Liz Truss, Britain's Conservative Prime Minister, announced Thursday that she would be resigning from her post just six weeks after she became PM and one day after she said she was a "fighter." Truss is now the shortest-serving leader in British history.
In remarks announcing her resignation outside No. 10 Downing Street, Truss said "I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability — Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills, Putin's illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent, and our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth. I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this," PM Truss noted of her election just over 45 days ago.
"We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance, and we set out a vision for a low-tax, high-growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit," she explained.
"I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party"
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) October 20, 2022
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resignshttps://t.co/O5kO1WJ4tY pic.twitter.com/Gq6FtOGNIP
"I recognize though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party," the PM continued. "I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party."
She also said she had met with other leaders to plan a leadership election "to be completed within the next week" to "ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country's economic stability and national security," Truss said. She will remain Prime Minister until her successor has been chosen, though her party lacks a clear heir apparent who could consolidate support and be elected the new PM.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party is saying not so fast, with leader Keir Starmer calling for a full "general election, now" rather than another Conservative Party leadership election.
The BBC's chief political correspondent Nick Eardley said he'd "never seen anything like this" and cited "the level of chaos in government, Parliament and the Conservative Party" that "led Truss to a point where she knows she can't continue."
Truss' resignation announcement Thursday caused the "quickest turnover of power we have seen in modern times," the BBC added, noting that the UK will soon have its third PM of 2022.
Nigel Farage, a former Member of European Parliament and an architect of Brexit had a bleak evaluation of the situation, saying UK's Conservative Party is now "Labour-lite and serves no purpose" while Piers Morgan called the situation an "absolute shambles."
So that's it. After 45 days as PM, Truss goes.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) October 20, 2022
The replacement will be a stich up by Tory MPs.
The party is now Labour-lite and serves no purpose.
It’s over. Liz Truss is resigning and will become shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history. What an absolute shambles.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 20, 2022
This is a developing story and may be updated.