Liz Truss resigns: Familiar faces, including Johnson, emerge as successors
Ms Turss said she can no longer deliver the mandate for which she was elected leader of the Conservative. Picture: PA
British prime minister Liz Truss has announced her resignation after just 44 days in office.
In a speech outside 10 Downing Street this afternoon, Ms Truss acknowledged she had lost the confidence of Tory MPs and the public.
- Liz Truss has announced her resignation as leader of the UK's Conservative Party
- The next Tory leader, and British prime minister, will be chosen by October 28
- Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and MP Penny Mordaunt appear to be favourites to succeed Ms Truss with former prime minister Boris Johnson also expected to stand
- Opposition leader Keir Starmer called for an immediate general election saying the public deserved better
Ms Truss spent this morning battling an open revolt as the number of Tory MPs demanding her resignation swelled after a calamitous 24 hours for her premiership.
In her address, Ms Truss said she could no longer deliver the mandate for which she was elected leader of the Conservatives.
Ms Truss said she had told King Charles III of her plans to resign this morning.
With her husband Hugh O’Leary alongside her, Ms 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.”
She said Britain had been “held back for too long by low economic growth”.
Speaking in Downing Street, she added: “This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.
“We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.
“This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security."
She also said she will stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen via a leadership election to be held within the next week.
Having been in office for just six weeks, Ms Truss is set to become the shortest-serving prime minister in history.
Just 24 hours ago, she told MPs in the House of Commons that she was a “fighter, not a quitter”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has wished Ms Truss well after she announced her resignation.
He said he remains committed to working with the British Government to resolve the issues around the Northern Ireland protocol and getting the Northern institutions back up and running.
In a curt statement, Mr Martin said he had a number of opportunities to engage with Prime Minister Liz Truss during her brief period as Prime Minister.
"I convey my best wishes to her and her family, following today’s announcement of her resignation," he said.
Mr Martin said working together to protect the gains of the Good Friday Agreement and to support peace and stability in Northern Ireland continue to be vital responsibilities for the British and Irish Governments, particularly now in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.
"Substantive EU-UK engagement to reach agreement on outstanding issues around implementation of the Protocol is ever more urgent. Britain is Ireland’s closest neighbour and a relationship of partnership between the British and Irish Governments is vital for peace and prosperity on these islands. I remain committed to working with the British Government in this spirit," he said.
Among those expected to stand in the leadership contest are Rishi Sunak and Penney Mordaunt, both of whom Ms Truss defeated in this summer's leadership contest, in addition to her predecessor in the role, Boris Johnson.
On the prospect of Mr Johnson's return, The Times political editor Steven Swinford tweeted: "He's taking soundings but is said to believe it is a matter of national interest."
Meanwhile, The Telegraph cited a source reporting Mr Sunak is "certain to stand" in the contest.
Ms Mordaunt has insisted she will “keep calm and carry on” as she was teased about her leadership ambitions following Liz Truss’s resignation.
The Conservative minister was in the Commons when Ms Truss appeared in Downing Street to announce her resignation as Conservative Party leader.
Ms Mordaunt came third in the leadership contest and when asked in the chamber about Ms Truss’s resignation and the state of the Government, Ms Mordaunt said: “I am going to keep calm and carry on – and I would suggest everyone else do the same.”
Following the prime minister's resignation, opposition leader Keir Starmer said the public deserved better than the Conservatives "revolving door of chaos."
The damage they have done will take years to fix.
“Each one of these crises was made in Downing Street but paid for by the British public. Each one has left our country weaker and worse off.
“The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people. They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish.
Mr Starmer said it was time for the British people to have "a proper say on the country’s future."
"We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.”
Scottish First Minister Nicole Sturgeon said a general election was now a “democratic imperative”
“There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately,” she said on Twitter.
There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately. It’s beyond hyperbole - & parody.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 20, 2022
Reality tho is that ordinary people are paying the price.
The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now.
A General Election is now a democratic imperative.
“It’s beyond hyperbole – & parody. Reality tho is that ordinary people are paying the price.
“The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now."
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