After appointing a cabinet that is diverse in terms of race and gender but unified in its support for the new leader’s fiercely free-market principles, British Prime Minister Liz Truss is conducting her first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
During the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons, Truss will also debate her political foes for the first time as leader.
Truss, 47, won an internal election to lead the ruling Conservative Party and was subsequently named prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday.
She quickly imposed her style on the government by ousting numerous ministers from the Boris Johnson cabinet, particularly those who had supported Rishi Sunak, her challenger for the leadership.
She appointed Kwasi Kwarteng to be her Treasury chief, which is a crucial position for a Cabinet whose inbox is dominated by the energy crisis brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This crisis threatens to drive energy prices to unaffordable levels, forcing businesses to close, and leaving the nation’s poorest citizens shivering at home this winter. Kwarteng is the first person of color to hold the position, officially known as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Therese Coffey, a supporter of Truss, is appointed Britain’s first female deputy prime minister and takes over as minister of health as the publicly financed National Health Service struggles to meet rising demand and diminishing resources in the wake of COVID-19.
The prime minister, chancellor, foreign secretary, and home secretary of the United Kingdom are all non-white for the first time. Suella Braverman, who is of Indian descent and is in charge of immigration and law and order, has been named home secretary, replacing James Cleverly, whose mother is from Sierra Leone.
Truss made her first statement as prime minister on Tuesday, promising to “deal hands-on” with the energy problem, strengthen the NHS, and slash taxes to boost economic growth. However, she provided few specifics about how she would carry out her proposals. On Thursday, she’s anticipated to reveal her energy-related ideas.
Truss intends to control energy costs, according to British news outlets. That action might cost the taxpayers 100 billion pounds ($116 billion).
The problems we confront shouldn’t intimidate us, Truss said in her inaugural address as prime minister. Even though the storm may be powerful, I am confident that the British people are stronger.
