Who will be deputy prime minister? Is Dominic Raab staying on under new UK PM Liz Truss, who could replace him

Liz Truss has been confirmed as the UK’s next prime minister after beating former chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership race.

Truss will face a huge task as the leader of the Conservative government and is set to deliver her first speech as new PM at 4pm today.

But who will be Liz Truss’s deputy during her premiership?

Who will be deputy prime minister?

Therese Coffey is expected to become Liz Truss’s deputy prime minister and will also assume the role of health secretary.

Bringing down NHS backlogs is one of Truss’s main targets as prime minister and Ms Coffey will be at the centre of the action.

Ms Truss said: “I think it is a real priority for the public, and it’s a priority for me, to make sure that we’re delivering for people. But there are real issues in the health service at the moment… that we’ve got to deal with.”

Who is Therese Coffey?

Therese Coffey is a British politician who is currently serving as the secretary of state for work and pensions.

Coffey was born in Lancashire in 1971 and attended St Edward’s College in Liverpool. She later studied for a degree in chemistry at Oxford University.

After graduating Coffey worked in a number of roles for Mars incorporated including a key role as finance director for the company. She later went on to work for the BBC as a finance manager in the property division.

What roles has Therese Coffey had in politics?

She first entered politics in 2005, when she stood as a Conservative candidate for Wrexham but finished third. She was first selected as an MP in 2010 at Suffolk Coastal as David Cameron succeeded Gordon Brown in government.

Ms Coffey has risen through the ranks under the likes of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

Her first government role came in 2012, when she became the parliamentary private secretary to the minister for business and energy Michael Farron.

Coffey would later join the department for environment, food and rural affairs as a junior minister during Theresa May’s time in office.

Ms Coffey is best known for her role as secretary of state for work and pensions. A role which she assumed when Boris Johnson became prime minister in 2019.

In this role she is responsible for department spending and managing the overall response to Covid-19. DWP is responsible for the administration of state pension and working age benefits system.

Will Dominic Raab stay on under the new government?

Current deputy prime minister Dominic Raab is likely to be a high-profile departure as Liz Truss assembles her new team.

Raab backed Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership campaign and said that he is “certainly not expected to be given an appointment.”

Mr Raab was critical of Truss’s plans to prioritise tax cuts over energy crisis helps for those on the lowest incomes and labelled it as an “electoral suicide note.”