Liz Truss was announced as the UK’s next Prime Minister and the leader of the Conservative party on Monday 5th September and was formally appointed as Britain’s Prime Minister the next day. Liz Truss, who was formerly the Foreign Secretary, is taking office in a turbulent economic period in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, rising energy prices, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The new Prime Minister’s foreign policy is likely to remain the wider foreign policy that Truss followed under Boris Johnson.
Ukraine Conflict
In terms of the Ukraine conflict, Liz Truss showed a clear stance on Russia’s invasion in the battle for Number 10. She said the only way to end this war is for Russian troops to leave Ukraine’s territory. Liz Truss emphasized the importance of the UK weapon supply to Ukraine in the conflict. Truss styled herself after Margaret Thatcher with her firm opposition to Russia. Known as a foreign policy hawk, she intends to lift Britain’s defence spending to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade.
Truss plans to increase the UK’s ability to counter growing threats from Russia and a rising challenge posed by China on the Taiwan strait issue. Truss has shown her desire to see the UK and its allies, like the US and Japan, help Taiwan protect itself. “United with our allies, we will stand up for freedom and democracy around the world.” said Liz Truss, in her statement on the steps of Downing Street.
Relations with France
However, since Brexit, there are some issues that have affected relations between the UK and France, for example, travel chaos around Dover and boat crossings in the Channel. Liz Truss blamed on French authorities’ lack of staffing and heisted the relations with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron. She said, “the Jury is out, but if I become Prime Minister, I would judge him on deeds, not words.” So far, there is no sign of resetting relations with France under new Prime Minister Liz Truss after Brexit.
Relations with Middle East
When it comes to foreign policy in the Middle East, Truss pointed out the vital status of the Gulf States as allies, and held the belief it’s more important “to do business” with Gulf countries rather than focusing on the human rights abuses in the Middle East. Especially as, for post-Brexit UK, relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman – are significant to the UK’s economy and national interests in the Middle East. Because the UK is intending to achieve a successful post-Brexit, the trade, investment, and energy cooperation relations with Middle East states are valuable for London.
The free trade deal with the six GCC members is under negotiation currently and is expected to be worth $1.6 billion a year to the UK economy. However, Truss has pushed Middle Eastern human rights issues into the periphery through her “trade policy priority” and her support for Ukrainian defence. This might pull the Truss government back from intervening in the continuing Middle East conflicts and human rights issues.
Boris Johnson committed ‘unflinching support’ to Israel and the close relations with Israel will remain under Truss’ government. Before Liz Truss won the leadership, Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), a powerful lobby group that aims to promote Conservatism in the UK, invited Truss to a husting on 9th August. Truss had “no interest in the Israel-Palestine conflict” as she was Foreign Secretary, but was “keen on warm relations with Israel”. Truss has worked closely with Israeli counterparts on agreements like the Abraham Accord to attain Israel’s peaceful integration within the Middle Eastern region. Therefore, it is expected that Israel will still be a vital country in UK foreign policy.
