British Prime Minister Resigns
After 44 days as elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss on Thursday, October 20th resigned her position saying she can no longer deliver the mandate she was elected for.
By Ovie Edomi
It would be recalled that days of increasing chaos and pandemonium followed her introduction of a Mini Budget, a development that made her to say that she could no longer deliver the mandate she was elected for.
Liz Truss was forced to quit as UK prime minister after Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee, met Truss on Thursday morning. This came amid speculation from senior Conservatives that Truss premiership was drawing to a close.
Government officials confirmed that Brady, who is responsible for overseeing Tory leadership contests, met Truss in Downing Street at the prime minister’s request. The meeting was unscheduled and Truss’s allies said she requested the meeting with the “shop steward” of Tory MPs to “take the temperature” of the party after days of chaos. Jake Berry, Tory chairman, and Therese Coffey, deputy prime minister, were also seen entering Downing Street.
It would be recalled that a least a dozen MPs called on Truss to resign, including Miriam Cates who is a member of the 1922 committee executive.
Truss’s premiership, which began on September 6, has seen her economic strategy crash and burn, including the sacking of her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and the forced resignation on Wednesday of home secretary Suella Braverman.
Party discipline has broken down and Jeremy Hunt, the new chancellor, is currently trying to draw up a £40bn package of tax rises and spending cuts to fill a fiscal hole ahead of another fiscal statement on October 31.
After 44 days in office, her resignation makes her the shortest serving PM. She will however be remembered for presiding over an economic meltdown and causing catastrophic damage to the ruling Conservative party.