UK Election Result LIVE: Liz Truss to be new PM; vows to cut taxes | FTSE 100 narrows morning losses

"Congratulations @trussliz for being chosen to be the next PM of the UK. Confident that under your leadership, the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be further strengthened. Wish you the very best for your new role and responsibilities," Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted congratulating the new PM.

See Tweet Here: 

Congratulations @trussliz for being chosen to be the next PM of the UK. Confident that under your leadership, the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be further strengthened. Wish you the very best for your new role and responsibilities.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 5, 2022

Liz Truss Speech - Highlights

-- Wee Thank you Sir Graham Brady. Its an honour to be elected the leader of the Conservative Unioinist Party. I would like to thank the 1922 Commitee, the party chairman and the conservative oparty for organising one of the longest job interviews in history

-- I would like to pay tribute to my fellow candidates, particularly Rishi Sunak. It has been a hard-fought campaign. I think we have shown the deapths and breadths of talent in our conservative party.

--  I would also thank the outgoing leader and my friend Boris Johnson. Boris you got Brexit done, crushed Jeremy Corbyn. You rolled out the vaccine and stood up to Vladimir Putin. 

-- Friends and colleagues thank you for putting your faith in me to lead our great conservative party...the greatest political party on earth.

-- I know our belief resonates with the British people... our beliefs in freedom...in low taxes...in personal responsibilty and I know thats why people voted for us in such numbers in 2019 and as your party leader i intend to deliver what we promised those voters right across our great country.

-- During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a Conservative and I will govern as a conservative and my friends we need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. 

-- I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy.

-- I will deliver on the energy crisis dealing with people's energy bills but also dealing with the long term issues we have of energy supply

--  And I will deliver on the National Health Service

Also Read: Meet New UK Prime Minister: Who is Liz Truss? PROFILE of 3rd female PM in Britain - Successor of Boris Johnson

-- We will deliver a great victory for the Conservatives in 2024.

What happend till now - in a nut shell: Sir Graham Brady 

-- 7 July 2022: Boris Johnson resigns as the leader of the Conservatives party

-- The 1922 committee organised 5 ballots over an 8-day period conscluding the part of the leadership election

-- Hustings began all over the country and the ballet of the membership is now concluded

-- Total number of eligible voters was 172437

-- The turnout in the election was 82.6 per cent

-- The total number of votes rejected was 654

-- The total number of valic votes given to Rishi Sunak was 60399 and to Liz Truss it was 81326

Liz Trus is the new British Prime Minister. She has a mandate for the next two years.

See Her Full Speech Live:

LIVE: Next Conservative Party Leader Announced https://t.co/J0Uwce4Mkt

— Conservatives (@Conservatives) September 5, 2022

Foreign secretary Liz Truss has defeated Indian-origin former chancellor Rishi Sunak in Conservative Party leadership race to become new British Prime Minister, the party announced on Monday, ending weeks of high political drama.

Sir Graham Brady - chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs and returning officer of the leadership election, declared 47-year-old Truss as winner of the contest for the top job at 10 Downing Street.
She is the third female Prime Minister in Britain, after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. Source: PTI

Ahead of the results announcement the London equity markets were trading in the red. The FTSE 100 was trading at 7,216.44 at 10:07 am UK time, down by 64 points of 0.9 per cent from the previous closing price.

Options for Sunak, if he loses

His talents do need to be used, a Tory member of Parliament told The Daily Telegraph'.

Another supporter told the newspaper that speculation that he would jet off to pursue a career in California was unfair.

Certainly, the private conversations I've had with him, he's said that he intends to continue. I would guess he hasn't decided what the future holds, the supporter said.
According to The Sunday Times' in its what will Rishi Sunak do next? analysis, the Indian-origin former minister's choices range between resuming an investment banking career in the Silicon Valley, turning into a rowdy backbencher holding the new leader to account, backing off politics entirely or regrouping for a second go at the top job around the time of the next general election expected in 2024.

