London

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was on Monday announced the victor of the contest for the Conservative Party leader, defeating former Chancelllor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak, and paving the way for her to become the next Prime Minister.

Truss, who succeeds Boris Johnson, will be the third woman Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, all of from her Conservative Party. Announcing the results, 1922 Committee chief, Sir Graham Brady said Truss won 81,326 votes, or over 57 per cent, compared to Sunak's 60,399 votes.

There was a turnout of 82.6 per cent of the over 170,000 registered party voters, he added. In her brief address on the occasion, Truss thanked the party for "organising one of the longest job interviews in history", as well as her supporters.

She praised her rivals, particularly Sunak, saying that the campaign was "hard-fought" and showed "the depth and breadth of talent" in the party. Truss pledged to follow through on her promises to voters, saying the Tory party needs to show it can deliver over the next two years, and that she has a "bold plan" to cut taxes and grow the UK economy.

On the rising energy bills, she says she will "deliver" when it comes to crisis by not only dealing with bills but also the long term supply issues. Truss trounces Sunak in Tory leadership battle, to be next UK PM

Truss takes the helm of a country in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis after seeing off the former chancellor's challenge with support from 81,326 party members, compared to Rishi Sunak's 60,399, Daily Mail reported.

The 57 per cent to 43 per cent result -- closer than some had expected -- was announced by 1922 committee chair Sir Graham Brady in a glitzy ceremony at the QE2 Centre in Westminster, the reprt said. Truss said it is an 'honour' to be the new leader of the 'greatest political party on Earth'.

"I know that our beliefs resonate with the British people, I campaigned as a Conservative and I will govern as a Conservative... I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy," she said.

She added: "We will deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024." Truss also paid tribute to Boris Johnson, who will formally hand over power to her on Tuesday, saying he "got Brexit done, crushed Jeremy Corbyn, rolled out the vaccine, and stood up to Vladimir Putin".

But the new premier faces one of the toughest in-trays in decades, with inflation fears mounting as gas prices soar again and the Pound slides further. Speculation is growing that Truss will opt for a bold furlough-style move to freeze energy bills - possibly by loaning companies money to hold down costs.

Wholesale gas prices rocketed by around 30 per cent today, following Russia's decision to shut down a key gas pipeline, Daily Mail reported.

Indian PM Narendra Modi took to twitter to congratulate the newly elected UK's PM.

Congratulations @trussliz for being chosen to be the next PM of the UK. Confident that under your leadership, the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be further strengthened. Wish you the very best for your new role and responsibilities.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 5, 2022