Truss to meet cabinet, face MPs on first full workday
Britain's new prime minister Liz Truss convenes her senior ministers for an inaugural cabinet meeting on Wednesday on her first full day in office, before she faces a barrage of questions in parliament. Truss, who officially became leader on Tuesday at an audience with head of state Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland after the resignation of Boris Johnson, is set to meet her top team at a morning meeting. They include the most diverse top team in British history ever: Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Cleverly as foreign secretary and Suella Braverman as interior minister. They face a daunting in-tray of issues, most notably decades-high inflation and how to deal with energy bills set to rise by 80 percent next month and even more again in January. Meanwhile, the Bank of England has tipped the country to fall into recession later this year. But Truss was bullish as she entered Downing Street for the first time as premier, narrowly avoiding a heavy downpour. "I am confident that together we can ride out the storm," she said. Her new ministers may be asked to sign off immediately on a plan to freeze energy bills for the coming winter, possibly longer, costing tens of billions of pounds, according to reports. Tax cuts and diverting some health funding to social care could also reportedly be on the agenda. "I will cut taxes to reward hard work and boost business-led growth and investment," Truss promised, while also vowing "action this week" on gas and electricity bills and broader energy policy. After Cabinet, Truss will travel to the House of Commons to spar with opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer, in the rival pair's first Prime Minister's Questions session. The often rowdy weekly session, which sees the prime minister quizzed by MPs, will test Truss's political mettle and rhetorical skills as well as her level of Conservative support. The 47-year-old won an internal ballot of Tory members on Monday, securing 57 percent of the vote, after a gruelling contest against former finance minister Rishi Sunak that began in July. (AFP)