New UK PM is Liz Truss: BBC News Review

Bye bye, Boris. Hello, Liz. The UK has a new prime minister.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

I’m Neil. And I’m Beth.

Make sure you watch to the end to learn vocabulary to talk about today’s story.

And don't forget to subscribe to our channel, like this video

and try the quiz on our website. Now, it's time for our story.

Boris Johnson is out and Liz Truss is in

after winning the ruling Conservative Party leadership election.

Johnson resigned after a series of scandals.

Prime Minister Truss will have to deal with urgent issues,

such as the energy crisis.

You’ve been looking at the headlines, Beth.

What’s the vocabulary?

We have 'succeeds', 'bagged' and 'storm clouds gathering'.

This is News Review, from BBC Learning English.

Let’s have a look at our first headline.

This one comes from The Washington Post.

So, the meaning of this headline

is that Liz Truss has replaced Boris Johnson.

She has 'succeeded' him.

We're looking at this word 'succeed',

which you probably know with a different meaning,

connected to doing well.

Yes, you’re right.

So, we use 'succeed' to mean doing well,

or getting the result you want.

For example, if you 'succeed' in a job interview, then it means you got the job.

But in this headline it has a different meaning.

‘Succeed’ can also mean taking over from an official position.

Yeah. So, the headline is saying that Liz Truss has taken over, or replaced,

Boris Johnson - she has 'succeeded' him.

And when we use the verb 'succeed' with this meaning, the person

who is being replaced comes after the verb.

Now, Beth, this sounds quite formal, this use of 'succeed'.

Yeah, well, in this context and with this meaning, it is quite formal.

So, you might see it written down in headlines, articles, reports.

It’s unlikely that you would hear people like you and me just using it

in casual conversationn, because we're more likely to say replace

or take over from. Yeah. It's kind of for official positions,