Liz Truss to take on Brexit file after David Frost resigns | Brexit

Frost, who has led negotiations with the EU, handed his resignation letter to Boris Johnson last week and was persuaded to stay until January – until the news broke on Sunday.

In his resignation letter, Frost said it was the introduction of Plan B coronavirus measures, including the implementation of Covid passes, that motivated his decision. He also said he had become disillusioned with the tax hikes and the cost of net zero policies.

Her immediate task will be to decide whether this is a time of reset for the UK’s very strained relations with the EU, or whether she will continue Frost’s approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, this which put the UK on a collision course with Brussels and Washington. .

Speculation was rife over Frost’s resignation after a briefing by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office nine days ago, in which European journalists learned that the UK was backing down from its hardline approach.

Although fiercely loyal to Johnson, Truss is seen as a favorite with Chancellor Rishi Sunak to succeed him in a future leadership challenge. She also enjoys the support of die-hard Eurosceptics, known as the party’s “spartans”, famous for her libertarian views and war on “awakened” culture.

In a recent poll by Conservative Home, she ranked No. 1 in popularity in “satisfaction ratings,” ahead of Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace, Frost, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Sunak.

A week ago, a major speech highlighted the former remnant’s references to Brexit, extolling the virtues of a post-Brexit Britain “confident, outward-looking, patriotic and positive”.

Sunak’s allies have long been suspicious of No.10’s treatment of Truss, suspecting that she has been set up as the Chancellor’s rival in order to cut off his wings. “It is clear that she plans to make her way to the last two [in a leadership contest] then allow a Trumpian base to transport it to No. 10, ”a supporter recently told the Observer.

Her new role as lead negotiator will be a test of her political ability on a well-informed national stage.

The complexity of the relationship with the EU and the fragility of Northern Ireland will be demanding, seen as opportunities but also potential pitfalls.

Unlike Frost, Truss is an elected member of cabinet and has served under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May and Johnson, as Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Chief Secretary at the Treasury, Secretary of International Trade and Secretary of Foreign Affairs after the recent cabinet reshuffle, replacing Dominic Raab.

Downing Street also announced that Chris Heaton-Harris will become Minister of State for Europe and replace Foreign Secretary if needed on Brexit and Protocol.

Transferring the role of Brexit negotiator to the Foreign Office will be seen as a wise move by some critics of Frost who felt that too much power was held by one individual.

“It will require more than just replacing Frost. Johnson should take this opportunity to end the anomaly that the minister responsible for relations with our nearest neighbors operates as a lone ranger in the Cabinet Office, ”said crossbench peer Lord Ricketts, former deputy. -secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to France, said on Sunday.

“It should give the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Department responsibility for EU policy, where it can be properly integrated into a broader foreign policy under the leadership of a high-ranking minister for the EU. Europe.”