Chris Mason
Political editor

I have just spent half an hour hurtling around the sweaty QEII Centre in Westminster grabbing Conservatives for a chat.

If I had a penny for every use of word "unite", I'd have at least £2.50 in my pocket.

It is an easier word to use than to actually bring about though — after months of the party ripping itself to shreds in public.

For Liz Truss, this is the crowning moment of her career. But what beckons now is the intray from hell.

The question for her party, and the country, is whether she is up to it.

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford congratulates Liz Truss, adding that there is a need to work together "with urgency" to tackle the cost of living crisis.

"There is no more time to waste - action is needed now," he tweeted.

Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, has also congratulated Liz Truss for her victory in the Conservative leadership race and says she wants to build a "good working relationship".

Sturgeon describes the political differences between Truss and herself as "deep", and calls for an energy bills freeze.

The pair clashed during the Tory leadership race with Truss calling Sturgeon an "attention seeker" who was best ignored. She has since clarified that it is the demand for another independence referendum that she intends to ignore.

On Sunday, Sturgeon told Sky News: "If [Truss] governs how she has campaigned over the summer, she will be a disaster."

Liz Truss has delivered her maiden speech as Conservative Party leader.

Watch it here in full...

Liz Truss may have been victorious, but it wasn't the landslide that many were predicting.

Since the Conservative Party changed its internal election rules to give members a final say, ahead of the 2001 leadership contest no leader has got less than 60%.

Truss secured 57% of members votes, compared to Boris Johnson getting 66.4% of the vote in 2019, David Cameron 67.6% in 2005 and Iain Duncan Smith 60.7% in 2001.

Theresa May never faced a membership ballot in 2016, after her opponent Andrea Leadsom pulled out after the first round.

David Cameron has also weighed in on the victory, with the former Tory PM wishing Liz Truss future government well in a "time of challenge & global uncertainty".

He adds he never forgot the support of former Tory leader and called on the party to unite behind the victor.

Ione Wells
Reporting from QEII Centre, London

There were a few key moments from Liz Truss’s speech there.

She dedicated a significant chunk of time to praising her predecessor Boris Johnson, which got some cheers from the crowd.

One of her big messages was about bringing the party together again, which will be one of her political challenges with the result being closer than in previous Tory leadership contests.

Helping her cause, perhaps, are some Rishi Sunak-supporting MPs already saying that the party now needs to unite.

She also appeared to pour cold water on any speculation about calling an early election.

Truss will be the third prime minister in a row now to take over that job without an election.

Image source, Reuters

We're getting more reaction from opposition parties to the news that Liz Truss is the next prime minister.

Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dems, says her premiership will bring similar "crisis and chaos" seen during Boris Johnson's tenure in No 10.

"Under Liz Truss, we're set to see more of the same crisis and chaos as under Boris Johnson," he tweets, external.

"From the cost of living emergency to the NHS crisis, the Conservatives have shown they don’t care, and have no plan. It's time to scrap the energy price hike then call a General Election."

Liz Truss has been congratulated by her next prospective opponent, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

However, the positive sentiments end shortly afterwards, when he says: "But after 12 years of the Tories all we have to show for it is low wages, high prices, and a Tory cost of living crisis."

Starmer adds that "only Labour can deliver the fresh start our country needs".

The UK's new Prime Minister Liz Truss has tweeted, saying she's honoured, to be elected leader.

Ione Wells
Reporting from QEII Centre, London

This was possibly closer than some people expected.

About 57% of valid votes cast were for Liz Truss. Turnout was pretty high too, with 82.6% of members casting a vote, with 654 rejected, possibly spoiled or filled out incorrectly.

For comparison, Boris Johnson won 66.4% of the vote in 2019, David Cameron 67.6% in 2005 and Iain Duncan Smith 60.7% in 2001.

Image source, .

Image source, Reuters

"We will deliver, we will deliver, we will deliver," concludes Truss, focusing on a theme that she returned to constantly during the leadership contest.

The new Tory leader adds that the party will defeat Labour at the 2024 general election.

Liz Truss has pledged to follow through on her promises to voters, saying the Tory party needs to show it can deliver over the next two years.

She says she has a "bold plan" to cut taxes and grow the UK economy.

On the prevailing issue of rising energy bills, she says she will "deliver" when it comes to crisis by not only dealing with bills but also the long term supply issues.

More from Liz Truss now.

She tells the auditorium that she knows Tory beliefs resonate with the British people.

Truss says this includes freedom and the ability to control their own life as well as low taxes.

Truss is thanking Boris Johnson now for standing up to Vladimir Putin, getting Brexit done, rolling out the Covid vaccine and "crushing Jeremy Corbyn".

"You are admired from Kyiv to Carlisle," she says - but to a delayed applause and somewhat muted from the audience.

Liz Truss goes on to pay tribute to the other Tory leadership race candidates, particularly Rishi Sunak.

She says the campaign was "hard-fought" and showed "the depth and breadth of talent" in the party.

A beaming Liz Truss has taken the stage after her victory to a huge standing ovation, saying it's an honour to be elected as the leader.

She thanks the party for "organising one of the longest job interviews in history", as well as her supporters.

Fresh from her victory Liz Truss is now addressing the Queen Elizabeth II Centre auditorium.

Stay with us as we bring you her speech.

Sir Graham Brady has given some numbers on the margin of Liz Truss' victory over Rishi Sunak.

He says Truss won 81,326 votes compared to Sunak’s share of 60,399 votes.

Brady adds there was a turnout of 82.6%