Liz Truss moves into Downing Street; she will become one of the youngest Prime Ministers Britain has had. She is certainly is the youngest woman ever to occupy the seat. Margaret Thatcher was 53; Teresa May was over 59 and Truss when she takes over has three years to hit the official middle-age mark of 50.
The road ahead will not be easy. And like the women before her who made to the most powerful position in Britain, Truss comes at a time of great change. Thatcher—the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th century—came at a time when the country was on the brink of financial ruin; May came in just as the country voted to exit the European Union and Truss will take over in a post Covid, post Brexit Britain in a world where the Ukraine war is still continuing and the economy will be her first challenge.
Nicholas Macpherson, the Treasury’s former permanent secretary, has tweeted that “a rising cost of borrowing and a falling pound” is the Treasury’s “worst nightmare”.
Much like Thatcher who she idolises—reports suggest that she has started dressing like Maggie—Truss will need to find a way to deal with a faltering economy. The inflation levels are over 10 per cent and, according to a report in Goldman Sachs, slated to break a 20 per cent barrier for the first time since 1974. The under one per cent of borrowing is believed to hit over 4 per cent. It will be a very harsh winter, and the energy costs form a tenth of the expenditure of households. Her main energy will go in finding solutions to the domestic crisis.
In this atmosphere, the Free Trade Agreement with India might help boost her image. The deadline is Diwali. Truss has admitted being “very very committed” to the UK-India relationship. “I want to get this trade deal done, preferably by Diwali, but definitely by the end of the year, and I want to make sure that the trade deal is as deep as possible covering everything including life sciences to technology to agriculture,” she has been quoted as saying.
Truss has promised deeper relations with India—from trade to people-to-people. Meanwhile, according to a recent report by The Times—based on campaign officials who spoke the paper— Truss is going to redesignate China as a “threat''.
The report suggests that there will be no partnerships, but so far nothing has been spelt out. Whether Truss will choose to go down this path remains to be seen, but she has certainly spoken out on standing up more to Beijing and a crack-down on TikTok. A more assertive UK against a more assertive China will be certainly sound like music to South Block.
