British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation on Thursday amid criticism of her handling of the country’s economy and a rebellion within her own party about her authority.
In a brief address to the media, Truss said she will continue as prime minister till her successor is chosen, adding that a new leader of her Conservative Party will be elected within a week.
Truss remained in office for only 45 days after taking over from Boris Johnson who had resigned following his involvement in the partygate scandal. More than 50 of Johnson’s ministers had resigned from his Cabinet within two days as the controversy over him attending parties during the coronavirus lockdown snowballed into a crisis within the Conservative Party.
On Thursday, Truss said that her appointment as prime minister came at a time of “great economic and international instability”.
“I recognise... given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” Truss said. “I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King [Charles III] to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”
The United Kingdom is currently facing an economic crisis, with many citizens struggling to cope with rising costs of living, inflation, and increasing power bills.
On September 23, Truss had announced a programme of tax cuts and investment incentives in a bid to boost the United Kingdom’s economy. The decision, however, led to a loss of investor confidence as the bond market faced a setback and borrowing costs surged.
Following this, Truss replaced her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng with her former rival Jeremy Hunt, who on October 17 reversed almost all the tax cuts that had helped her become the Conservative Party leader and British prime minister less than six weeks ago.
The move had angered Conservative lawmakers who had supported Truss’ policies, with many, though not openly, wanting her resignation, according to media reports.
Earlier on Wednesday, Truss’ Home Secretary Suella Braverman had resigned from her post, saying she has mistakenly sent a sensitive document from her personal email id to a lawmaker. Many of her supporters had questioned whether her mistake warranted a resignation.
In her resignation letter, Braverman had raised concerns about the “direction of this government” and its follow through on the migration policies it had planned.
The loss of trust from Conservative MPs was seen in a vote on Wednesday after Truss wanted to resume the fracking for shale gas – a decision that many from party had opposed – leading to chaos in Parliament, according to the Associated Press.
Since David Cameron resigned in 2016 following the referendum on Brexit, the UK government has been facing one crisis after another, including the coronavirus pandemic and high cost of living, that have forced forced prime ministers Johnson and Theresa May to resign.
Truss now joins this list after remaining in office for 45 days, becoming the shortest serving UK prime minister.
Meanwhile, Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has renewed his call for a general election as the only solution to the crisis within the ruling party, reported PTI.
“All the failures of the past 12 years have now come to the boil,” he said at an event in Brighton, in reference to the Tory-led government’s term in office.
Also read:
What UK Prime Minister Liz Truss doesn’t know about real leadership
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