As widely predicted, Liz Truss MP is to become the third woman UK Prime Minister after a long process over the summer since Boris Johnson announced he would step down. Ms Truss was voted in by the membership of the Conservative party. defeating former Chancellor Rishi Sunak to the position of Leader of the Conservative party.
Ms Truss will travel to Balmoral on Tuesday to seek HM The Queen’s instruction to form a government.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: “Congratulations to Liz Truss on her election as Conservative Party Leader.
“Both Liz and Rishi, along with their teams, should be proud of the campaigns they have run and the way they have engaged party members.
“However, now that the leadership election is over, it is time for the whole of the Conservative Party to come together to tackle the big challenges our country faces.
“Throughout her political career, Liz Truss has shown herself to have a record of delivery, whether that was in removing the US tariffs on whisky and cashmere or in managing the UK’s robust support for Ukraine both before and following the Russian invasion.
“I look forward to working with our new Leader and Prime Minister as she continues to deliver for Scotland and the whole of the UK at this most challenging of times.”
The SNP has said Ms Truss must “get on with it” and deliver a major package of cost of living support without further delay.
Ian Blackford MP said it was “unforgivable” that the Tory government had “wasted the summer sitting on its hands” and urged there is “no time to waste” in freezing energy bills and delivering the support that households and businesses need.
The SNP Westminster Leader said the tone of the Tory leadership campaign suggested Liz Truss is shaping up to be “even worse than Boris Johnson” with another “shift to the right” under Westminster control.
SNP Westminster Leader, Ian Blackford MP, said: “It is utterly unforgivable that the Westminster government wasted the entire summer sitting on its hands, refusing to lift a finger to help families and businesses with the Tory-made cost of living crisis.
“Liz Truss must now get on with it – there is no more time to waste. The UK government must cancel the rise in energy bills immediately, scrap VAT on fuel bills, and deliver a major package of support to put cash in people’s pockets.
“All the signs suggest Liz Truss is shaping up to be even worse than Boris Johnson – with the Tories lurching further to the right, and continuing to impose damaging policies like the extreme Brexit that has raised the cost of living.
“And with the new Prime Minister taking the same arrogant and anti-democratic approach to Scotland as her predecessor – it’s clear independence is the only way to keep Scotland safe and escape the long-term damage of Westminster control.
“Liz Truss has no mandate in Scotland. She cannot deny the democratic decision of the people of Scotland to hold an independence referendum. By denying democracy, the Westminster parties will only further increase support for independence.
“An energy-rich country like Scotland shouldn’t be in the growing mess Westminster has created. Only the full powers of independence can secure Scotland’s energy needs and deliver a fairer and more prosperous future.”
The Scottish Greens Co-leader, Lorna Slater MSP said: “This is terrible news for Scotland and our environment.”
“Liz Truss has supported every single one of Boris Johnson’s most damaging decisions. Whether it was the Brexit deal that has curbed our right to travel while driving up prices, the cruel Universal Credit cut that has taken vital support away from thousands of the most vulnerable people and families, or his failure to act during the worst cost of living crisis for decades.”
“Her proposals for a major expansion of north sea oil drilling would leave us even more dependent on fossil fuels while doing real and lasting damage to our environment at a time when we should be investing in the renewable jobs of the future.”
“It doesn’t need to be like this. Scotland has had far too many Tory Prime Ministers that we didn’t vote for and can’t remove. With the powers of independence we can finally take our future into our own hands and build a fairer, greener and better future.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “Make no mistake, this is not a fresh start for the Tory party or for our country.
“Like many people, I breathed a sigh of relief when Boris Johnson resigned. But my relief at his departure was short-lived.
“Liz Truss might claim to be different to her predecessor, but the grim reality is that a Tory party that has lost touch with reality will still be failing families across the UK.
“Instead of the fresh start our country needs, the best the Tories can deliver is more deceit, division, and distraction.
“All the while, families worry about how they will afford spiralling bills and sky-high energy costs.
“The cost of living crisis is the number one issue facing families today, and the Tories have no answers.
“That’s why Labour will implement a meaningful windfall tax on oil and gas giants and freeze energy prices to put money in people’s pockets.
“The time is up for the Tory party – only Labour can replace them.”
TSSA General Secretary, Manuel Cortes, has challenged new Conservative leader, Liz Truss, to provide the help needed to deal with the cost of living crisis.
Union leader Cortes said Truss, who beat rival Rishi Sunak, in results revealed today, had “offered nothing” to deal with the economic crisis during a leadership contest which had been “a charade about which candidate is the best Thatcherite.”
Cortes said only a Labour government could cure the country’s ills.
Commenting, Cortes said: “Liz Truss comes into Downing Street with millions of people in our country desperate for help in the face of an escalating Tory cost of living crisis.
“Truss has offered nothing to date which suggest she, or her party, have a clue about how to deal with soaring energy prices, inflation and much more, including giving our members a pay rise which stops them becoming poorer.
“The Conservative leadership contest has been a charade about which candidate is the best Thatcherite. At a time when the British people need serious government, rather than parlour games, this has been a wasted summer of ineptitude and inaction.
“The truth is Truss has won but won’t be able to chart the course needed to undo the damage inflicted on this country by twelve years of Tory rule.
“We need a change of government, a Labour government, not simply the shuffling of the pack to produce another new Tory Prime Minister.”
Alasdair Humphery, Head of Scotland at JLL said: “Businesses in Scotland will be viewing a changing of the guard in Westminster with curiosity. Neither candidate offered a change to the government’s current stance on an independence referendum as part of their pledges and while it’s fair to assume that will remain the case for the time being, it will be interesting to see how that changes as we edge closer to the next General Election.
“Scotland will also be at the heart of the country’s energy security and sustainability in the coming years, especially given the strength of its renewable energy and oil industries, and they’ll need all the support they can get to help the UK hit its sustainability targets. Civic leaders will be keen to see a recommitment to engaging with and investing in businesses as the country heads into an uncertain period.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
