Liz Truss: Sheffield politicians react to new Prime Minister – Labour and LibDem calls for general election

The Foreign Secretary’s victory in the leadership contest over Chancellor Rishi Sunak was welcomed by the city’s only Tory MP but two Labour MPs and the LibDem leader on Sheffield City Council all responded by calling for an early general election.

Sheffield Central MP Paul Blomfield said: “Liz Truss won by slamming the record of the Conservative governments she was part of.

“She’s right that the Tories have left the country in a mess but she has no answers to the problems they’ve created.

“Her plan for tax cuts for the wealthiest may appeal to the largely older and male Conservative members in the south-east of England who elected her but won’t help most people with rising costs and will damage the NHS, schools and public services.

“It’s astounding that she thinks there’s been too much focus on wealth distribution over the last 20 years despite rising poverty and inequality.

“Opinion polls show public support for her has fallen dramatically as people have heard her views over the summer.

“We need a general election and a fresh start.”

Fellow Labour MP Olivia Blake, who represents Sheffield Hallam, said: “Liz Truss as Prime Minister is a disaster for our country and planet.

‘We need a general election now’

“More fossil fuel extraction will do nothing to address the crises we are facing. Instead people in Sheffield need urgent action to cut energy bills, insulate homes and expand renewables.

“We need a general election now.”

Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh commented: “We now have our fourth Conservative Prime Minister over 12 years of Tory Government.

“Liz Truss inherits a weak economy, soaring inflation and an energy crisis which has been exacerbated by more than a decade of Tory failure.

“In a matter of weeks, the energy price cap will rise by a further 80% and millions of people are terrified about what that will mean for themselves and their families.

“The first thing that the new Prime Minister needs to do is to freeze the price cap and ensure that bills do not rise by even a penny this winter.

“Labour has a plan that will support people now, and in the future, it’s time the Tories woke up to the crisis people are facing and put much-needed support in place.”

‘Full support to the new Prime Minister’

Miriam Cates, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said: “I’d like to offer my congratulations to Liz Truss on her election as the new leader of the Conservative Party, who tomorrow will take on the role of Prime Minister.

“I will be offering my full support to the new Prime Minister as she takes the urgent steps that are needed to continue to support people through the rising cost of living.

“I know people across my constituency are keen to hear what additional steps the new Prime Minister will be taking to further lessen the impact of these financial pressures on individuals and businesses.

“I’ve been reassured to hear that Liz Truss will soon be setting out the actions she will be taking to help, which I look forward to supporting in Parliament.

“As Liz has said, we must deal with people’s bills and also deal with the long-term challenges we have with energy supply.

“My first priority remains my constituents and delivering for them. I’ll continue to work on the manifesto and local priorities I was elected on in 2019 and to support those who come to me for help.”

‘Liz Truss has stuck by Boris Johnson’

Sheffield Council LibDem leader Coun Shaffaq Mohammed said: “Liz Truss has stuck by Boris Johnson all the way through. She’s been beside Boris Johnson so the likelihood is that it’s a continuation.

“People will be expecting more of the same thing. The real issues concerning people at the moment are the cost-of-living crisis and energy supply problems.

“Inflation is not just on energy but on food and everything which is really hurting particularly working-class people. Sheffielders are feeling the squeeze.

“What we expect is to really grip on this, adopting the policy that (LibDem leader) Ed Davey announced to have an energy price freeze. Keir Starmer and Labour are also supporting this.

“She should deal with the energy supply issue.”

He added that Liz Truss only won 57 per cent of the Conservative members' votes, so she needs to seek a mandate with an early general election once urgent issues are dealt with.

"Let the people of Great Britain choose the person we want as our next Prime Minister."

Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough Labour MP Gill Furniss added her voice to the criticism.

She said: “All Britain has to show for the last 12 years of Tory government is low wages, high prices and a Tory cost-of-living crisis.

"People in Sheffield have borne the full brunt of this, whilst Conservative promises on ‘Levelling Up’ lie in tatters.

“Liz Truss offers more of the same old failed Tory ideas that got us in this mess.

“She must now stop delaying and get on the side of working people, back Labour’s plan to ensure no one would pay a penny more on their energy bills this winter, and fully fund it with a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. “The same old status quo is simply not good enough for families in Sheffield.”

Read this: Outrage over school uniforms cost

Read this: Council anti-racism action