Liz Truss set to become UK prime minister

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been chosen as the new leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, putting her in line to be confirmed as prime minister.

Truss’s selection was announced Monday in London after a leadership election in which only the 180,000 dues-paying members of the Conservative Party were allowed to vote.

Truss beat rival Rishi Sunak, the government’s former Treasury chief, by promising to cut taxes and boost defence spending.

Truss received 81,326 votes, while Sunak’s got 60,399 votes.

Queen Elizabeth II is expected to officially name Truss as Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday.

The ceremony will happen at the queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, where the monarch is vacationing, rather than at Buckingham Palace.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has had no authority to make major policy decisions since July 7, when he announced his intention to resign.

Johnson was forced to resign after a number of ethics scandals that peaked in July when dozens of cabinet ministers and lower level officials resigned because of his handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by a senior member of his government.