Announcement of new UK prime minister: Tourists in London get unique experience

Tourists in UK’s capital were able to enjoy a fairly unique experience on Monday as they roamed the streets near the parliament while foreign secretary Liz Truss was formally announced as the new prime minister.

Even though most of the event occurred inside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster, away from public eye, the tension was palpable as Britons waited for the final results after weeks of suspense. Tourists were able to watch media personnel live broadcast from the location and from outside the parliament building as well as observe some of the Britons who gathered to protest.

There were few locals, however, who were physically present near the official buildings for the announcement, possibly because it was a Monday morning, but also because the leadership race was thought to be a foregone conclusion.

The race for prime minister was triggered when Boris Johnson announced his resignation after a slew of scandals that led to dozens of ministers and government officials quitting in record time. Johnson offered to stay on as caretaker prime minister is expected to officially end his term on Tuesday after visiting the Queen at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she is currently residing.

Truss and former chancellor to exchequer Rishi Sunak were the final two left in the race after several rounds of voting in July by Conservative Party members in the parliament. At around 12:30 pm local time, after nearly a month of postal ballot voting by the party’s grassroots members, final results showed that Truss, with 81,326 votes, beat out Sunak (60,399 votes) to become the next prime minister and party leader.

The public however isn’t too pleased with the results. “Calamitous” and “useless” were words that were heard being used for the new prime minister. Truss, who fared a little better among the party’s grassroots members than among the MPs, is fairly unpopular among the general public.

A YouGov poll showed that only 12% thought she’d be a “good” or “great” as PM, while 52% thought she’d be “poor” or “terrible” in the role. A whopping 65% thought she was “out of touch”, a significant concern as Britain faces a multitude of issues, chiefly it’s worst cost of living crisis in decades.

But all is not well for Truss even among her own party. She won with only 57.4% of the vote, which is the lowest margin for any leader chosen by the party. All four prime ministers previously elected this way have been able to clear the 60% margin, including her former boss Johnson and David Cameron. The turnout of members at 82.6%, was lower than 2019, when Boris Johnson was elected.

The low margin indicates a divided and uncertain party, meaning that Truss cannot claim full victory and has to watch out for her competition, who may be waiting in the aisles. The Times reported on Tuesday that Johnson maybe eyeing a comeback, and weak support for her may bolster his claim.

Protest group SODEM, who were present at the intersection of Parliament Street by mid morning with several signs, one of which read, “Corrupt Tory Government Liars, Cheats And Charlatans Get Them Out Now”, demanded a general election and played what could be understood as resistance music, including the famous Italian protest song Bella Ciao and The Lunatics by British pop band Fun Boy Three.

“I think she’ll be useless,” member Louise Brown said just before the announcement. “I don’t think she’s going to cope with the cost of living crisis at all.”

Despite speculation that Truss is expected to announce an energy price cap, the group was unconvinced. “We need to hear the plan first. She obviously has to pretend to do something, but I don’t personally think it’s going to go far enough.”

Another local, who come by the area to see the results during her break, said she thought Truss wouldn’t be able to stay on for very long. The woman, who asked not to be named, said she was expecting a early general election. The YouGov poll said 28% people said they believed that the Labour Party can be trusted with cost of living crisis better than the Conservatives (13%).

In the end some people in the area said they weren’t sure what Truss’s victory meant and only time would reveal whether she was capable to doing the job. For her next steps, Truss will be travelling the Balmoral on Tuesday to meet the Queen, where she will be officially invited form the government. Later at 4pm local time, she will deliver a speech from Downing Street. On Wednesday, she will come up for the first time against Opposition and Labour leader Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) at the House of Commons.

Though the day began as a sunny London morning, it got more grey over the course of the morning and it began to rain soon after the announcement. Some might wonder if this is a metaphor for the days to come.