Liz Truss became the shortest-ever serving UK prime minister after resigning on Thursday (20 October) after just 45 days in office.
Truss resigned after being warned on Thursday morning that she had lost the confidence of Conservative MPs. On Wednesday night a parliamentary vote on whether to allow fracking to resume saw chaotic scenes as ministers were seen manhandling MPs into the voting lobby to support the government.
Her resignation means that the UK will move on to its fifth prime minister since the Brexit referendum in June 2016. The last three prime ministers – Theresa May, Boris Johnson and now Truss – have all been ousted by their own party.
In her short administration, Truss had taken a more constructive approach to EU-UK relations, attending the first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague and re-opening talks with the EU on resolving the Northern Ireland protocol.
However, her fate was sealed by a mini-budget announced by then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in September which promised tax cuts worth over £40 billion without any impact assessment on its economic implications or plans for any spending cuts. The proposals prompted a market run on UK government bonds and the pound and have since been abandoned. Kwarteng was sacked last week.
In her resignation statement, Truss said that a leadership contest within the Conservative party would be held and concluded by the end of this week.
Three of the candidates who were defeated by Truss in the last leadership contest – Rishi Sunak, Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch – have already signalled their intention to stand. Adding to the sense of farce, Boris Johnson, who was ousted in July following a series of scandals about his own conduct, has also indicated that he intends to stand in the leadership election. Johnson is still facing a parliamentary inquiry into whether he broke the law and lied to the UK Parliament during his tenure.
Although there is no constitutional requirement for a general election to be held following the resignation of a Prime Minister, the chaos within the Conservative party has also increased the chance of a snap poll. All opposition parties have demanded an immediate election.
The opposition Labour party currently holds a 30-point lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
Source: euractiv.com
