Liz Truss announced her resignation as prime minister of the UK on Thursday, saying she “cannot deliver her mandate” as leader after less than seven weeks on the job.
The shortest-serving political leader in the country's history will now make way for a new occupant of Downing Street when the Conservative Party selects her successor within the next week.
She stepped down on her 45th day in charge after a disastrous premiership during which a mini-budget she had sanctioned opened a £70 billion ($78.8bn) black hole in the public finances and triggered a run on the pound.
A little more than 24 hours after insisting she was “a fighter, not a quitter” in the House of Commons, Ms Truss stood at a lectern in Downing Street and said she had informed the king she was resigning.
Her announcement followed talks with the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives, Sir Graham Brady, during which it became clear she could not hope to carry on.
The prime minister, accompanied by her husband, Hugh O’Leary, said a short leadership contest “will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security”.
“I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen.”
The pound lifted on Ms Truss's announcement, with sterling rising $1.13 and holding the gains by the close. Her decision to resign will trigger a scramble among Tory leadership contenders who will face a daunting task to revive the party’s fortunes.
Jeremy Hunt, who was appointed chancellor last week, was quick to rule himself out as he focuses on calming the financial markets, while prominent former Cabinet minister Michael Gove will also sit out the contest.
Penny Mordaunt, viewed as a potential leadership contender after coming third in the previous contest, said she would “keep calm and carry on”. Runner-up to Ms Truss, Rishi Sunak, a former chancellor, is also in the frame alongside a handful of others.
Fevered speculation surrounded former prime minister Boris Johnson, who handed power over in September after he was forced out by rebellious MPs.
Trade minister Sir James Duddridge, Mr Johnson’s former parliamentary aide, used the hashtag #bringbackboris on Twitter, saying: “I hope you enjoyed your holiday boss. Time to come back. Few issues at the office that need addressing.”
Sir Graham said the process could be concluded by October 28 so the new leader can be in place in time for a crucial financial statement on October 31, which is intended to reassure the City of London that the government has a plan to repair the nation’s finances.
He later said leadership candidates to replace Ms Truss will need at least 100 nominations from Conservative MPs by 2pm on Monday.
There would then be an online vote for members if two candidates made it through the initial stage.
The requirement to get 100 nominations should be achievable by any candidate with a realistic chance of winning, Sir Graham said.
He added it would mean a maximum of three candidates on the ballot for MPs to vote on.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded an immediate election so that the nation can have “a chance at a fresh start”.
“The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern,” he said.
“After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos. In the last few years, the Tories have set record-high taxation, trashed our institutions and created a cost-of-living crisis.”
Ms Truss had summoned Sir Graham to Downing Street for a hastily arranged meeting on Thursday morning, with sources saying she was “taking the temperature” of the Tory party.
What Sir Graham told her was unclear, but she was left realising that her time was up. “The statement was the result” of their conversation, a source confirmed.
While Sir Graham was in Downing Street for more than an hour, Therese Coffey, the deputy prime minister, and Jake Berry, the chairman of the Conservative Party, arrived. Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general, said the situation had become untenable.
“It is anarchy and the government will be paralysed and incapable of operation and at that point, bluntly, they owe a duty to the public to hand over to somebody who can govern,” he said.
Now the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, Ms Truss has clocked only 45 days in office. The next shortest premiership was that of Tory statesman George Canning, who spent 118 full days as prime minister in 1827 before his death from ill health.
Ms Truss would have overtaken this number of days on January 3, 2023.
But instead she will fall short by more than two months, with the UK's next prime minister expected to be elected within the next week.
