Sam Collins, the Liberal Democrats' candidate who will fight Tory incumbent Bim Afolami for the Hitchin seat at the next General Election has reacted to Liz Truss winning the Tory leadership race to become Britain's next PM.

The Lib Dems parliamentary candidate for the Hitchin & Harpenden constituency has called the new Prime Minister Liz Truss a 'Boris Johnson loyalist', and criticised the new PM for failing to act on the cost of living and energy crisis', neglecting the NHS and voting for tax rises.

Truss beat Rishi Sunak, winning 57.4% of Tory members' votes to former chancellor's 42.6% after details of the vote were announced on Monday lunchtime (September 5).

Mr Collins slammed the new Conservative leader, saying: Liz Truss is not fit to lead the nation, and is just another Boris Johnson loyalist. 

Mr Collins is less than a 5% swing behind Mr Afolami, the sitting Conservative MP, making the next General Election a clear contest between the Lib Dems and Conservatives in our area. 

Responding to Liz Truss winning the Conservative Party Leadership Contest, Parliamentary Candidate for Hitchin & Harpenden, Mr Collins said: "It didn't matter if it was Sunak or Truss who won, the people of Britain and people in our area were always going to lose out. The Conservatives have spent months failing to act on soaring energy bills, leaving local residents in despair and small businesses going to the wall.

"They have shown they are completely out of touch with people in Hertfordshire. It is time they listened to Liberal Democrat calls to freeze energy bills to save businesses, families and pensioners from an economic catastrophe.

"Liz Truss is a Boris Johnson loyalist who voted to hike taxes on local people and spent months failing to act on soaring energy bills. Her premiership represents more of the same failed Conservative party policies that have led to a cost of living crisis and our local NHS services stretched to breaking point.

"People right across our area tell me they are sick and tired of a Government which simply doesn't represent them and takes them for granted. At the next election, voters will face the choice between four more years of chaos and crisis under the Conservatives, or the hard-working local Liberal Democrat MP I intend to be."

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