Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Sarah Barrett

Why did Liz Truss resign and who will replace her as UK prime minister? Latest news

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has been in office a mere 44 days.

Truss announced her intention to resign as prime minister on Thursday.

Her resignation makes her the shortest-serving prime minister in the history of the United Kingdom.

READ MORE: Rain is here to stay for the weekend with spot flooding possible in places

Ms Truss said her successor would be elected by next week after a flurry of Tory MPs forced her to quit.

The news came amid controversy brought on by a failed economic plan that launched the UK into financial turmoil.

In a brief speech outside Downing Street, Ms Truss said the Conservative Party had elected her on a mandate to cut taxes and boost economic growth.

Lawmakers in her own political party, the Conservative Party, also called on her to quit.

Events in the House of Commons on October 19 made it clear that the prime minister had lost control.

Here are the key events of three months of political chaos in the lead up to her resignation.

July 7: Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation after too many scandals.

September 5: Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was named leader of the Conservative Party, taking over the role as the UK’s next prime minister at a time when the country faces economic crisis.

September 6 : Truss was formally appointed prime minister by the late Queen Elizabeth II at her Balmoral Estate in Scotland.

September 7: After instruction from the Queen to appoint a new cabinet, 15 new faces enter top positions, while 16 members from the previous cabinet remain in the new cabinet.

September 8 : Queen Elizabeth II passes away and a 10-day national mourning followed. Truss is centre stage

September 23 : The government reveals new tax cuts in the parliament, intending to overhaul household taxes and energy bills while driving economic growth.

When it emerged that Truss had not told the Bank of England about the tax cuts, chaos unfolded in the financial markets and the British pound dropped as the IMF called for an immediate reverse of the plan.

It meant interest rates went up, mortgages cost more, and The Bank of England had to step in to calm the markets.

September 29 , Truss defended her economic plan and brushed off the negativity from the financial markets.

October 13 and 14: Truss awkwardly meets King Charles III on October 13th.

After weeks of defending her tax plan, she decides to abandon part of the plan, and fires her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, the person responsible for running the economy the next day.

October 17: Kwarteng is replaced by the New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt who ditches most of the tax plan.

Opinion polls began to reveal that Truss was becoming increasingly unpopular with the British public.

A YouGov poll ranked Truss as the least popular UK prime minister on record.

October 19: Truss’ interior minister Suella Braverman, resigned and Conservative legislators openly argued in the House of Commons over a vote on fracking.

Accusations were made that Conservative whips behaved inappropriately in order to get their MPs to vote with the government.

An opposition call in parliament for a fracking ban was defeated by 326 votes to 230.

As MPs voted on a Labour motion to ban fracking, reports began to emerge of "bullying" and "manhandling" outside the lobby.

Some of the legislators were livid that Conservative Party whips said the vote would be treated as a confidence motion, meaning the government would fall if the motion passed.

October 20 : Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister, and announces the news outside Number 10 Downing Street in a speech.

In the resignation speech, Truss said: “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.”

Several MP’s began to publicly reveal that they did not support her.

Truss said there would be a new leadership election within the next week, and that she would remain as pm until a new leader was elected.

Penny Mordaunt, Rishi Sunak and Ben Wallace, all current or former Conservative cabinet members, are among the candidates for Britain’s next prime minister.

There is also speculation that Boris Johnson, who resigned as prime minister in the summer, could make a return.

READ NEXT:

Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.