Liz Truss’s constituents give mixed reaction to her selection as Tory leader
People living in the new Prime Minister’s South West Norfolk constituency have spoken about her new role as leader of the Conservative party.
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Your support makes all the difference.People in Liz Truss’s South West Norfolk constituency gave a mixed reaction to news that she will become the country’s next prime minister.
Retired probation officer Jackie Westrop, of Downham Market, said Ms Truss has “a hell of a lot of work to do” in her new role.
“I extend my congratulations,” said the 66-year-old, speaking outside a supermarket in the town.
“This is something that she’s driven for for quite some time.
“I only hope her constituency doesn’t suffer.
“This constituency, like a lot of other places in the country, has some significant problems, and I hope she and her team don’t forget the people who originally elected her as an MP years ago.”
Ms Truss entered Parliament in 2010 with a comfortable majority of more than 13,000.
Ms Westrop said: “I’d like her to follow up on the promise that she’s just given the party, which is actually ‘deliver, deliver, deliver’.
“I think that’s quite a bold statement to make in the current circumstances.”
She said if Ms Truss does not address the cost-of-living crisis and “get the economy moving”, then “she will actually be one of the shortest-serving premiers in history”.
“That could very easily be her fate,” said Ms Westrop.
“One hopes not.
“One hopes that she actually does well because the country deserves a break and hopefully she’ll be the lady to deliver it.”
Artist Rob Shaw, who lives in the village of Stoke Ferry, said that, between Ms Truss and her leadership rival Rishi Sunak, he does not “think it really matters in this situation who took over”.
He said: “They’ve both got their own ideas but we’re in such a state at the moment that I don’t think that there’s much way out of it without upsetting a lot of people or just plunging us into a lot more debt, which is pretty much inevitable either way.
“To be honest, I think they’re going to preside over a collapse in society at this point.
“We’ll just see how it goes, won’t we?”
The 41-year-old continued: “I’d like to see a restructure of society, to be honest, but that’s not going to happen any time soon.
“As long as there’s big business making lots of money and they’ve got the Government in their pockets, they’re going to continue to do whatever they want to do and we’ll have to just suck it up, won’t we?”
Mr Shaw said he feels sorry for those “living on the breadline” who faced “prolonged no answers to their questions” during the leadership contest.
“In the long run, I’m sure we’ll all go back to normal and we’ll all forget about it like we always do, then it’ll be the next problem to worry about,” he added.
Civil servant Rebecca Thomson, 42 of Downham Market, said she hopes Ms Truss will address “what we’re all going to be facing in regard to our finances”.
Semi-retired handyman Michael Beaton, of the village of Southery, said of news Ms Truss will become prime minister: “It’ll speak for itself really, I think it’ll be all the same.”
The 63-year-old continued: “The Tories, so far, have devastated most of the NHS and things like that, haven’t they?
“Whether she does anything about that and puts it back instead of trying to privatise it all, they’ve got to make up their minds which way they want to go.”