Truss sworn in as UK's leader, Johnson exits

She says priority will be to tackle cost of living crisis and soaring energy bills

The United Kingdom's new prime minister, Liz Truss, formally took over from Boris Johnson on Tuesday, at a private ceremony presided over by Queen Elizabeth II.

Truss, who beat fellow leadership last-round challenger Rishi Sunak - by 81,326 votes to 60,399－in a ballot among the Conservative Party's 190,000 members, immediately turned her attention to naming her new Cabinet.

Truss was the 15th UK prime minister to have been sworn in by the 96-year-old monarch since her reign began in 1952, with the first being the legendary British leader Winston Churchill.

Truss said her top priority will be addressing fast-rising energy bills. She also plans to take other steps to relieve a cost-of-living crisis caused by inflation that is set to pass 18 percent during the first quarter of 2023.

Before handing over to Truss at Balmoral Castle, the queen's private home in Scotland, Johnson delivered his final speech from outside London's 10 Downing Street in which he likened his three years in power to "a booster rocket".

He said the rocket had "fulfilled its function", which suggested he expects Truss to now continue the journey, and the work, he began.

But, in an indication that he may not be interested in a return to top-flight politics, he said, continuing the booster rocket analogy, that he expects to now be "gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the Pacific".

"It's time for us all to get behind Liz Truss and her team and her program and deliver for the people of this country," he added.

Truss, who served in Johnson's Cabinet as foreign minister, may not, however, continue on the trajectory he has plotted.

Her government is already destined to look significantly different to Johnson's, with hardline Johnson supporters Priti Patel and Nadine Dorries resigning from their roles as home secretary and culture secretary.

Truss has a relatively low profile for an incoming prime minister, having only been a member of the Cabinet for eight years and having not previously led the Conservative Party, and observers will be interested to see what direction she takes.

The 47-year-old, who is the UK's third female prime minister, has said she will unveil her energy plan on Thursday, which the BBC says will likely include a freeze on energy bills for two years.

She has also promised a "bold "series of tax cuts that she claims will stimulate the economy and avoid a recession.

The Telegraph newspaper said Truss's appointment caused the pound to edge up on Tuesday from a two-year low, rising by 0.7 percent, to $1.16, in early trading.

Financial news specialists Bloomberg said Truss will need to spend around 130 billion pounds ($151 billion) during the coming year and a half if she is to protect the UK economy from the shock of high inflation and unaffordable energy bills.

Bloomberg said the government will likely opt to pay energy companies on behalf of consumers, and then recoup that money in increased taxes, a plan that seems to be at odds with Truss's promise of tax cuts.