SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
New Conservative Party leader and incoming prime minister Liz Truss smiles and waves as she arrives at Conservative Party Headquarters in central London having been announced the winner of the Conservative Party leadership contest at an event in central London on September 5, 2022. (Photo: Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)
'Buckle Up, It's Going to Be a Rough Ride': Far-Right Liz Truss Named New UK Prime Minister
One critic warns that the Tory former Foreign Secretary "campaigned as a right-wing ideologue and will govern as such—which is a disaster for all of us."
Sep 05, 2022
Labour Party members, progressives, and critical voices worldwide registered concern and condemnation Monday after the Conservative Party in the U.K. voted to make Liz Truss, formerly the Foreign Secretary, the nation's next Prime Minister to replace the outgoing Boris Johnson.
"New prime minister, same old deceit!"
In a runoff with former finance minister Rishi Sunak, Truss won out by a historically narrow margin following the resignation of Johnson earlier this summer amid a raging energy crisis, soaring costs, and a flood of internal scandals that sapped his support.
"Just when we see the back of a law-breaking, Parliament-proroguing, office-abusing PM in Boris Johnson," said Green MP Caroline Lucas in a tweet, "he's replaced by a climate-wrecking, handout-refusing, redistribution-opposing, Brexit ideologue PM in Liz Truss. Buckle up, it's going to be a rough ride."
While Johnson "leaves having disgraced his office," continued Lucas, she warned that Truss "campaigned as a right-wing ideologue and will govern as such--which is a disaster for all of us."
As both Foreign Secretary and International Trade Secretary before that, Truss was rebuked for her xenophobic rhetoric and policies throughout her career by human rights groups in the U.K., Europe and beyond.
The Labour Party made clear their belief that Truss, based on her own remarks, will continue her party's hostility toward working people in the U.K.:
For those looking for a break from the aggressiveness of the Johnson era, progressive critics said there is nothing to look forward to with Truss.
"New prime minister, same old deceit!" declared DiEM25, the pan-European political movement, in a social media post following Truss' selection.
Truss, the group warned, "will continue to serve the British oligarchy and the global technocrats of the World Economic Forum at the expense of the everyday citizen battling with the cost of living crisis that the Tory party is directly responsible for inflaming."
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of his party, said that Truss should act immediately to alleviate the struggles of working people.
"The first act of Liz Truss' premiership should be taking immediate action to tackle the cost of living crisis that is pushing millions into poverty," he said. "This must be a wealth tax and bringing energy companies, water, mail and rail into public ownership."
Corbyn also called for a commitment to give workers a raise in the country, stop the push to privatize the National Health Service, and end the "appalling treatment of refugees fleeing war."
According to Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins, the best and first thing that Truss could do as Prime Minister is to immediately "U-turn on everything she believes in" as a person and politician.
Andy Worthington, a progressive journalist and activist, suggested there was little hope of that with Truss when it comes to fighting inequality, the climate crisis, or putting the government in service of people's needs.
"Just when what we need is a truss, in which a number of objects combine to create a solid structure, we, get, instead, a Liz Truss," said Worthington, "a far-right libertarian sock-puppet who despises the poor for being poor, adores the rich and wants to make them richer, and loves fossil fuels."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Labour Party members, progressives, and critical voices worldwide registered concern and condemnation Monday after the Conservative Party in the U.K. voted to make Liz Truss, formerly the Foreign Secretary, the nation's next Prime Minister to replace the outgoing Boris Johnson.
"New prime minister, same old deceit!"
In a runoff with former finance minister Rishi Sunak, Truss won out by a historically narrow margin following the resignation of Johnson earlier this summer amid a raging energy crisis, soaring costs, and a flood of internal scandals that sapped his support.
"Just when we see the back of a law-breaking, Parliament-proroguing, office-abusing PM in Boris Johnson," said Green MP Caroline Lucas in a tweet, "he's replaced by a climate-wrecking, handout-refusing, redistribution-opposing, Brexit ideologue PM in Liz Truss. Buckle up, it's going to be a rough ride."
While Johnson "leaves having disgraced his office," continued Lucas, she warned that Truss "campaigned as a right-wing ideologue and will govern as such--which is a disaster for all of us."
As both Foreign Secretary and International Trade Secretary before that, Truss was rebuked for her xenophobic rhetoric and policies throughout her career by human rights groups in the U.K., Europe and beyond.
