Woman at helm of flood response lands top justice position

sacked justice Secretary Michael Gove has been replaced by Liz Truss, the former Environment Secretary who spent much of the last seven months at the centre of talks on how to improve Yorkshire's flood defences.
Newly appointed Justice Secretary Liz Truss leaves Downing Street, London, as Prime Minister Theresa May puts the finishing touches to her top team. Dominic Lipinski/PA WireNewly appointed Justice Secretary Liz Truss leaves Downing Street, London, as Prime Minister Theresa May puts the finishing touches to her top team. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Newly appointed Justice Secretary Liz Truss leaves Downing Street, London, as Prime Minister Theresa May puts the finishing touches to her top team. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Ms Truss, who went to Roundhay School in Leeds, and who spent the first day of the cabinet reshuffle at the Great Yorkshire Show, is said to share much in common with her predecessor.

Mr Gove’s radical prison reforms plan which includes the rebuilding of inner city Victorian era-prisons and enhanced education programmes for prisoners was seen as one of the more progressive elements of the Cameron Government.

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Those close to Ms Truss say she shares Mr Gove’s vision of social reform and is a perfect fit for the role to continue the path of rehabilitation as set out in the 2015 Conservative Party manifesto.

Pro-Brexit Mr Gove was unceremoniously fired by Mrs May on Wednesday after being a lynch pin of David Cameron’s team for six years.

Ms Truss, 40, has been the Environment Secretary for the past two years and before that she was an education minister.

Born in Scotland to a left-wing family, her family moved to Leeds. Her father remains a professor in mathematics at the University of Leeds.

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She lived in Canada for a year after school and then read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Merton College, Oxford.

After graduating in 1996 she joined the Conservative Party and worked for Shell as a commercial manager and Cable & Wireless as economics director, and became a qualified management accountant.

She was a councillor in the London Borough of Grenwich and then became the deputy director of the think-tank Reform in 2008.

In 2010 she was elected to the South West Norfolk seat and quickly rose through the ranks of the Coalition Government, and then moved to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

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In Yorkshire she is known for her campaign to promote British food and her many visits to Wensleydale Creamery. An overly-enthusiastic speech she made about Britain’s pork market capabilities and that the country imports too much cheese has been much mocked on social media and satirical TV programmes.

She also announced the expansion of the Lake District and the North Yorkshire Dales national parks on a visit to the region.

However her biggest challenge in Yorkshire was her response to last winter’s floods which led to millions of pounds worth of damage and left hundreds of people homeless over Christmas.

She came under much criticism for her response to the floods however she defended her record on spending regularly in the Commons. After pressure from Leeds MPs she announced a £3m feasibility study into building the second phase of a significant flood defence scheme.