Britain | Wasp in a bell jar

What kind of prime minister will Liz Truss be?

Britain’s new leader is a small-state conservative in a big-state era

06/09/2022. London, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Liz Truss Arrives in Downing Street. 10 Downing Street. Newly elected Prime Minister, Liz Truss arrives at No.10 Downing Street after an audience with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Balmoral, Scotland. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

Editor’s note (September 8th 2022): This article has been updated to include details of the Conservative plan to cap household energy bills.

Declinism, that dull fear of Britain’s sunset, has shaped the country’s post-war politics. It propelled Britain into the European Economic Community, the eu’s precursor, and fuelled Margaret Thatcher’s economic revolution. Now it has helped Liz Truss into Downing Street. On September 5th Ms Truss was declared the winner of the ballot of 172,000 Conservative members to replace Boris Johnson as the Tory leader. The next day, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, the queen invited her to form a new government.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "New leader, familiar problems"

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