TRUSS RINGS IN THE CHANGES
The UK is ‘No country for old white men’
LONDON: Britain’s New Prime Minister Liz Truss has appointed the most diverse set of senior ministers in British history as she pledged to lead the country out of the cost-ofliving “storm” with a package of subsidies and tax cuts.
For the first time, no white men have been included among the “great offices of state” - prime minister, chancellor, home secretary and foreign secretary.
Ms Truss’s longstanding friend and ally Kwasi Kwarteng has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Cleverly is Foreign Secretary and Suella Braverman is the Home Secretary.
Above them in seniority, though, is Therese Coffey, a close friend of Ms Truss who as well as becoming Health Secretary will be the first woman to hold the title of Deputy Prime Minister.
Ms Truss removed all of her leadership rival Rishi Sunak’s supporters from the cabinet as she asserted her authority over the Conservative Party by prizing loyalty over conciliation after winning an internal ballot of Tory members on Monday with 57 per cent of the vote.
She has not appointed a single MP who supported Mr Sunak as a full member of the cabinet and she dismissed more than half of Boris Johnson’s cabinet and promoted allies to key positions.
Even those Johnson loyalists who refrained from direct attacks on Ms Truss have been removed from office.
Addressing the country from Downing Street on Tuesday, the new PM promised to “put our nation on the path to long-term success”.
An unprecedented bailout package for families and businesses is to follow on Wednesday (local time).
“I will cut taxes to reward hard work and boost business-led growth and investment,” Ms Truss said, while vowing “action this week” on gas and electricity bills and broader energy policy.
The cost of the package is expected to eclipse the £69bn ($118bn) furlough scheme, with a potential bill to the taxpayer of more than £150bn. She has also promised a further £30bn of tax cuts to “reward hard work” and incentivise growth.
Ms Truss said her plan would get the country “working, building, and growing” by tackling the issues that were “holding Britain back”.
The Bank of England has tipped the country to fall into recession later this year, while Ms Truss faces warnings that her economic moves could make inflation worse. The UK has already seen prices rise this year at their steepest rate for four decades, driven by spiralling energy costs.