On the 6th September 2022 our new Prime Minister was appointed: Liz Truss. As she will be leading our country over the coming years through many challenges, let’s delve a little further into her background.
Early life:
Truss was born on 26th July 1975 in Oxford, England; however, she has lived in towns all over the UK including Paisley, Leeds, Kidderminster, and London – as well as a period in Vancouver, Canada. Her parents are John Truss and Priscilla Truss, and she has three younger brothers, Chris, Patrick and Francis. Did you know her full name is actually Mary Elizabeth Truss? From an early age, she has been known by her middle name, a nickname of that in fact, ‘Liz’.
Studies:
She attended the Roundhay School in Leeds, where she completed her A-Levels – which helped her land a place at Merton College, Oxford University, studying philosophy, politics and economics (commonly known as PPE).
Political career:
At the age of 17, Liz became a card-carrying member of the Liberal Democrats; and at Oxford, Truss was presiding over the University’s Liberal Democrat society. However, in 1996, she decided to join the Conservative Party.
After two unsuccessful attempts, Truss was elected to Parliament in 2010 as one of David Cameron’s ‘A-List’ candidates.
In September 2012, she was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare, and in July 2014 she was promoted and served as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for two years.
Truss became the first female Lord Chancellor in the history of the position when Theresa May named her Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, following David Cameron’s resignation in 2016, before leaving the role a year to become Chief Secretary to the Treasury where she remained until July 2019.
Between 2019 and 2021, Truss served as International Trade Secretary, and took on the important role of organising post Brexit trade deals with third party countries. She has also served as the government’s Equalities Minister.
Truss was appointed Foreign Secretary by Boris Johnson in September 2021. Having secured the votes of 57% of Conservative party members in the leadership election of 2022, she became Prime Minister.
Before getting appointed, Liz Truss was the longest serving cabinet minister, having sat in the cabinet continuously between 2014 and 2022.
Careers outside politics:
Before entering politics, Truss worked in the energy and telecommunications industry for 10 years as a commercial manager and economics director and is a qualified management accountant.
Personal life:
Truss is married to accountant Hugh O’Leary, with whom she has two daughters, Liberty and Frances. According to her website, Ms Truss and her family live in Thetford, a market town and civil parish in Norfolk. They have lived there since around 2010, with the location allowing her to be close to her constituency of Southwest Norfolk, where she has served as MP for the past 12 years.
As Prime Minister, Liz Truss will undoubtedly receive much criticism, and so I hope she can learn how to ‘Shake it Off’ as well as move past any ‘Bad Blood’ she may have with her rivals. I think she knows ‘All Too Well’ there will be multiple challenges ahead and I hope her list of solutions isn’t just a ‘Blank Space’. I don’t think Liz could have imagined, in her ‘Wildest Dreams’, that she would be Prime Minister in ‘22’ but hopefully she is ‘Ready For It’ and won’t be saying later on ‘I should’ve said No’.
I think you see where I’m going with this…
Liz Truss is a massive Swiftie and has not only used some of her lyrics during debates in the House of Commons, but even managed to get a selfie with Taylor Swift at the BAFTA after-party at London’s Grosvenor House in February 2019.