If (Opposition) Labour ends up as the largest party I think he will reserve the right to go for it again, particularly if his percentage of the vote (in the present Tory leadership contest) begins with a 4 rather than a 3, a close supporter told the newspaper.

"The electorate will be very different in 2024, because a lot of the nutty people will be gone. Does he have the appetite to stand again and to go into Opposition for three or four years? He will be only in his mid-40s. Has he got flaws? Yes. Can he correct all that? Yes he can,? the supporter added.

Sunak's allies remain convinced that Truss' plans to slash taxes and borrow more for economic growth, while popular with 160,000 Tory members who voted in the current leadership election, will ultimately fail and leave the Conservatives in a crisis in time for the next election.

Inputs from PTI

What to expect if Truss wins the PM race?

Among the other key posts in a Truss-led Cabinet, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng a close ally is being lined up as Chancellor of Exchequer

Education Secretary James Cleverly is to be promoted to Foreign Secretary

Other former leadership hopefuls like Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid are likely to get the portfolio of Northern Ireland Secretary and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi will be shifted to the role of Cabinet Office minister. A few incumbent ministers, such as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, are expected to retain their respective portfolios in a new Truss-led Tory government. PTI

Suella Braverman may be only Indian-origin MP in new UK Cabinet

Indian-origin Suella Braverman is likely to be the only British politician of Indian heritage in the new Cabinet, if UK media speculations are to be believed that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is on course to beat Rishi Sunak to be elected Conservative Party leader and British Prime minister on Monday.

Truss, 47, is said to be pencilling in her top team and is looking at elevating Braverman to replace Priti Patel as Home Secretary.

A contender in the early rounds of the Tory leadership contest, 42-year-old Goan-origin Braverman currently holds the post of Attorney General. She had thrown her weight behind Truss after being knocked out in the second round of ballots of fellow Tory MPs in mid-July and called on her supporters to follow suit.

"Liz is ready now to be PM. She won't need to learn on the job. And the job is hard and needs to be done properly. The party has had a difficult six years and stability is urgently and swiftly needed,? said Braverman at the time.

She is set to be rewarded for her support with one of the high offices in the UK government, with Patel who has not openly declared her support for either Sunak or Truss set for a retreat to the backbenches.

Inputs fro PTI

The wait for the next British Prime Minister is about to get over in a few hours. The winner of the contest will be announced on Monday at 12:30 BST (17:00 IST) by Sir Graham Brady. 

Ten things to know about this election: 

1) Results announcement at 12:30 BST (17:00 IST).

2) Announcement to be made by Sir Graham Brady. He is the chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs and returning officer of the leadership election.

3) The election process was accompanied by six-week-long gruelling campaign for the governing Conservative Party to elect a new leader who will succeed ousted Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister.

4) If elected, 42-year-old Sunak will go on to make history as the first Prime Minister of the UK of Indian heritage. His Indian grandmother migrated to Britain over 60 years ago from East Africa.

5) Sunak is the son of a doctor father and pharmacist mother, who is married to Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy's daughter Akshata Murty. He launched his leadership bid back in early July.

6) Foreign Secretary Truss, who came in second in those ballots of Tory MPs, has since dominated the race among the wider party electorate who have been voting online and by post to elect their new leader.

7) The 47-year-old pitched her campaign on the pledge of immediate tax cuts to tackle the cost-of-living crisis facing the country, in contrast with Sunak's approach of wanting to focus on fighting soaring inflation and using targeted measures to offer support for the crisis.

8) Inflation remains the key issue dominating the campaign, overseen by the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ).

9) The candidates answering over 600 questions among themselves putting them under the spotlight, Conservative Party Chairman Andrew Stephenson said.

10) The two finalists in the race will find out around 10 minutes before the public announcement as to who between them has clinched the top job at 10 Downing Street.

When Will Sunak and Truss know about the result?

The two finalists in the race will find out who between them has clinched the top job at 10 Downing Street around 10 minutes before the public announcement. PTI

On whether he would consider a second go at the top job at 10 Downing Street in a few years' time if he loses this time, he said: Gosh, we've just finished this campaign and I need to recover from this one.