Ms Truss's announcement followed a day of chaos in Westminster on Wednesday in which:
— her home secretary, Suella Braverman, departed in acrimonious circumstances, becoming the second senior Cabinet member to be ditched in less than a week
— Ms Truss faced humiliation at Prime Ministers' Questions when she was laughed at by MPs as she came under fire from opposition leader Sir Keir, responding that she would not step down because she was “a fighter, not a quitter”
— there was mayhem in the Commons over a fracking vote, which Tory MPs had been told was a confidence vote
— accusations were made of bullying and manhandling by senior MPs to force colleagues to vote with the government
— confusion over whether the chief whip and deputy chief whip had quit
— a visibly upset Tory MP summed up the mood of the party by saying the events were “an absolute disgrace”
British Prime Minister Liz Truss — in pictures
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British Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation, outside No 10 Downing Street, London. AP -
Liz Truss during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons in London, addressing Parliament for the first time since abandoning her disastrous tax-slashing economic policies. AFP -
Liz Truss walks off stage after delivering her keynote speech at the Conservative Party annual conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham in October. PA -
Liz Truss meets US President Joe Biden during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. AP -
King Charles during his first audience in September with Ms Truss at Buckingham Palace, London, following the death of Queen Elizabeth. Getty Images -
Labour leader Keir Starmer and Liz Truss pay their respects after the service and procession for the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II into Westminster Hall, London, in September. PA -
Ms Truss is welcomed by staff in Downing Street as she enters the famous prime ministerial offices for the first time in September. Photo: Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street -
Queen Elizabeth II greets the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party, Ms Truss, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in September. The queen invited Ms Truss to become prime minister and form a new government. Getty Images -
New Conservative Party leader and Britain's Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss delivers a speech after being announced the winner of the Tory Party leadership contest in central London on September 5, 2022. Ms Truss is the UK's third female prime minister following Theresa May and Margaret Thatcher. AFP -
Liz Truss meets supporters as she arrives to attend a Conservative leadership election hustings at the NEC, Birmingham, in August. AP -
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss take part in the BBC Leadership debate at Victoria Hall in Hanley in July. Getty Images -
Liz Truss playing pool during a visit to the Onside Future Youth Zone in London in August 2022. PA -
Boris Johnson and Ms Truss arriving for an extraordinary summit at Nato headquarters in Brussels, in March 2022. AFP -
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ms Truss arrive for talks in Moscow in February 2022. AP -
Ms Truss in Red Square during a visit to Moscow in February 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss meeting European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic (not seen) for talks in central London on the Northern Ireland Protocol on 11th February 2022. PA -
Ms Truss with Marise Payne, the Australian minister of foreign affairs, at Government House in Sydney, Australia, in January 2022. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Liz Truss hosts Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic at Chevening House in January 2022 to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss visits British troops in Estonia as they operate alongside other Nato troops in Tapa in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Liz Truss walks through the old town in Tallinn, Estonia, in November 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss greeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, in November 2021. PA -
Ms Truss at the Red Fort in New Delhi during a trip to India in October 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
The British foreign secretary on the Plaza de la Constitucion in Mexico City, during a trip to Mexico in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Queen Elizabeth II greeting Ms Truss at a reception for international business and investment leaders at Windsor Castle in October 2021. PA -
Liz Truss with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, in New York, in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Ms Truss on a morning jog over Brooklyn Bridge in New York in September 2021. Photo: No. 10, Downing Street -
Former Chancellor Philip Hammond, centre, holding his red ministerial box outside 11, Downing Street, flanked by Treasury colleagues Ms Truss and Mel Stride in October 2018. PA -
Ms Truss, then secretary of state for justice, being escorted around HMP Brixton by prison governor David Bamford in November 2016. PA -
Ms Truss as she became the first woman ever to hold the role of Lord Chancellor, arriving at the Royal Courts of Justice before being installed in July 2016. PA -
In April 2016, the former environment secretary Liz Truss listening to former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne (not seen) during his speech at the National Composites Centre in Bristol. PA -
When she was environment minister, Ms Truss visited the bridge over the River Wharfe in Tadcaster, which collapsed after heavy flooding in December 2015. Getty Images -
Addressing the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in 2014 when she was secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Getty Images -
Mr Truss on the Sawnnington Farm to Fork stand at the Norfolk Food Festival at the Houses Of Parliament in October 2011. PA -
Conservative Parliamentary candidate for South-West Norfolk Elizabeth Truss, while canvassing in the village of West Walton during the 2010 General Election campaign. PA -
The former Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, Dominic Grieve, centre, speaking at the launch Reform's Lawful Society report on the nature of crime and the incentives in the criminal justice system while Ms Truss looks on, in September 2008. PA -
Former Conservative Leader William Hague meeting conservative candidate for Calder valley Ms Truss, during the General Election Campaign for 2005. PA
