Liz Truss resigns as UK Prime Minister

Oct 20, 2022, 18:53 IST

London: Amid political crisis, Liz Truss resigned as the UK Prime Minister on Thursday. She quit the top job just six weeks after she was appointed. Truss will continue to work as an acting Prime Minister until a successor is chosen. The Conservative Party may complete the leadership election within the next week.

Announcing her resignation, Truss said that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for the Tories leadership. She had succeeded Boris Johnson as PM last month. Truss' resignation comes after a key minister, former home secretary Suella Braverman, quit and Tory MPs rebelled in a chaotic parliamentary vote.

“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,” Truss said.

Liz Truss resigns after just weeks as PM #liztruss #liztrussresigns pic.twitter.com/VqTGNauqk9

— WalesOnline 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@WalesOnline) October 20, 2022

Truss was under immense pressure to climb down on key pieces of her economic plan. The estimated GBP 45 billion worth of tax cuts without a concrete plan is being seen as disastrous for the UK economy. The challenge the Truss government is facing is how it will fund the tax cuts when it publishes a full fiscal plan on October 31.

Meanwhile, the UK opposition leader Keir Starmer on Thursday renewed his demand for holding an immediate general election, AFP reported. He alleged that the Tories have failed to revive the UK economy and the Conservative Party “has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern,” he added.

After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos.

We need a general election, now.

My full statement: pic.twitter.com/NAQz70eVke

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 20, 2022