This is being seen as the first sign that even the 42-year-old former finance minister believes he may not have got enough votes to clinch the Tory leadership election. With him not ruling out another run, it will also fan speculation that he might want to have a second go at being elected the UK's first Indian-origin Prime Minister if he is beaten by Truss this time.

From being the clear frontrunner in the early knockout stages of the contest with the Tory MPs, Sunak has been trailing Truss in most surveys of party members voting to elect a new leader to succeed Johnson.

Both candidates have gone head-to-head in a dozen hustings events up and down the UK in an attempt to win over votes, with the issue of the cost-of-living crisis as a result of soaring household energy bills and inflation dominating the agenda. PTI

The countdown for the nnouncement of next British PM has begus and is just hours away. The results are expected to be announced at luch time (UK time). But has Rishi Sunak already thrown in the towel.

On Sunday, Sunak said that if he loses the Conservative Party leadership race, his job would be to support the next government. Is this the first hint at what's in store beyond Monday's election result to replace Boris Johnson as British Prime Minister?

In his final interview with the BBC before the results are declared, the British Indian former Chancellor said he plans to stay on as a member of Parliament and continue to work for his constituents in Richmond, Yorkshire, if he is defeated by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in the race.

"I look forward to supporting the Conservative government in whatever capacity," said Sunak, when asked about his future plans if the result does not go his way.

I'm going to stay as a member of Parliament?It's been a great privilege to represent my constituents in Richmond in North Yorkshire as their member of Parliament and I'll love to keep doing that as long as they'll have me, he said.

The winner will likley be announced on Monday at 1230 pm local time by Sir Graham Brady chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs and returning officer of the leadership election.

This is what the Official Twitter Bio of Conservatives displayed 

The election assumes significance in the backdrop of high inflation in UK not seen in four decades. There are risks of the country going into recession according to an IANS report quoting Bank of England. The recesion could last up to 2024, the report said.

Meanwhile, India has overtaken England as the 5th largest economy, this report said quoting Bloomberg's estmiates.

India toppled the UK from its position in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy. The calculation is based in US dollars, and India extended its lead in the first quarter, according to GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund.

This news comes as a further blow to the government in London as it grapples with a brutal cost-of-living shock, Bloomberg reported. The calculations were done using the IMF database and historic exchange rates on the Bloomberg terminal, this report said.

The UK`s decline down the international rankings is an unwelcome backdrop for the new Prime Minister.

Conservative Party members choose Boris Johnson`s successor on Monday, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss expected to beat former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the run-off.

India Vs UK

The IMF`s own forecasts show India overtaking the UK in dollar terms on an annual basis this year. India is now only behind US, China, Japan and Germany.

A decade ago, India ranked 11th among the largest economies, while the UK was 5th.

The Indian economy is forecast to grow more than 7 per cent this year. A world-beating rebound in Indian stocks this quarter has just seen their weighting rise to the second spot in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, trailing only China`s.

The UK is likely to have fallen further since. UK GDP grew just one per cent in cash terms in the second quarter and, after adjusting for inflation, shrank 0.1 per cent. Sterling has also underperformed the dollar relative to the rupee, with the pound falling eight per cent against the Indian currency this year.
  

British Prime Minister Election Race: How the drama unfolded

The results will mark the culmination of weeks of high political drama at the heart of the British government after nearly 60 senior ministers resigned from former PM Boris Johnson's Cabinet in early July, forcing him out in the wake of the partygate scandal of COVID law-breaking parties and impropriety allegations involving a senior political aide.

Sunak was among the first few ministers to step down as Chancellor, citing disagreements with his former boss, and later threw his hat in the ring for the leadership contest. He proved hugely popular with his Tory MP colleagues, who voted overwhelmingly for him to take over as Johnson's successor.

However, the wider Tory membership base is believed to be still fiercely loyal to the outgoing leader and unhappy with Johnson's forced exit from Downing Street. This loyalty is expected to have a strong bearing on the final outcome of the Tory leadership race, which will be known on Monday. PTI