Liz Truss vowed to create an ‘aspiration nation’ tonight as she delivered her first Downing Street speech after officially becoming Britain’s 56th Prime Minister.
The newly-installed PM took to a podium outside the famous black door after returning to London from the Queen‘s Balmoral residence in Scotland – where the transfer of power happened.
She warned of a ‘vital time for our country’ and said she will deal ‘hands on with the energy crisis caused by Putin’s war’ – hinting at the huge bailout expected within days.
The new premier said fixing the NHS and cutting taxes would be her other priorities.
Speaking in a damp Downing Street this afternoon, Liz Truss paid tribute to Boris Johnson and vowed to get cracking on a raft of priorities, as the Uk struggled with a limp economy.
Here are some of the key moments:
- Ms Truss hailed Mr Johnson for delivering Brexit, the Covid vaccine and for helping Ukraine. She added: ‘History will see him as a hugely consequential prime minister.’
- She promised to pursue three early priorities as Prime Minister: Tax cuts and reforms, deal with soaring energy bills and securing the energy supply, and also put the NHS ‘on a firm footing’.
- The new Prime Minister said the country needs to build ‘roads, homes and broadband faster’ with more investment in towns and cities across the country.
- Addressing the economic woes facing the country, she said she was confident the nation can ‘ride out the storm’.
‘I’m confident that together we can ride out the storm, we can rebuild our economy and we can become the modern brilliant Britain that I know we can be,’ she said.
‘This is our vital mission to ensure opportunity and prosperity for all people and future generations. I’m determined to deliver.’
Ministers and MPs had gathered outside as Ms Truss’s convoy weaved through the roads of the capital.
But there was confusion as aides took the podium indoors when the weather intervened – only to bring it out again as the heavy shower passed.
Ms Truss seemed to make light of the rain with her reference to the ‘storm’.
But she will have little time to celebrate as she moves to appoint her Cabinet and thrash out plans for curbing soaring energy bills.
She is expected to cap the typical household bill at £2,500 a year – with costs further offset by keeping the £400 handout that had already been committed.
That would leave the level only slightly higher than the £1,900 existing cap, and a thousand pounds below the figure it was due to hit next month.
There had been speculation that the policy – estimated to cost between £90billion and £130billion – would be added to future bills.
However, it is now expected to be added to government borrowing – with the markets already upping interest costs as a result.
Boris Johnson – accompanied by wife Carrie – made his own trip to Balmoral for a final 40-minute audience with the Queen. A statement from Buckingham Palace said the monarch had been ‘graciously pleased’ to accept.
Ms Truss had taken a separate flight north to see the Queen and be asked to form a new government. To add to the drama the plane carrying her and husband Hugh O’Leary was left circling above Aberdeen airport for around 20 minutes due to fog, before finally landing.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: ‘The Queen received in audience The Right Honourable Elizabeth Truss MP today and requested her to form a new administration. Ms Truss accepted Her Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon her appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.’
How the day of political drama unfolded
7.30am: Boris Johnson gave his final speech as PM in Downing Street.
11.20am: Mr Johnson and wife Carrie had an audience with the Queen who formally accepted his resignation.
Noon: The now-former PM and Carrie left Balmoral.
12.30pm: Liz Truss arrived at Balmoral where she saw the Queen, and ‘kissed hands’ on forming a new administration.
5.10pm: Liz Truss made her first speech as PM in Downing Street.
Tonight: Ms Truss will appoint her Cabinet.
Tomorrow: She will face off against Keir Starmer at her first PMQs in the Commons.
Ms Truss’s Twitter profile was swiftly updated to include her new status.
She had been due to deliver her first speech at Downing Street around 4pm, but that has already been pushed back at least 40 minutes because of weather delays.
Ms Truss will have been getting crucial security briefings, and writing her ‘letter of last resort’ to submarine captains carrying the UK’s nuclear deterrent – telling them what to do in case the government is destroyed.
Cabinet appointments are expected to start after the speech, although the key posts seem to be decided.
Kwasi Kwarteng looks nailed on for Chancellor, James Cleverly has been lined up for Foreign Secretary, and Attorney General Suella Braverman could become Home Secretary.
Ms Truss’s close friend Therese Coffey is earmarked as Health Secretary and deputy PM.
However, reshuffles are rarely straightforward and the Northern Ireland, Education and Transport roles are believed to be causing trouble. Iain Duncan Smith has revealed he turned down an unspecified job.
Mr Johnson swept out of Downing Street for the final time early this morning with a typically boisterous and classically allusive address to the nation.
Watched by MPs, aides and allies as he spoke on the steps of No10, the outgoing PM put a brave face on his departure saying ‘this is it, folks’.
After walking out of the famous black door with wife Carrie, he pointed out he ‘got Brexit done’ and oversaw the ‘fastest vaccine rollout’ during near three-year stint.
He delivered a stark message that Britain must continue supporting Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s aggression, despite the economic pain caused by his ‘blackmail’ on gas prices.
And in a barb at MPs for dramatically ousting him, Mr Johnson said: ‘The baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race. They changed the rules halfway through, but never mind that now.’
Mr Johnson also sparked laughter by comparing himself to a ‘booster rocket’ that was being jettisoned, suggesting he would keep out of the way in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
‘I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support,’ he said. ‘We will get through it, we will come out stronger the other side… it is time for us all to get behind Liz Truss.’
In her speech, Liz Truss listed three immediate priorities she would tackle as prime minister:
- The economy: Truss said she would focus on “getting Britain working again” with a “bold plan to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform”. She said she would “cut taxes to reward hard work and boost business-led growth and investment” as part of her mission to “get the United Kingdom working, building and growing”. She added that she would “make sure that we are building hospitals, schools, roads and broadband”
- Energy: Truss promised to “deal hands on with the energy crisis caused by Putin’s war”. She said she would “take action this week to deal with energy bills and to secure our future energy supply”
- The NHS: The PM said she would ensure that people could get doctors’ appointments, and access to the NHS services they need. “We will put our health service on a firm footing,” she said
