Liz Truss that said she learned from her short spell as Prime Minister that leaders must be “bold” as she spoke of cutting taxes in her final speech from Downing Street. Speaking from Downing Street before heading to Buckingham Palace to resign, Ms Truss celebrated reversing the national insurance increase imposed by Rishi Sunak when chancellor.
“From my time as Prime Minister I’m more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenges we face,” she said.
“We simply cannot afford to be a low growth country where the Government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth and where there are huge divides between different parts of our country. We need to take advantage of our Brexit freedoms to do things differently.”
Ending her speech outside Downing Street, Liz Truss said: “We continue to battle through a storm but I believe in Britain, I believe in the British people and I know that brighter days lie ahead.”
Liz Truss’ final speech as Prime Minister lasted three minutes and seven seconds, less than half the length of the farewell speech by her predecessor Boris Johnson, which ran for seven minutes and 33 seconds.
It was also around a minute shorter than the speech she made in Downing Street on becoming Prime Minister, which lasted four minutes and four seconds.
Liz Truss earlier told her Cabinet they had “secured some significant achievements” during her short spell as Prime Minister, according to Downing Street.
After her final meeting in charge, No 10 said: “The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by thanking ministers for their support.
“She said that in the short time the Government had been in place they had secured some significant achievements.
“The Prime Minister concluded by saying her time in the role had been a huge privilege and that her successor will have her support as they now build on the important steps already taken by Cabinet to support the country.”
Ms Truss noted to her Cabinet that they had stuck to her pledge of scrapping the national insurance hike imposed by Rishi Sunak as chancellor.
In its account of her final Cabinet meeting, Downing Street said: “The Government also stuck to its pledge to scrap the rise in national insurance and demonstrated its steadfast commitment in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s war of aggression.”
Liz Truss has said Britain can look forward to “brighter days” ahead after the current economic difficulties.
In a final statement on the steps of Downing Street, the outgoing Prime Minister said she wished Rishi Sunak “every success for the good of our country”.
“Our country continues to battle through a storm but I believe in Britain. I believe in the British people and I know that brighter days lie ahead,” she said.
Liz Truss was applauded by those gathered outside Number 11, including Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey, as she finished her speech and departed from Number 10.
She proceeded with her husband Hugh O’Leary and two daughters, who had watched her speech from behind her outside Number 10.
Ms Truss left with a police escort to meet the King at Buckingham Palace.
During her speech, the song I Predict a Riot by Kaiser Chiefs was played by someone outside the Downing Street gates.
Ms Coffey, standing with a group outside Number 10, had her hands clasped in front of her and looked solemn during the speech.
Outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss quoted Roman philosopher Seneca as she gave her farewell speech outside Number 10.
She said: “From my time as prime minister, I’m more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face.
“As the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote, it’s not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it’s because we do not dare that they are difficult.
“We simply cannot afford to be a low-growth country where the government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth and where there are huge divides between different parts of our country.”
