Photo: Truss while announcing her resignation outside Number 10 Downing Street, London, on Oct. 20, 2022. REUTERS
British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has announced her resignation from office after a chaotic 44 days in office.
She is set to become the shortest-serving prime minister in history.
Speaking from a lectern in Downing Street, Truss said on Thursday she had told King Charles III she was resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party.
“I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen.”
The former prime minister said that she recognised she “cannot deliver the mandate” that Tory members gave her little over six weeks ago.
She held talks with Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives and agreed to a fresh 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,” Truss, accompanied by husband Hugh O’Leary, said.
The dpa reports that Truss, who oversaw economic turbulence within her short stint had lost the confidence of her Conservative Party members of parliament (MPs).
She had also lost the confidence of the public and battled an open revolt from Conservatives demanding her departure.
Labour leader Keir Starmer demanded a general election “now” so that the nation can have “a chance at a fresh start.”
Her resignation comes just a little over 24 hours after she told MPs she was a “fighter, not a quitter.”
