Johnson en embuscade
The pressure is all the more intense on the shoulders of Liz Truss that in addition to Labour, the main opposition party, she will have to watch over hers. And in particular its predecessor. In his farewell speech on Tuesday, given at dawn outside 10 Downing Street during the rare sunny hours of the day, Boris Johnson brought “his strongest support” to the new government. But he also compared himself to former consul Cincinnatus. According to the mythologized story of this ancient Roman politician, he was pulled twice from his exile to save a Rome in peril. Without a doubt, Boris Johnson sees himself as the future white knight of the Conservative Party.