Liz Truss must tackle cost of living crisis, say MP Sir John Hayes, Gary Porter and Kevin Geaney
South Holland’s leading Conservative figures urged Liz Truss to tackle the cost of living crisis after she was voted in as Prime Minister.
Ms Truss, South West Norfolk MP, beat competition from rival Rishi Sunak to become the new Conservative Party leader. She won 81,326 votes to Mr Sunak’s 60,399.
MP Sir John Hayes, who had backed Ms Truss since the number of candidates was reduced to three, says coming up with a plan to halt rising energy costs will be her ‘pressing priority’.
He wants to see her provide help for both households and businesses that are struggling to pay their bills - but believes it will be a challenge due to the ongoing Ukraine war and the fallout from Covid-19 restrictions.
He said: “She’s going to have her work cut out, but in doing that work she’ll have my full and enthusiastic support.
“The party needs to come together and support her now. The party has got to get on, focus on the peoples’ priorities, listen to what voters need, and deliver for them.
“She’s also promised further direct support for (energy) consumers. We don’t know what form that is going to take yet, but that will become clear in the coming days.”
Gary Porter, leader of South Holland District Council, had been backing Mr Sunak to take the top job.
He said Ms Truss will lead a ‘different flavour of government’, and he believes Mr Sunak will ‘make a great Prime Minister’ at some point in the future.
“That might not be this time, but at some point it should be,” he said.
Coun Porter added: “The country can’t afford to wait for the ‘blue team’ to decide to play nicely together. We’ve got to unite as a party to make sure that all of the effort they put in is put in on fixing this cost of living stuff.
“I think she has got a plan. I am sure she will make some pretty big announcements in the next few days that will start to reassure people that, as best we can, we will all get through this.”
Kevin Geaney, chairman of South Holland and the Deepings Conservative Association, added: “I’m just glad that the chucking buns at each other is now over and they’ll have to get down to actually running the country.
“For most people on the street, that is the main thing - how is she going to sort that out, and we’ll wait and see exactly what she decides.”
Reports from over the weekend suggested that Ms Truss is strongly considering freezing energy bills in a bid to ease the burden on households this winter.
Having made tax cuts a key priority during her leadership campaign, she had remain tight-lipped about what kind of support package she might introduce. But reports in The Daily Telegraph and The Times suggest she is likely to introduce an energy bills freeze in some form.
She will travel to Balmoral, rather than Buckingham Palace, to be appointed prime minister by the Queen today.