She barely served 45 days when she resigned on October 20. Her resignation and its aftermath are discussed below.
On Thursday, British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation, making her the country’s shortest-serving leader and starting off a race to succeed her.
To deflect criticism, she fired long-time supporter Kwasi Kwarteng from his position as Treasury chief after her government’s tax-cut proposal caused a selloff in U.K. assets and a surge in the country’s borrowing prices. Ms. Truss has promised to lead her party into the next general election as recently as last Tuesday. This election must take place no later than January 2025. What follows is crucial information.
Why Did Liz Truss Resign?
Ms. Truss announced her resignation as prime minister on Thursday, citing her inability to fulfill the Conservative Party’s expectations.
After a tumultuous first six weeks in office—during which her approval rating plunged to its lowest point of any British prime minister in decades as the markets reacted negatively to her proposal to decrease taxes and increase spending—she made the choice to resign. After a panicked selling off of U.K. debt in response to the plan, the Bank of England stepped in to restore stability in the financial markets.
How Did Liz Truss Become Prime Minister And How Long Has She Lasted?
After Boris Johnson resigned as head of the Conservative Party due to a number of controversies, the party unanimously voted to choose Ms. Truss its new leader. After a series of votes by the party’s legislators narrowed the field to two, she was chosen by the party’s members, beating out former Treasury head Rishi Sunak.
Ms. Truss, who served as foreign secretary in Mr. Johnson’s ministry, took a harsh stance on Northern Ireland in the hope of winning over Mr. Johnson’s followers and triggering a trade war with the European Union.
When Is The Next Conservative Leadership Contest?
On Thursday, Ms. Truss issued a brief resignation address in front of Downing Street. During the announcement, she mentioned that a leadership election would be held to pick her replacement within the next week.
Graham Brady, who chairs a group of Conservative legislators who sit in the backbenches, stated that the party ought to have a new leader in place before the month of October is out.
Why Were Her Economic Plans Controversial?
One of the tax cuts that she and her then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng advocated was directed at the top incomes in the United Kingdom. This policy, which was implemented at a time when inflation was skyrocketing, sparked popular outrage.
But it was the unfunded nature of the tax cuts that worried markets and drove the pound to fall against the dollar, yields on government bonds to rise, and the Bank of England to step in and try to stabilize the situation. Mr. Kwarteng tendered his resignation, and Jeremy Hunt, who succeeded him as head of the Treasury, retracted practically all of the measures to reduce taxes.
FAQs – People Also Ask
What happens if a former Prime Minister resigns?
Most former prime ministers opt for either staying in Parliament as a backbencher (a member of Parliament without a government role who represents their constituency) or resigning, which then necessitates a by-election.
Who is the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history?
Truss became Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister on Sept. 6. London Liz Truss resigned after barely six weeks in power after a failed economic strategy pushed the pound plummeting and her administration into chaos.
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