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Truss wins Trust

Will Britain’s new Prime Minister deliver prosperity through energy supply and jobs in the NHS?

By Dua Zaidi | October 2022

On 20th July 2022, the final MP Ballot left Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak as the front runners for the Conservative Leader and Prime Minister of the UK. The winner is most likely to be the contender that has most adhered to core conservative principles, evident in the policies of Thatcher, inter alia: Individual Freedom, limited government, peace through strength and free markets. However, on 5th September, Liz Truss and her comparatively rightist approach was favoured by the conservative membership electing the argued Thatcherite as Prime Minister. The margin was smaller than expected, but still significant: 81,326 vs. 60,399.

Days later, on 8th September, the English Queen Elizabeth II passed away, aged 96. Before ascending the throne in 1952 at age 25, Princess Elizabeth joined the British Army as a mechanic and married Prince Phillip of Greece and Denmark in1947. Having reigned for 70 years, the Queen worked with 15 Prime Ministers, starting with Winston Churchill, and ending with Boris Johnson. The Queen, hours before her death, had met Liz Truss in Balmoral Castle. Liz was going to be her 16th Prime Minister. It is the Head of State, the monarch’s, prerogative power to appoint the PM, while also granting “permission” to officially form the government. This took place hours after Boris Johnson travelled to Scotland and handed his resignation to the Head of State.

In PM Truss’ first few days, she proceeded with her duties with great force. After appointing the most diverse British cabinet in history, the Prime Minister spoke on policy to target prospected rising cost of living and energy prices.

Truss prefers to tackle the 22% expected increase in inflation next year with tax cuts rather than government handouts. This would mean increasing corporate tax and reversing the increase in national insurance contributions by former competitor Rishi Sunak. Nevertheless, public pressure calls for a program similar to the Furlough programme during Covid-19, again executed by Sunak. The Furlough scheme allowed businesses to give employees temporary mandatory leave, in which the government would subsidise a percentage of the employee’s salary. This amounted to £69 billion of government spending.

Truss must solve the problem of NHS performance and vacancies. Every 1/10th post is unfilled and expected waiting time is 18 weeks.

Truss must solve the problem of NHS performance and vacancies. Every 1/10th post is unfilled and expected waiting time is 18 weeks. New policy promises to divert £10 billion to social care, freeing up beds in hospitals. Pay rates must rise. Comparatively, incorporation of Rishi’s plan to introduce fines for missed appointments could also enhance results.

International tensions, from Ukraine to China’s claims in Taiwan, mean hard decisions on foreign policy and regarding the Ministry of Defence. First, the number of weapons to be sent to Ukraine must be decided, while ensuring enough weapons reserves within England to ensure safety. Truss’ aim for the MOD is allocation of 3% of National Income by 2030. The method for this is unclear. On Ukraine, Truss plans to maintain unity in sanctions against Russia, supporting Kyiv. Moreover, Truss pursues legislation that would solve EU disagreements on Northern Ireland; expand the controversial Rwanda Policy to other countries and deliver a hard-line policy for China in the form of declaring incidents within Xinjiang as genocide. To note, the Rwanda Policy deports “illegally” entered asylum seekers. Although controversial, courts determined the decision to be “fair and lawful,” and there is no risk of harm to individuals deported.

Truss as foreign secretary allocated £1.5 million in aid to Pakistan flood victims, amounting to 5p per person. Even MPs view this as “pathetically small” and wish for prime minister to reflect on the recent conservative policy of “sustained indifference” towards Pakistan. Pakistan has traditionally been number one recipient of UK aid.

The conservative value of equal opportunity was noted in Truss’ first speech as prime minister and is evident in her education policy. She has promised Oxbridge interviews to students with three A* at A level and improvement in vocational training/ STEM learning.

It is important to remember that Liz Truss was not elected by the general public of the United Kingdom. Opinion polls show only 12% expects Truss to be a good prime minister, while only 21% of the public “like” Truss. Truss’ mandate must be significantly on track for the 2024 general elections to work in her favour. However, will Truss secure her mandate in a snap general election beforehand? With the economic and political crisis at home (and globally) to worsen over the next year, the “best” time might be now.

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