Truss or Sunak? Britons eagerly await appointment of new PM

LONDON: It was a fast-changing situation outside the UK parliament on Monday ahead of what is expected to be the announcement of foreign secretary Liz Truss as the new prime minister.

The streets were relatively calm in the earlier hours, but, as the clock inched closer to the announcement, between the arrival of the day’s tourists, media personnel covering the event and a handful of protesters, it started getting slightly chaotic. Metropolitan police manned the streets and officers with machine guns and bright neon vests dotted every street from outside the parliament down to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British premier.

The race for prime minister was triggered when Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July 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. Today, at 12:30 pm local time, after nearly a month of postal ballot voting by the party’s grassroots members, the next prime minister and party leader is set to be announced.

Truss is expected to win the final contest, polls say, despite Sunak’s unbeaten lead in all the previous rounds. But locals are not impressed. Protest group SODEM 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.”

They 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,” said member Louise Brown. “I don’t think she’s [Liz Truss] 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.”

In a short while now, we will know if Truss will be the next leader, as expected, if Sunak, contrary to all polls, will beat her out. The final result will also be an important indication as to whether Truss or Sunak will be able to tout majority support, or if they’ll have constantly have to watch out for the other. If the race is close, it could also allow Johnson to mount a stronger comeback. As of now, everything inside and outside the parliament is an evolving situation.