The Labour Party made clear their belief that Truss, based on her own remarks, will continue her party's hostility toward working people in the U.K.:
For those looking for a break from the aggressiveness of the Johnson era, progressive critics said there is nothing to look forward to with Truss.
"New prime minister, same old deceit!" declared DiEM25, the pan-European political movement, in a social media post following Truss' selection.
Truss, the group warned, "will continue to serve the British oligarchy and the global technocrats of the World Economic Forum at the expense of the everyday citizen battling with the cost of living crisis that the Tory party is directly responsible for inflaming."
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of his party, said that Truss should act immediately to alleviate the struggles of working people.
"The first act of Liz Truss' premiership should be taking immediate action to tackle the cost of living crisis that is pushing millions into poverty," he said. "This must be a wealth tax and bringing energy companies, water, mail and rail into public ownership."
Corbyn also called for a commitment to give workers a raise in the country, stop the push to privatize the National Health Service, and end the "appalling treatment of refugees fleeing war."
According to Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins, the best and first thing that Truss could do as Prime Minister is to immediately "U-turn on everything she believes in" as a person and politician.
Andy Worthington, a progressive journalist and activist, suggested there was little hope of that with Truss when it comes to fighting inequality, the climate crisis, or putting the government in service of people's needs.
"Just when what we need is a truss, in which a number of objects combine to create a solid structure, we, get, instead, a Liz Truss," said Worthington, "a far-right libertarian sock-puppet who despises the poor for being poor, adores the rich and wants to make them richer, and loves fossil fuels."
Labour Party members, progressives, and critical voices worldwide registered concern and condemnation Monday after the Conservative Party in the U.K. voted to make Liz Truss, formerly the Foreign Secretary, the nation's next Prime Minister to replace the outgoing Boris Johnson.
"New prime minister, same old deceit!"
In a runoff with former finance minister Rishi Sunak, Truss won out by a historically narrow margin following the resignation of Johnson earlier this summer amid a raging energy crisis, soaring costs, and a flood of internal scandals that sapped his support.
"Just when we see the back of a law-breaking, Parliament-proroguing, office-abusing PM in Boris Johnson," said Green MP Caroline Lucas in a tweet, "he's replaced by a climate-wrecking, handout-refusing, redistribution-opposing, Brexit ideologue PM in Liz Truss. Buckle up, it's going to be a rough ride."
While Johnson "leaves having disgraced his office," continued Lucas, she warned that Truss "campaigned as a right-wing ideologue and will govern as such--which is a disaster for all of us."
As both Foreign Secretary and International Trade Secretary before that, Truss was rebuked for her xenophobic rhetoric and policies throughout her career by human rights groups in the U.K., Europe and beyond.
The Labour Party made clear their belief that Truss, based on her own remarks, will continue her party's hostility toward working people in the U.K.:
For those looking for a break from the aggressiveness of the Johnson era, progressive critics said there is nothing to look forward to with Truss.
"New prime minister, same old deceit!" declared DiEM25, the pan-European political movement, in a social media post following Truss' selection.
Truss, the group warned, "will continue to serve the British oligarchy and the global technocrats of the World Economic Forum at the expense of the everyday citizen battling with the cost of living crisis that the Tory party is directly responsible for inflaming."
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of his party, said that Truss should act immediately to alleviate the struggles of working people.
"The first act of Liz Truss' premiership should be taking immediate action to tackle the cost of living crisis that is pushing millions into poverty," he said. "This must be a wealth tax and bringing energy companies, water, mail and rail into public ownership."
Corbyn also called for a commitment to give workers a raise in the country, stop the push to privatize the National Health Service, and end the "appalling treatment of refugees fleeing war."
According to Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins, the best and first thing that Truss could do as Prime Minister is to immediately "U-turn on everything she believes in" as a person and politician.
Andy Worthington, a progressive journalist and activist, suggested there was little hope of that with Truss when it comes to fighting inequality, the climate crisis, or putting the government in service of people's needs.
"Just when what we need is a truss, in which a number of objects combine to create a solid structure, we, get, instead, a Liz Truss," said Worthington, "a far-right libertarian sock-puppet who despises the poor for being poor, adores the rich and wants to make them richer, and loves fossil fuels."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.