Liz Truss is widely expected to be confirmed as Britain’s new prime minister today, September 5, before officially taking over from Boris Johnson a day later.
Boris Johnson was forced to announce his resignation in July after months of scandal and will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday to officially tender his resignation.
The Foreign Secretary is believed to be on course to comfortably beat former Chancellor Rishi Sunak to the keys to Number 10, which would make her Britain’s 56th PM.
Truss, the front runner in the race to replace Johnson, if appointed, will become the Conservatives’ fourth prime minister since a 2015 election.
Confirmation of the result will come at 12.30pm. In a break from tradition on Tuesday, Mr. Johnson and his successor will go to Balmoral rather than Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth, who will ask the new leader to form a government.
The Sunday Times reported that the pair would fly there in separate planes for security reasons.
Ms. Truss will start work as PM on the flight back, barring a major upset unexpectedly putting Mr. Sunak in charge.
The Queen will receive Mr. Johnson at her Aberdeenshire home, where he will formally tender his resignation.
On Tuesday, the winner will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth, who will ask the new leader to form a government.
The new PM inherits a flagging economy, with inflation at a 40-year high.
Ms. Truss, tipped by pollsters to win the contest, has promised to announce further help to shield consumers within a week of taking over. She plans to deliver £30bn in tax cuts through an emergency Budget later this month, arguing the UK’s tax burden is behind sluggish growth.
Her rival, former chancellor Mr. Sunak, has signalled he believes he has lost, saying his job “now is just to support a Conservative government”.
She is planning a significant intervention this week, where tens of billions of pounds will be committed to helping with rising bills and inflation. That will include tax cuts and help for families and businesses. Expect her to also talk about an energy strategy to protect the UK against further turbulence in years to come.