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Liz Truss

Liz Truss was selected as the new leader of the UK's ruling Conservative Party on September 5, 2022, and was confirmed as the country's prime minister the following day. A China hawk, Truss promised prior to her ascension to take a tougher line on Beijing, including declaring genocide in Xinjiang. She had previously served as Foreign Secretary, during which role she cut funding for the Great Britain China Centre, a Foreign Office agency that maintains informal dialogues with China.

Born

26 Jul 1975

Industry

Politics

Job Title

Former Prime Minister of Britain

Britain’s Labour government is seeking consistency in its engagement with China, according to a close aide to Keir Starmer. Photo: Reuters

China-UK relations

Exclusive | Peter Mandelson on why Britain’s sudden U-turn on China was a big ‘mistake’

The close Starmer adviser says ‘violent’ shifts in diplomatic direction are not realistic or sensible.

26 Sep 2024 - 6:40PMvideocam

Liz Truss

Exclusive | Peter Mandelson on why Britain’s sudden U-turn on China was a big ‘mistake’

The close Starmer adviser says ‘violent’ shifts in diplomatic direction are not realistic or sensible.

New UK government cuts billions of pounds of spending to fix ‘unsustainable’ finances

Un-purr-turbed: Larry the cat training another UK prime minister in Downing Street

Opinion | With July 4 UK election call, Rishi Sunak has made a losing bet

While the Conservatives should never be underestimated as a political force, the party is badly divided heading into the six-week election campaign. Try as he might, Sunak has been unable to change the UK’s political weather.

Liz Truss, UK prime minister for 49 days, refuses to rule out fresh leadership bid

The shortest-serving prime minister in Britain’s history says she has ‘unfinished business’.

UK opposition leader hit by glitter before key Labour speech

The protester shouted “true democracy is citizen-led” and “politics needs an update” before scattering glitter over Keir Starmer’s head.

UK ex-PM Truss paid US$100,000 for 4-hour Taiwan visit

Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister was paid by Taiwanese think tank, the Prospect Foundation, for a speech in May that slammed China and accused Europe of failing to stand by Taiwan.

Video | Beijing condemns British ex-PM Liz Truss’ Taiwan visit

‘Dangerous political show’: Beijing slams Taiwan visit by Britain’s Liz Truss

Truss and her ilk are ‘playing the Taiwan card’ to provoke, Chinese embassy in London says, warning against violations of ‘one-China principle’.

China headache or help for Britain’s Rishi Sunak? Liz Truss to visit Taiwan

Truss will make a speech on threats to the island at the Prospect Foundation, a think tank sanctioned by Beijing.

UK politicians caught in sting for jobs with fake South Korean agency

The issue of Conservative MPs taking second jobs has been provoking fresh controversy as Britons endure the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

Former British PM Truss says she was ‘never given a chance’

Truss’ premiership lasted just 49 days as she was forced to quit after a proposed US$54 billion package of unfunded tax cuts panicked the markets and tanked the pound.

UK must ‘evolve’ China foreign policy in face of ‘challenge’, says PM Sunak

A new approach to foreign policy with Beijing is needed as the so-called golden era between the two countries is over, Sunak says in first major foreign policy address on Monday.

UK unveils budget amid ‘unprecedented global headwinds’

Britain’s Finance minister Jeremy Hunt announces US$36 billion in spending cuts and US$28 billion in tax increases.

UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt says he must raise taxes to fix economy

Hunt is trying to restore Britain’s credibility among investors in the first budget plan since Rishi Sunak replaced Liz Truss as prime minister last month.

UK’s Sunak faces fresh controversy over cabinet picks

Controversy over deputy prime minister and justice secretary Dominic Raab came after Sunak ally Gavin Williamson was forced out of the new government over alleged bullying.

Hongkongers in Britain welcome Rishi Sunak as prime minister

Immigrants stunned by UK’s political chaos, but some find it inspiring to see ‘democracy in action’.

How Rishi Sunak married into nearly US$1 billion in tech money

Britain’s new PM Rishi Sunak grew up as a child of privilege and married into nearly US$1 billion in tech money – and once claimed to have no ‘working-class friends’

Asian Angle | Liz Truss’ UK exit highlights failure of Western democracies to govern fairly

Truss’ brief tenure has shattered illusion of democracy as be-all and end-all of approaches to governing societies and serving citizens’ needs, Chandran Nair writes.

The View | Yen collapse and UK tax debacle show it’s unwise ignoring markets

Being stubborn on a matter of principle can be costly for politicians and policymakers. They need to remember the wisdom of crowds rather than ignoring the markets, as Liz Truss and the Bank of Japan have.

UK MP slammed for unlawful decision on migrants, says UK faces ‘invasion’

The home secretary decided to stop booking hotels for asylum seekers being processed at a migration centre, resulting in thousands of people being detained illegally.

Calls for UK to probe reported hacking of Liz Truss phone

In an unconfirmed report, The Mail on Sunday cited unnamed security sources as saying that Truss’s personal mobile phone had been hacked ‘by agents suspected of working for the Kremlin’.

Letters | Hong Kong’s waste reduction efforts must aim for fully circular economy

Readers discuss the plan to increase the levy on plastic bags, whether the measure goes far enough, and the need to treat climate change denial as fake news.

Macroscope | Tragedy is that Truss’ pro-growth plans are just what Britain needs

While Truss’ diagnosis of Britain’s economic problems was spot on, she fatally mismanaged both the politics and the messaging of her policy response. The swift collapse of the Truss administration holds lessons for policymakers promoting pro-growth reforms in other countries.

UK’s Rishi Sunak delays plan on public finances

PM and finance minister Jeremy Hunt make ‘prudent’ decision, to allow more time to ensure new plan takes into account latest economic forecasts. Markets react, but the scale of moves is muted compared to the panic bond selling caused by Liz Truss’ September tax-cutting plan.

Will Sunak’s rise in UK prompt soul-searching in Chinese-majority Singapore?

Singapore’s three PMs are all of Chinese descent, but observers note Sunak’s rise should not be ‘romanticised’ as he was chosen by a small circle of Tory MPs.

Rishi Sunak vows ‘competence’ as he becomes UK prime minister

Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, must navigate a cost-of-living crisis and regain the confidence of financial markets as prime minister

The short, shambolic leadership of UK’s Liz Truss comes to an end

Outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss said the country faced ‘brighter days’ as she made her final speech as leader outside her Downing Street office.