THE UK will see its fifth Conservative prime minister in just seven years after Liz Truss resigned after only 44 days in office.
Truss will leave 10 Downing Street in a week after political and economic turmoil dogged her premiership.
2022 alone has seen two prime ministers - and soon it will see its third.
How will a new Prime Minister be picked?
Truss said a party leadership election will take place in the next week, with 1922 Committee chair Graham Brady confirming nominations should be in by Monday with the election to conclude by Friday.
Current plans include a vote from MPs and party members using a digital poll.
The vote is expected to happen within a week, with Truss staying on as Prime Minister until then.
Candidates to replace Truss as Tory leader will need at least 100 nominations from Conservative MPs, Brady said.
If only one person makes the nomination threshold, it is expected that the UK will have a new PM on Monday.
A hustings will be held behind closed doors on Monday.
Will there be a General Election?
Opposition parties, including the SNP, Labour and the LibDems have been demanding a General Election for some time.
Calls for a ballot mounted as chaos engulfed the Government.
Straight after Truss's resignation, Labour leader Keir Starmer and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said there should be a General Election.
But the Tories have said there are no plans for a new election, with Tory members and MPs picking the new leader instead.
That would make the next leader the second in a row not to have been elected by the full UK electorate.
As it stands, no General Election will take place unless Parliament votes for one.
What did Liz Truss say in her resignation speech?
Standing in front of 10 Downing Street, 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.
“Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. And our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth.
“I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this – we delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance.
“And we set out a vision for a low-tax, high-growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.
“I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.
“I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.
“This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. We have 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 plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.
“I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen. Thank you.”
Who is likely to replace Liz Truss?
Boris Johnson
There are reports Boris Johnson is gearing up to run again for PM.
The former Tory leader was kicked out of office by his party just a few months ago and was replaced by Truss.
It's now reported that Johnson could vie to be his successor's successor.
Rishi Sunak
He was the rival to Truss during her campaign to become PM, with the two disagreeing on how to steer the UK economy out of spiralling inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
His resignation as chancellor, alongside then health secretary Sajid Javid, prompted the ousting of Johnson.
Reports in The Guardian suggest Sunak would run again. He is one of the favourites and is likely to take a more traditionally Conservative approach to the economy.
Mordaunt also ran in the last Tory election campaign, coming third just behind Sunak.
The leader of the House of Commons has been criticised by some in the party though for lacking enough experience to become PM.
Ben Wallace
Well-liked within the party, the Defence Minster is among the most popular Mps when it comes to Tory members.
Despite being one of the favourites to replace Johnson though, Wallace did not put his hat in the ring in the last leadership contest.
Suella Braverman
The Tory hardliner resigned as home secretary just days before Truss's resignation.
To the right of the party, she supported the controversial policy of sending certain migrants to Rwanda.
In her resignation letter, she attacked the "direction" the Government was heading in, accusing it of breaking pledges to voters.
