UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss launches bid for Prime Minister

By Nicky Robertson, CNN

British Member of Parliament Liz Truss has joined the race to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party, outlining her campaign in an op-ed published Sunday in The Telegraph.

“I am putting myself forward because I can lead, deliver and make the tough decisions. I have a clear vision of where we need to be, and the experience and resolve to get us there,” Truss wrote.

At the forefront of her bid is a pledge to cut taxes. “Under my leadership, I would start cutting taxes from day one to take immediate action to help people deal with the cost of living,” she wrote.

Truss has held multiple Cabinet positions, including Foreign Secretary. She was also the chief negotiator with the European Union on the UK’s Brexit deal.

In her op-ed, Truss highlights her foreign policy expertise in addition to her domestic experience.

“As Foreign Secretary, I have helped to lead the international response to Putin’s war in Ukraine and delivered a tough sanctions package that has led the world, by imposing real pain on Putin and the Kremlin,” she wrote.

Truss is part of an increasingly crowded field vying to replace Johnson. Other candidates include Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, senior Conservative backbencher Tom Tugendhat, Attorney General Suella Braverman, former Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, and Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt.

As CNN has previously reported, candidates who run for the leadership will go through rounds of voting by Conservative lawmakers until only two remain — at which point Conservative Party members nationwide will vote. The winner will be the new party leader — and prime minister.

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