She’s been Prime Minister for just 44 days, but after growing pressure, Liz Truss resigned on 20 Oct. It marks the shortest term in modern political history. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, Truss explained, “I cannot deliver on the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty, the King, to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”
The news comes after a shocking 24 hours which included the Home Secretary resigning and MPs fighting and arguing in Commons voting lobbies. Tom Bradby opened ITV news last night with a remarkable introduction. “It has been a night of astonishing scenes at Westminster, with reports of jostling, manhandling, bullying, and shouting outside the parliamentary lobbies in a supposed vote of confidence in the government,” he said. “In short, it is total, absolute, abject chaos.”
Truss had been losing MPs confidence since the economy tanked following the Chancellor at the time, Kwasi Kwarteng, delivery of the mini-budget on 23 Sept. He was later sacked from the post as Truss backtracked on the economic decisions. Considering the first two weeks of Truss’s term were spent in mourning following the Queen’s death on 8 Sept., the way her tenure has played has been quite astonishing. “I can say I have never known a say of such chaos and confusion in UK politics. Just crazy,” tweeted ITV Political Editor, Robert Peston.
Following Boris Johnson’s resignation on 7 July after “partygate”, Truss became the UK’s Prime Minister on 5 Sept., beating former Chancellor Rishi Sunak with 57 percent of the vote. There will now be another leadership election to be completed in the next week, however there is concern around who would take the PM position, and how the process of choosing will play out. It is down to the 1922 committee to outline the process, with calls to avoid it being drawn out and a ballot for Tory members by 28 Oct. Truss has stated, “I will remain as PM until a successor has been chosen.”
Jokes began circulating on social media, with one Twitter user wrote, “My son has lived through four chancellors, three home secretaries, two prime ministers and two monarchs. He’s four months old.” It has undoubtedly been a time of seismic change for the UK. Some are calling for Boris Johnson’s return, some have hailed Truss’s competitor Sunak to take the top job, others are calling for an immediate General Election. The Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, are currently leading many of the speculative polls. Whatever happens next, stability needs to be the priority to stop social media, and the world, viewing the UK as a joke.
