Liz Truss will go down in history as Britain’s shortest serving Prime Minister having spent just six weeks in the role before handing in her resignation.
Truss announced she’d be stepping down as Prime Minister on Thursday, she will remain in the role until the Conservative Party can elect a replacement.
Truss was selected for the role by party members following the resignation of predecessor Boris Johnson, now just after a few weeks party members may be asked to undertake the task again and select someone else for the role.
The 45 days Truss spent as the nation’s leader were marked by an attempt to roll out a series of aggressive tax cuts that spooked financial markets that lead to unprecedented central bank intervention.
The fiasco sent her approval ratings to the lowest level ever recorded for a British Prime Minister, and soon many of her colleagues were publicly calling for her resignation.
One British newspaper set up a live camera of a picture of the Prime Minister and a lettuce, asking readers which one they thought would last longer – the lettuce was still crispy as the PM fell on her sword.
Truss couldn’t be challenged for her leadership position by an individual member of the party, as party rules protect a new Prime Minister within their first 12 months in the role, it has become obvious that she could not successfully continue in the role when so many of her own MPs were calling for her to step down.
How a new Prime Minister will be selected is the subject of some debate, the current rules would require a repeat of the complex process of that party members had just finished to put Truss in the leadership position. There is speculation that the 1922 committee, a group of Conservative Party lawmakers who determine the party rules, may change the rules to limit the selection to MP’s rather than including rank and file party members.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called on the government to go to a General Election and let the people decide if they should continue in government. It’s a scenario that seems highly unlikely given the party currently has no leader, and polls indicate they would suffer a catastrophic election loss.
Conservative Mp Jamie Wallis, who is transgender, had publicly called for Truss to resign because during the selection campaign which saw her installed as Prime Minister, she failed to speak out against anti-transgender rhetoric. A re-run selection campaign could see another wave of anti-transgender debate within the party.
Several names have been touted as being potential contenders to become Britain’s next Prime Minister including Rishi Sunak, who lost out to Truss in the most recent selection competition. Current leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt, while Jeremy Hunt, and Ben Wallace have also been mentioned, there’s even been suggestion that Boris Johnson might be a contender.
Resigning after just 45 days Truss will go down in the history books as Britain’s shortest serving Prime Minister. The record was previously held by George Canning who was Prime Minister for 119 days in 1827. His tenure ended because he died in office having contracted tuberculosis.
OIP Staff
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