Angela Rayner has said the Conservatives have 'done more u-turns than a cul-de-sac' in an interview with Sky News. The Labour MP, for Ashton-under-Lyne, made the comments live on Thursday night (October 20) after Prime Minister Liz Truss announced she was resigning after just 44 days in office.
The broadcast on Thursday heard Rayner call for a general election, saying that the Conservative party had 'lost the will of the people' and needed to 'put the country first'. She added that the 'fiasco' and 'chaos' in Government is 'embarrassing' for the nation.
Truss announced she was stepping down from her position on Thursday afternoon, making her the UK's shortest-ever Prime Minister in history. It comes just 24 hours after she declared 'I'm a fighter, not a quitter', with 15 MPs publicly calling for her to go.
But since becoming Prime Minister, there have been weeks of turmoil in government, which came to a head on Wednesday (October 19) which saw Suella Braverman lash out at Ms Truss’ 'tumultuous' premiership in her resignation letter, accusing the government of 'breaking key pledges' including on immigration policy.
In an interview with Sky News, Labour's Angela Rayner said the Conservative party had been 'going round' trying to 'make up rules' as they go along, and said they had 'dragged any old MP in front of people' and saying 'this is what we've got for you.'
Speaking after Truss resigned, she said: "It's utter chaos and looking at the 1922 Committee they look like rabbits in the headlights. They haven't got a clue what they are doing.
"The scary thing is, we could have a situation where we have a Prime Minister with zero mandate. It's pretty clear they have lost the confidence of the British public. They have no plan, no leader and are trying to cling on to power like being the Prime Minister and forming a cabinet is some sort of game, when the rest of the country is paying the price for it.
"It makes me kind of, really frustrated and angry because people's lives are being affected by their silly little games and I just cannot believe the absurdity of what we are seeing."
She said: "You say Conservative party rules are their rules, but as you were saying before, I don't think they trust their membership at the moment and it seems to me like they're going round trying to make it up as they go along, saying 'nothing to see here' and trying to drag any old MP in front of the people saying 'this is who we've got for you'.
"They are running scared from a general election because they know it should be the public deciding how the future of this country is governed, because they've lost the will of the people and the confidence now because they crashed our economy, they've ripped up the manifesto that they stood on and they've done more u-turns than a cul-de-sac.
"I mean, it's embarrassing, not just here, but also abroad, to see the fiasco and the chaos that we're witnessing at the moment. They need to put the country first and not the party first and they need a general election and a mandate."
After her resignation, Liz Truss began facing calls to turn down the allowance of up to £115,000 a year she will be entitled to as a former prime minister. The Liberal Democrats said it will leave a 'bitter taste' if she claims the payment in the wake of her brief and tumultuous tenure in Downing Street.
Liz Truss said there will be a leadership election 'within the next week'. She will remain as PM until a successor has been chosen.
Read next:
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Sir Keir Starmer calls for general election 'now' following resignation of Liz Truss
