LONDON
\nBoris Johnson bowed out as British prime minister on Tuesday, ending a tumultuous three years in office and bequeathing his successor Liz Truss a daunting list of problems to tackle.
\nJohnson, who was forced out of office by his own Conservative Party over a series of scandals, urged the country to come together and back his successor.
\nAfter making a farewell speech outside Downing Street, he left London to travel to Scotland and tender his resignation to Queen Elizabeth.
\nTruss will then be appointed prime minister and start to form a government.
\nThe 47-year-old Truss is tasked with steering Britain through a looming lengthy recession and an energy crisis that threatens the finances of millions of households and businesses.
\nHer plan to boost the economy through tax cuts while providing tens of billions of pounds to cap energy costs has already badly rattled financial markets, prompting investors to dump the pound and government bonds.
\n\u201cWhat I say to my fellow Conservatives, it\u2019s time for politics to be over, folks,\u201d Johnson said in his speech. \u201cIt\u2019s time for us all to get behind Liz Truss and her team and her programme.\u201d
\nTruss will be the fourth Conservative prime minister in six years.
\nShe confronts the latest crisis to buffet Britain with a weaker political hand than many of her predecessors after she defeated rival Rishi Sunak in a vote of Conservative Party members with a smaller margin of victory than expected, and after she initially failed to be the top choice for her lawmakers.
\nShe has promised to take \u201cbold action\u201d to get the country through the tough times, including cutting taxes despite a warning that that would exacerbate Britain\u2019s inflation rate, at 10.1 per cent already the highest of any leading economy.
\nJohnson, who fought to stay in office until the end, used his departure speech to boast of his successes, including an early vaccine programme during the pandemic and his early support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia.
\nThe speech was full of the bombast and jokes characteristic of a man once loved by much of British public but also loathed by many.
\nHaving refused to rule out a return to the top job one day, he also indicated he was still bruised by the nature of his departure.
\n\u201cThe torch will finally be passed to a new Conservative leader,\u201d he said. \u201cThe baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race. They changed the rules halfway through but never mind that now.\u201d
\nTruss will follow Johnson to Scotland and be asked to form a government by Queen Elizabeth. She will then address the country and start appointments to her team of ministers later on Tuesday.
\nBritain, under Conservative rule since 2010, has stumbled from crisis to crisis in recent years and there is now the prospect of a long recession, and further increases in inflation, plus a weakening pound.
\nThe most pressing issue is the energy crisis.
\nHousehold bills are due to jump by 80pc in October, but a source familiar with the situation has told Reuters that Truss is looking at freezing bills this winter, in a plan that could cost more than the Covid-19 furlough scheme.
\nBritain\u2019s public finances remain weighed down by the government\u2019s huge coronavirus spending spree. Public debt as a share of economic output is not far off 100pc, up from about 80pc before pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Boris Johnson bowed out as British prime minister on Tuesday, ending a tumultuous three years in office and bequeathing his successor Liz Truss a daunting list of problems to tackle. Johnson, who was forced out of office by his own Conservative Party over a series of scandals, urged the country to come together and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-281930","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n