It’s done: Liz Truss resigns as UK Prime Minister
Liz Truss has announced her resignation as UK Prime Minister and will become this country’s shortest-ever serving leader.
It comes after a sensational collapse of confidence in her premiership from within the Tory party, after her mini-Budget tanked financial markets, she sacked two senior cabinet ministers and she U-turned on her entire economic platform.
Truss said she no longer had a “mandate” from the Conservative party to deliver her policies in a resignation speech outside Number 10 this afternoon.
It came as Tory MPs increasingly called for her resignation this week, both publicly and behind closed doors.
New leader next week
A new Tory leader and Prime Minister will be crowned on 28 October, after a rapid leadership contest.
Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee group of Tory backbenchers, said the “expectation” is that grassroots Tory members will get a say in the race.
Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt will be two of the frontrunners to become the UK’s new Prime Minister in a race that will likely be decided only by Conservative MPs and not party members.
However, The Times is now reporting that Boris Johnson is expected to stand in what would be an extraordinary turn of events.
“We delivered on energy bills and on cutting National Insurance. We set out a vision for a low-tax, high-growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit,” Truss said.
“I recognise though that given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative party.
Liz Truss today
“I have therefore spoken to His Majesty The King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.
“This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady. We have agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.”
Sixteen Conservative MPs publicly called for the Prime Minister to resign this week, with many more sending in letters of no confidence to the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers behind closed doors.
Final straw
The final straw for MPs was the complete chaos at Westminster yesterday, which saw Suella Braverman sacked as home secretary and allegations of Tory MPs being manhandled by senior cabinet ministers.
Braverman, who was removed for sending a Home Office document to a Tory backbencher, said in her resignation letter that she had “concerns about the direction of this government” and made a thinly veiled attack on Truss’ personal integrity.
Truss then appointed former transport secretary Grant Shapps, who just two weeks ago was openly plotting against her at Tory party conference.
Last night’s chaos
Braverman’s exit was followed by reports that chief whip Wendy Morton and deputy chief whip Craig Whittaker threatened to quit last night after a Labour vote on fracking, which allegedly saw senior Tory MPs physically manhandling and bullying their colleagues to get them to vote with the party line.
Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey was later accused by several people of physically dragging a Tory MP into the voting lobby to vote with the party, in a scene one Tory backbencher told Morning Wire was the stuff of “nightmares”.
There were other reports of Tory MPs crying as they were shouted at.
Number 10 clarified just before 10pm that two senior whips had not resigned, despite reports of Morton publicly rowing with Truss in parliament and shouting “I’m not the chief whip anymore”.
Whittaker is alleged to have yelled out in the voting lobbies that “I am f***ing furious and I don’t give a f**k anymore”.