Just In: Liz Truss To Be Next UK Prime Minister

Liz Truss will become the next prime minister after defeating Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership contest.

Ms Truss, who was the favourite to win the contest, will succeed Boris Johnson on Tuesday and become the nation’s third female leader, reports Sky News.

The foreign secretary used her victory speech to indicate she would not be triggering an early general election, instead pledging to secure “a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024”.

She won by a significant margin, but the 57% victory over Sunak’s 43% was slimmer than in other recent contests.

Ms Truss said it is an “honour to be elected” as she thanked her party for organising “one of the longest job interviews in history”.

In a short speech after the result was announced, she issued her thanks to her “friend” Boris Johnson, who will officially depart from No 10 on Tuesday.

“You got Brexit done. You crushed Jeremy Corbyn. You rolled out the vaccine and you stood up to Vladimir Putin,” she said.

Johnson, who was forced to announce his resignation after a wave of ministers left his government over a series of controversies, will visit the Queen at Balmoral Castle in Scotland to formally tender his resignation tomorrow.