British Prime Minister Liz Truss will use a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday to warn democratic leaders against any complacency when it comes to defending values and preserving a world order that rewards freedom.
At the first ever session of the UNGA held in the shadow of a large-scale war in Europe, Ms Truss will highlight the threat from authoritarian states working to undermine security and stability around the world.
She will use her speech to outline her vision for this new, more competitive era, which will require like-minded democracies to fight for their ideals.
Ms Truss will say this begins with ensuring the UK and its partners have the strong economic foundations they need to constrain authoritarianism.
She will outline her plans to build a British economy that attracts growth by rewarding innovation, championing investment and enterprise, and welcoming the best talent from around the world.
Ms Truss will also pledge to ensure the British economy is free from malign interference by increasing its energy independence and protecting the security of its supply chains.
“The commitment to hope and progress must begin at home, in the lives of every citizen that we serve," she is expected to say.
"We want people to keep more of the money they earn, because we believe that freedom trumps instruction.
“We are reforming our economy to get Britain moving forward once again.
"The free world needs this economic strength and resilience to push back against authoritarian aggression and win this new era of strategic competition.
“We will no longer be strategically dependent on those who seek to weaponise the global economy."
Liz Truss's political career - in pictures
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New Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss delivers a speech after being announced the winner of the Tory Party leadership contest in central London on September 5, 2022. Ms Truss is the UK's third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher. AFP -
Liz Truss during a hustings event in Darlington in August 2022. Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak are awaiting the results of a poll of Conservative Party members deciding which of them has been selected as the new party leader, and next prime minister. PA -
Liz Truss playing pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London in August 2022. PA -
Boris Johnson and Ms Truss arriving for an extraordinary summit at Nato headquarters in Brussels, in March 2022. AFP -
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ms Truss arrive for talks in Moscow in February 2022. AP -
Ms Truss in Red Square during a visit to Moscow in February 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss meeting European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (not seen) for talks in central London on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 11th February 2022. PA -
Ms Truss with Marise Payne, the Australian minister of foreign affairs, at Government House in Sydney, Australia, in January 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Liz Truss hosts Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic at Chevening House in January 2022 to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss visits British troops in Estonia as they operate alongside other Nato troops in Tapa in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Liz Truss walks through the old town in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss greeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, in November 2021. PA -
Ms Truss at the Red Fort in New Delhi during a trip to India in October 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
The British foreign secretary on the Plaza de la Constitucion in Mexico City, during a trip to Mexico in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Queen Elizabeth II greeting Ms Truss at a reception for international business and investment leaders at Windsor Castle in October 2021. PA -
Liz Truss with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, in New York, in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss on a morning jog over Brooklyn Bridge in New York in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Former Chancellor Philip Hammond, centre, holding his red ministerial box outside 11, Downing Street, flanked by Treasury colleagues Ms Truss and Mel Stride in October 2018. PA -
Ms Truss, then secretary of state for justice, being escorted around HMP Brixton by prison governor David Bamford in November 2016. PA -
Ms Truss as she became the first woman ever to hold the role of Lord Chancellor, arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice before being installed in July 2016. PA -
In April 2016, the former environment secretary Liz Truss listening to former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne (not seen) during his speech at the National Composites Centre in Bristol. PA -
When she was environment minister, Ms Truss visited the bridge over the River Wharfe in Tadcaster, which collapsed after heavy flooding in December 2015. Getty Images -
Addressing the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in 2014 when she was secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Getty Images -
Mr Truss on the Sawnnington Farm to Fork stand at the Norfolk Food Festival at the Houses Of Parliament in October 2011. PA -
Conservative Parliamentary candidate for South-West Norfolk Elizabeth Truss, while canvassing in the village of West Walton during the 2010 General Election campaign. PA -
The former Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, centre, speaking at the launch Reform's Lawful Society report on the nature of crime and the incentives in the criminal justice system while Ms Truss looks on, in September 2008. PA -
Former Conservative Leader William Hague meeting conservative candidate for Calder valley Ms Truss, during the General Election Campaign for 2005. PA
She will look to boost the resilience of the UK economy and work with other democracies to protect each other’s economic security.
Ms Truss will make the case for harnessing aspiration and creativity to deny authoritarian states the chance to manipulate the global economy.
She will tell the UNGA that the G7 and other like-minded partners must act as an economic Nato, collectively defending prosperity and coming to the aid of any partner attacked by an aggressive regime.
Ms Truss will say that economic security goes hand in hand with physical security, and that to support this she will protect the UK and its allies by increasing defence spending to 3 per cent of the country's GDP by 2030.
“Just as we are building a plan for growth at home, we are also developing a new blueprint for our engagement with the world," she will say.
“We will build resilience and collective security, because they are vital for freedom and democracy. We will be a reliable, trustworthy and dynamic partner.”
To ensure the UK’s diplomatic, military and security architecture is keeping pace with evolving threat posed by hostile nations, Ms Truss has commissioned an update to the Integrated Review.
The UK’s Integrated Review of security, defence, development and foreign policy was published in March 2021, before Mr Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine created the greatest security challenge ever experienced by Nato.
Prof John Bew, Ms Truss's special adviser for foreign affairs and defence, will lead a Downing Street process to update the review.
The refreshed strategy is planned to ensure the UK is investing in the strategic capabilities and alliances it needs to stand firm against Russia and China.
The update is expected to be published by the end of this year.
Liz Truss ready to be 'unpopular' for her economic policies - video
She says that by properly investing in defence, the UK will be ready to stand up for peace, prosperity and freedom across the world.
“This is a decisive moment in British history, in the history of this organisation, and in the history of freedom," Ms Truss is expected to say.
“The story of 2022 could have been that of an authoritarian state rolling its tanks over the border of a peaceful neighbour and subjugating its people.
“Instead, it is the story of freedom fighting back … but this must not be a one off. Britain’s commitment to this is total.
“Together with our friends and allies around the world, we will continue to champion freedom, sovereign and democracy, and we will define this new era as one of hope and progress."
