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Liz Truss must clean up the mess Boris Johnson left behind

After the shambolic reign of green Tory Boris Johnson, Britain needs a strong leader and Liz Truss has an enormous task in front of her.

‘Jury is out’ on whether Liz Truss can unite fractured Conservative Party

New British Prime Minister Liz Truss has vowed to “govern as a conservative” after the shambolic reign of green Tory Boris Johnson, who squandered a massive landslide victory to push a variety of ruinous Leftist policies.

Right now the UK is in the midst of a deepening energy and illegal immigration crisis.

Energy prices are set to skyrocket by another 80 per cent in October, plunging a significant portion of Britons into energy poverty.

The crisis is almost entirely self-inflicted – Britain imports only about 4 per cent of its gas from Russia and the dramatic price hikes began well before the invasion of Ukraine – thanks to the type of mad “net zero” policies Australia is set to emulate.

The Tories under Johnson also did nothing meaningful to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. In a single day in late August some 1300 crossed the English Channel and according to Border Force union officials about 60,000 illegal migrants are expected to cross the Channel in 2022.

Liz Truss is taking over from the shambolic reign of Boris Johnson. Picture: Getty
Liz Truss is taking over from the shambolic reign of Boris Johnson. Picture: Getty

In 2018 the figure was about 250.

After beating rival Rishi Sunak by securing 57 per cent of the Conservative Party vote, Truss was on Tuesday sworn in as the 56th prime minister of the UK, remarkably the 15th PM to serve under Queen Elizabeth II.

Truss is the third female PM in British history, following in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. All three women got there on merit, not quotas, and all three represent the Conservative Party.

For all their virtue signalling about gender and equity, the Labour Party has never in its history elected a female leader. Harriet Harman and Margaret Beckett were acting leaders for short periods during leadership contests.

Boris Johnson squandered a massive landslide victory to push a variety of ruinous Leftist policies. Picture: Getty Images
Boris Johnson squandered a massive landslide victory to push a variety of ruinous Leftist policies. Picture: Getty Images

The Tories have an enormous task in front of them and Truss must clean up the mess Johnson left behind.

It remains to be seen whether she’ll be a great leader with an enduring legacy, like Thatcher, or whether she’ll follow in the irresolute footsteps of her predecessor.

Much has been said about her younger days as a republican firebrand but of more concern is her recent flip flopping on a variety of issues.

Britain needs a strong leader with a clear vision that can tackle the enormous challenges before it.

Truss has vowed to pull back from some of Johnson’s climate change follies and there are reports that she’s eager to push for more oil drilling in the North Sea.

Rita Panahi
Rita PanahiColumnist and Sky News host

Telling it like it is.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/rita-panahi/liz-truss-must-clean-up-the-mess-boris-johnson-left-behind/news-story/3464c8efd1ba7ec02483827b7e1a6027