It has been a day of chaos in Westminster. The shortest serving Prime Minister in British history has bowed out after just 44 days in office, with her predecessor Boris Johnson on the cusp of a possible return to Downing Street.
Thursday marked a day of political turmoil at Number 10 that stands unparalleled in recent history. Standing at the podium, just six weeks after shaking hands with the Queen and forming a new cabinet, Truss delivered a statement that fired the starting pistol on the race to find a new Prime Minister.
Announcing she would be standing down, she said that she was appointed office 'at a time of economic and international instability', and that she could not 'deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.'
Her premiership had been marred from the offset, after a summer campaigning to win the leadership promising a low-tax, high-growth policy platform, her Majesty the Queen passed away, with politics paused for nearly two weeks of official mourning.
Since then, her former chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, who was later sacked, announced a package of tax changes in the mini-budget, spooking the UK markets and crashing the British pound. The UK's cost of borrowing rose and mortgage interest rates shot up in an instant. The move forced her to apologise for going 'too far and too fast' with the economic policies.
Jeremy Hunt was appointed to replace Kwarteng, announcing he would be scrapping almost every aspect of her financial programme for the country. It was just five days later that her beleaguered government sat further on the brink of collapse, as newly appointed Home Secretary Suella Braverman dramatically departed, submitting a brutal and scathing resignation letter after sending an official document from her personal email.
Yet, despite this, on Wednesday, a mere 24 hours before Truss announced her swift departure from Number 10, with letters of no confidence flooding in, the embattled PM stood in the House of Commons and said she was 'a fighter' and 'not a quitter'.
The chaos at Downing Street has sparked fury among opposition leaders, with Labour's Sir Keir Starmer calling for general election 'now'. The Liberal Democrats have called on Truss to turn down the allowance of up to £115,000 a year she will be entitled to as a former prime minister.
But, if Boris Johnson is set to make his remarkable return, less than two months after being forced out of office, he will need now the unwavering support of at least 100 MPs. His father Stanley has already spoken of his hopes his son will return to Number 10, saying he would be 'crucial in uniting these warring parts of the Tory party'.
It has been reported that allies of the former leader have already pushed for him to make a comeback to Downing Street. Ex-culture secretary Nadine Dorries MP was among those who said she would stand by him on Thursday night in an interview with Sky News.
Another Conservative Party leadership election will be held within the next week, making her successor the third PM of 2022. The party will now scramble to elect a replacement by the end of next week, with allies of former leader Boris Johnson reportedly pushing for him to run again.
Ahead of the next contest, Sir Graham and party chairman Sir Jake Berry have set out the process, with nominations for MPs open until 2pm on Monday. The first ballot of MPs will then be held between 3.30pm and 5.30pm on Monday – if there are three candidates with the required number of nominations the loser will be eliminated.
Once there are two candidates remaining, an indicative vote will be held so that the party membership know which is the preferred option among MPs.
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