UK PM Hopeful Liz Truss Rejects 'Armageddon Scenario' for Crisis-Plagued Britain

Polls indicate that UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will most likely get the better of former Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a Tory leadership race, with a winner scheduled to be announced on Monday before officially moving into 10 Downing Street on September 6th.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has rejected concerns over “an Armageddon scenario” for the crisis-hit British economy, claiming that the country had been through tougher troubles in the past.

In an interview with the BBC, Truss said that if she becomes a new UK prime minister she “will be clear with the public about the challenges we [Britons] face and the tough decisions we need to make.”

According to the foreign secretary, “[…] Britain has been through worse in the past - we have the attitude and spirit to get through it.”

“If I'm elected as prime minister, within one week I will make sure there is an announcement on how we are going to deal with the issue of energy bills and of long-term supply to put this country on the right footing for winter,” Truss stressed.

The remarks followed the top UK diplomat pledging swift steps to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and deliver a “broader plan” to make the UK economy “more resilient and competitive” if she wins the Tory leadership race.

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, Truss wrote that she understands how “challenging the cost of living crisis is for everyone,” adding that “these are tough times and the months ahead will be hard.”

“If elected, I plan within the first week of my new administration to set out our immediate action on energy bills and energy supply. A fiscal event would follow later this month from my chancellor, with a broader package of action on the economy," she pointed out.

Truss also stressed the importance of the government taking “the difficult decisions to ensure we are not in this position every autumn and winter.” She insisted that “sticking plasters and kicking the can down the road will not do,” signaling a readiness “to take the tough decisions to rebuild” the UK economy.

The foreign secretary’s rival, former chancellor Rishi Sunak has repeatedly berated Truss over her plans to reverse his increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25% — set to come into force next April — along with other mooted tax cuts adding up to some £30 billion as her solution to the energy crisis that could drag millions of UK households into fuel poverty this coming winter.

Adding fuel to the fire is last week’s announcement by the UK energy regulator Ofgem on an 80% increase in the energy price cap to 3,549 pounds ($4,194) per year starting October 1st due to rising global energy prices. Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley warned that energy prices are likely to continue to rise, and urged the UK’s future prime minister to take new measures to tackle the problem.

In late February, Truss warned that the sanctions London had slapped on Moscow in retaliation for Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine would worsen the UK cost of living crisis, and that Britain must be prepared to take an “economic hit.”