Liz Truss resigns as UK’s prime minister after six weeks in office

Europe, News October 21, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Liz Truss resigned from her office after spending only six weeks as UK’s prime minister. Truss’s resignation came on October 20, 2022, as she said that she “cannot deliver the mandate” on which she had been elected.

Liz Truss announced her resignation by stating, “I recognize, though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative party.” Truss said that she would remain in the office until her successor has been chosen, which is expected next week.

The departure after 45 days in the office makes Liz Truss the shortest-serving PM in UK history. Truss was heavily criticized for her economic agenda soon after she took charge of 10 Downing Street. The conservative leader faced immense chaos after unveiling her economic plan last week causing a severe crash in the market and collapsing the party’s poll rating.

After facing a backlash from within and outside the British parliament, her Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt rolled back all of her economic agenda, intensifying the pressure on her even further.

Truss’s time in the office mostly consisted of her attempting to control her faltering administration by changing finance minister and juggling between policies to curb taxes while trying to decrease the cost of living. The chaotic session at the House of Commons on the night of October 19 lead to her resignation.

Truss took the office in September 2022 after defeating former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in a race that began in July this year after Boris Johnson resigned as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party. She became the country’s third female Prime Minister after Margret Thatcher and Theresa May.

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak — *^{Lizz Truss defeated former chancellor Rishi Sunak in the summer’s Tory Party election. (Image Credit: PA Media)}*

The UK is facing several crises. The looming threat of recession and skyrocketing inflation has badly clutched the economic well-being of the common man. The 47-year-old Oxford-born and Oxford graduate Liz Truss promised to tackle the rising inflation and energy crisis, which she failed to do.

Truss’s short-lived time as the UK’s prime minister was full of major highlights. Apart from facing a severe economic crisis in her country, she faced a major security situation related to the ongoing war in Ukraine. With her inclination towards the EU, some analysts were expecting her to bring the UK closer to, if not back into, the European Union.

Soon after she took office, Britain’s longest-ruling monarch Queen Elizabeth II passed away, leaving the UK in a global spotlight as her funeral continued for ten days in the country’s capital.

Based on the current economic crises and political chaos, Truss’s former leadership rival Rishi Sunak seems to be the most eligible and favorite candidate to replace her. Sunak resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer during Boris Johnson’s government which led to its fall. Some political analysts also believe that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson would run for the office and he is also being deemed as one of the favorite candidates.

*^{The view outside Buckingham Palace in London after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. (Image Credit: WTAE TV/Twitter)}*

UK opposition demands general election

Britain’s opposition parties have called for an immediate general election following the resignation of two prime ministers in four months.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said the Conservative party no longer had the mandate to govern and said that “the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos”. Starmer stressed: “We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.”

The Liberal Democrats, the SNP and the Green Party have also reiterated the call for the general election. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “We do not need another Conservative prime minister lurching from crisis to crisis, we need a general election.”