LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on Thursday after just six weeks in office, after a disastrous and rapidly reversing economic plan sent sterling tumbling and her government thrown into disarray.
Officially appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on September 9. 6. Just days before the monarch’s death, Truss is now by far the shortest-serving prime minister in British history and will be remembered as one of the most disastrous.
The previous record holder, George Canning, lasted 119 days in the early 1800s; Truss announced his resignation after 44 days.
A leadership race is underway to decide the next leader of the ruling Conservative Party, who will be the next prime minister by default, and will end next week. The opposition Labour Party has called for an immediate national election.
On Wednesday, Truss assured parliament at the weekly meeting of prime ministers that she was a “fighter, not a quitter”.
But only lead the ruling party with respect and credibility. Tras became less and less and resigned after a day.
“I admit that, given the current circumstances, I cannot carry out my mandate when the Conservative Party was elected,” she said in a letter on Thursday, at 10 Downing Street.
“I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to inform him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”
“I will remain prime minister until a successor is chosen,” she said at the end of the statement.
Attention has turned to what will happen next.
There were even calls for her predecessor Boris Johnson to make a dramatic comeback just months after resigning under pressure from his own party and the public over a wave of scandals.
Johnson’s former finance minister Rishi Sunak, who has pointed out Truss’s economic plan as stupid, is one of the favourites to replace her. He was second only to Truss in the race to replace Johnson. There was also support within the party for Penny Mordaunt, a veteran figure who represented Truss in parliament earlier this week and assured lawmakers that the prime minister was not hiding under the table.
But with no clear successor waiting, there could be more uncertain days ahead.
Truss’ departure comes after extraordinary scenes in parliament overnight, with lawmakers condemning the government’s hard-line tactics, which it said brought some colleagues to tears and prompted growing calls for her to be removed from her own party. leave within.
She shrunk inside No. 10 Downing Street with senior Conservative MP Graham Brady overseeing the leadership challenge. Brady may be better than anyone at judging the support of party leaders — and by Thursday morning it was clear.
Truss, 47, has promised to revolutionize Britain’s economic fortunes by transforming it into a low-tax, high-growth country that would unlock its post-Brexit potential.
In practice, “Trussonomics” was a complete failure and would become her political epitaph.
Her first finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced 45 billion pounds ($48 billion) in unfunded tax cuts, which sent government borrowing costs spiraling and the Bank of England’s emergency intervention and condemnation from the International Monetary Fund.
Kwarteng was quickly sacked, and his successor, Jeremy Hunt, set out to reverse nearly all of the controversial policies. Despite the U-turn, the UK is still dealing with the consequences of the plan, namely record inflation and rising mortgage rates.
During his tenure, Truss became a figure of ridicule, compared to the rotten lettuce in a blond wig in a tabloid stunt. Her personal approval rating dropped to minus 70, according to a YouGov poll, making her the least popular party leader in British history. The centre-left Labour party surged in the polls.
Shortly after Truss resigned, its leader, Keir Starmer, called for a national election in a statement.
“British people deserve better than this chaotic revolving door,” hehe Say.
Truss himself did not win the national election.
She won the Conservative leadership race and became prime minister by default: In Britain’s unwritten constitution, the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons is invited to form a cabinet.
Now, the Conservative Party, known as the Conservative Party, will begin its search for a fifth leader in six years, a sign of Britain’s turbulent political life since the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Some Conservatives have warned against choosing the next leader without letting the wider British people have a say.
Most former prime ministers have either opted to stay on as a backbencher – a member of parliament without a government position who represents their region – or resign, triggering a by-election.
It remains to be seen whether she will continue to serve her constituency in the south-west of Norfolk in eastern England, or leave to do something entirely different.
Within minutes of her resignation, reactions from around the world flooded in.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that the fact that the United States and the United Kingdom are strong allies will never change.
“I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for his cooperation on a range of issues, including holding Russia accountable for the war against Ukraine,” he said.
He added: “We will continue to work closely with the UK government to tackle the global challenges facing our country.”
Last week, Biden called the tax cuts that Truss abandoned as a “mistake.”
Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said Britain had never seen such a humiliating leader, adding that Truss would be remembered for his “catastrophic illiteracy”.
Truss has been an ardent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine. Any successor is likely to continue this position.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it was important for Britain to find “stability” as soon as possible, as he arrived at an EU summit in Brussels, Reuters reported.