LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Sunday she would take immediate action in her first week in office to tackle rising energy bills and increase energy supplies if, as expected, she is appointed prime minister. The ruling Conservative Party is widely expected to name Truss as its new leader and Britain’s new prime minister on Monday, at a time when the country is forecast to be in a long recession, double-digit inflation and industrial turmoil. It’s a long and expensive to-do list for the new leader to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Truss said she would be bold in tackling the worsening economy, reiterating her commitment to boost growth to fix its long list of ills. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said he understood how challenging the cost of living crisis was for Britons and would take “decisive action to ensure families and businesses can get through this winter and next”. “If elected, I intend within the first week of my new government to set out our immediate action on energy bills and energy supply,” he said. “This will be followed by a budget event later this month from my Chancellor, with a wider package of action for the economy.” The Sunday Times quoted Treasury insiders as saying the cost of the Truss plan would easily top 100 billion pounds ($115 billion), most of which would be added to government borrowing. Pressed in an interview with the BBC about her plan, Truss refused to elaborate, saying it would not be right to go ahead with her exact strategy before taking office. He did not comment on the £100bn figure. “I will act if I am elected prime minister within a week,” he said on Sunday’s show with Laura Kuenssberg.
“DESTRUCTION”
In the Telegraph, she said her approach would be two-fold – immediate action to tackle the cost of living crisis and a plan to deliver economic growth. He would also appoint a Council of Economic Advisers to get “the best ideas” on the economy. “We need to make the tough decisions to ensure we’re not in this position every fall and winter. Plastering and kicking the can down the road won’t do. I’m ready to make the tough decisions to rebuild the economy us,” he wrote. . Her rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak, also sought to show his credentials to tackle rising energy bills, saying he would offer all Britons some financial support, with extra help for those on lower incomes and pensioners. After weeks of mudslinging in an often ill-tempered leadership showdown, Monday will mark the start of a handover from Johnson, who was ousted as leader after months of scandals eroded his party’s support for him. The winner of the most votes among Conservative members will be announced on Monday and the next day, the new prime minister will meet Queen Elizabeth and be asked to form a government. read more As well as the immediate cost of living crisis, the new prime minister will also have to deal with a growing number of strikes, long waiting lists in the public health service and a court ruling next month on Scotland’s bid for independence. In a sign that relations with Scotland could be strained if Mr Truss comes to power, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she would do everything she could to work with the foreign secretary. “If he governs as he campaigned in the summer, it will be a disaster not just for Scotland but for the UK,” Sturgeon told Sky News. “But let’s hope that’s not the case.” ($1 = 0.8690 pounds) Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Report by Elizabeth Piper. Edited by Angus MacSwan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
