Liz Truss Wins Contest to Become UK’s Next Prime Minister

Foreign Secretary defeats Sunak by 81,326 votes to 60,399
Truss to take over from outgoing leader Johnson on Tuesday

WATCH: Speaking in Westminster, Truss vowed to “deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow the economy” and to lead the Tory Party to a general election victory in 2024.Source: Bloomberg

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By Ellen Milligan

September 5, 2022 at 11:39 AM UTC

Updated on

September 5, 2022 at 1:05 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Liz Truss won the bitter race to succeed Boris Johnson as UK prime minister, and will take power with the country facing brutal economic headwinds that threaten to plunge millions of Britons into poverty this winter.

The foreign secretary, 47, emerged victorious on Monday after a two-month Conservative Party leadership contest that started with 11 candidates and concluded with a runoff against former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. She defeated him by 81,326 votes to 60,399 in a ballot of party members -- a narrower margin than polls had projected, illustrating the challenge she’ll face in trying to unite the party -- and will now become Britain’s third female prime minister.