For any new prime minister, it is a mind-boggling experience. First the arrival at Downing Street with a police escort, past crowds of journalists; then entering Number 10 to the applause of all the staff. And finally - standing in the seat of power, the CabinetThe senior ministers in a government, who attend regular direct meetings with the prime minister. Room, as the person in ultimate charge of the nation.

A former cabinet secretaryThe most senior civil servant in the UK. , Gus O'Donnell, calls the process "quite scary". The new arrival has to be briefed on the rules for dealing with a nuclear emergency. Intelligence chiefs come to explain the current security threats. There are congratulatory phone calls from foreign heads of government. All in all, it is "a bit of a chaotic day".

Few of the people who knew Liz Truss when she was young ever imagined she would become prime minister. At seven, she took the role of Margaret ThatcherBritain's first female prime minister and the longest-serving prime minister of the modern era. in her primary school's mock general election - and got no votes. At her secondary school in Leeds she made little impression on her classmates: according to one, she "just hung with the geeky kids".

But she was always determined to win. When her family played Monopoly, and she was doing badly, "she might sort of disappear rather than lose," says her brother Francis.

Her parents had left-wing views and took her on CNDThe Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a British organisation that opposes nuclear weapons. Its logo is widely known as the peace symbol. marches. At Oxford, where she studied philosophy, politics and economics, she became a leading member of the university's Liberal Democrats, but then switched to the Conservatives.

A former tutor describes her as "bright, engaging, unafraid of challenging convention". But some fellow students felt she took controversial positions, such as supporting the pro-life movementPeople who campaign against the right to have an abortion. , mainly to get attention.

After working as an accountant, she was elected as an MP in 2010, aged 34. Two years later she became an education minister.

In the EU referendum, she campaigned for Remain. Brexit, she wrote in The Sun, would be "a triple tragedy - more rules, more forms, and more delays when selling to the EU."

But when the vote went in favour of Leave, she changed her mind. In 2019 Boris Johnson chose her as international trade secretary, responsible for making deals with the wider world. And after becoming foreign secretary last year she supported his attempts to break Britain's deal with the EU over Northern Ireland.

Some see this as evidence that she has no real principles, but will say whatever she needs to in order to advance herself.

In a recent article, she defined herself as "as freedom-loving, tax-cutting Conservative" who would take "bold action" to reduce regulation and promote growth. Kwasi KwartengA British Conservative politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Liz Truss from September to October 2022., who is expected to be her Chancellor of the Exchequer, has said that Britain will borrow more money to pay for tax cuts.

Critics argue that tax cuts will do little to help the poor, and are unaffordable for the government - particularly as Truss wants to increase spending on defence. The Financial Times calculates that these, together with inflation, would create a budget deficitThe debt is the total amount of money that the government owes, but the deficit is the difference between how much the government spends and how much it earns. of £60bn with three years.

Yes: In the current situation, bold action is needed, and she will provide that. Cutting taxes will encourage people to work harder and create more wealth for everyone. More defence spending is essential.

No: It is vital to restore faith in politicians, and a prime minister who goes whichever way the wind blows will not do that. Even in her own party, many doubt her grasp of economics.      

Or... Even if she proves a bad prime minister, that could re-energise the UK. As Simon Kuper writes in the Financial Times, "Despair rarely lasts. Hitting rock-bottom can be a productive national moment."