Having won the Conservative party leadership, Liz Truss will be the next prime minister. Here, eight Guardian readers – voters from across the political spectrum – share their reactions to Truss becoming PM, their hopes, fears and what they believe are the issues she should be tackling first. ‘The priority must be protecting the most vulnerable’ Since the mid-80s I listened to my dad saying he could never vote Labour as he couldn’t forgive them for the winter of discontent. Even the multiple recessions the Tories caused wouldn’t change his mind. I’m pretty confident he wasn’t alone in that view. The only hope I have of Truss is that she will be the nail in the coffin of the Tories for a generation, much as some viewed Labour with Callaghan. Truss’s priority must be protecting the most vulnerable in our society from the cost of living crisis. I and others who earn significantly more than the national average should have to pay more taxes to fund this, not less. Jim, 42, Labour voter who works in housing, Milton Keynes ‘I feel total, abject horror’ I feel total, abject horror. This is a party hellbent on wreaking havoc on this country. First Brexit, an unmitigated disaster. So many businesses such as pubs and restaurants in north Wales are open fewer hours due to staff shortages. They have missed out on vital summer trading. The energy price cap and the billions made by the fuel companies are unjust and unfair. We need funding for schools whose buildings are in a terrible state. I have an elderly mother who waited years for a knee operation which never came so we paid for it ourselves. She needs the next knee done now but can we afford it? I worry about her and our heating costs. I’ve voted Plaid Cymru – I have been a Labour voter all my life but Plaid Cymru want to be part of Europe and want devolution, both of which I approve of. Jeanne Fairbrother, 59, Plaid Cymru voter and health & safety consultant, Conwy ‘Tax cuts for the rich is such a stupid idea’ I think Truss’s leadership is barely legitimate and it is an outrage that a new prime minister can be foisted upon us by such a tiny electorate. My fears: I can only foresee austerity mark II, another huge reduction in council funding leading to the closure of many charities, a bonfire of workers’ rights and other protections, and hardwiring in a hard right agenda that any incoming government would have to spend years untangling. Tax cuts for the rich is just such a stupid idea. The priority for Truss? Cost of living, but doing so in a way that future-proofs as much as possible – but that won’t happen. Short-term headline management is all this lot are interested in. My hope is that they are too incompetent to achieve any of their mad ideas. Matt Brown, 53, Labour voter and charity manager, London ‘Truss needs to tackle net zero and food and energy security’ It looks like Truss will carry on where Johnson left off: endless press spin, but very little actually delivered. The cost of living crisis will force her into some very contentious decisions. What remains to be seen is how much support the Tory press will give her when the going gets tough … The issues Truss needs to tackle first are net zero, food and energy security, and European relations, in my view, but I fear that the government will wait too long before taking action. Dave, 57, Green voter and software developer, Bristol ‘I liked her better than Mr Sunak’ I liked her better than Mr Sunak, who came across as unbearably arrogant. My impression of Ms Truss is that she is more ordinary and therefore like most of us. I am hoping that assessment of her will prove correct and that in office she will turn out to be more in touch with the masses than were Mr Cameron, Mrs May and Mr Johnson. If Liz Truss is as like Mrs Thatcher as she wishes to be, that is all right by me. Mrs Thatcher is the only PM ever to have given me anything. So much has gone badly awry over the past couple of years, I doubt it can be put right easily, no matter how willing the new PM is to tackle the various crises. I realise she will need to keep her colleagues on board, and that in itself makes me less than confident that Ms Truss is likely to usher in major improvements. Jan, Conservative voter and former cleaner, east Midlands ‘I have no idea how the lights in my classroom are going to stay on’ The priorities are cost of living, not just for families, but the car crash coming down the road for schools and hospitals – without a price cap on their energy costs, I have no idea how the lights in my classroom and my electronic whiteboard are going to stay on. I have no hope that my tiny pay rise will see the light of day – I think it will get swallowed up in rising energy costs. Truss has got to listen to people like Gordon Brown and do the right thing: nationalise and subsidise energy companies, don’t allow the price cap to rise any further, and put a cap on the cost of energy for vital services. She will then need to get a grip on the economy, kickstart this to raise funds, and stop inflation spiralling out of control. Sarah, 50, Lib Dem voter, secondary school teacher and mother of two, Leicestershire ‘Change needs to happen now to keep small businesses afloat’ Truss’s policies – especially regarding tax cuts for the rich – show the Tory mentality of providing more cash for the 1%, and neglecting the rest of the country. Her insistence on stoking the fires of culture wars and identity politics is a pointless endeavour which only creates division among the middle and working class, and appears to follow in the template set by Trump just a few years ago. The cost of living crisis is the priority, and is what affects all of us right now. If she wants to save the economy, as she claims, change needs to happen now to keep small businesses afloat and prevent the deaths of thousands this winter. Charlie, 24, Labour voter and freelance illustrator, Newcastle Upon Tyne ‘She needs to acknowledge Scottish democracy’ Overall, thank God it’s over and thank God it’s Truss. Sturgeon will destroy her in any debate. The most important issues to tackle are the cost of living crisis and the NHS crisis. She needs to acknowledge Scottish democracy and give the Scots an independence referendum. Jim, 62, Scottish National Party voter and artist, Scottish borders