UK Prime Minister Liz Truss today said that she is resigning as prime minister, announcing that her successor will be elected by the end of next week. Truss’s mini-budget, which sent shockwaves through the markets, was responsible for her downfall.
Liz Truss’s woes began when her showpiece tax-slashing policy sparked market chaos that threatened the country’s pension funds, forcing her into a series of humiliating U-turns.
The moves, aimed at reviving the UK economy, had divided her Conservative Party just 45 days after she was appointed.
Liz Truss’s departure leaves the ruling Conservative Party badly damaged, languishing more than 30 points behind Labour in the polls after 12 1/2 years in power.
Her successor will become the party’s fifth premier in less than seven years since the 2016 Brexit referendum ushered in a period of unprecedented chaos in British politics.
The outgoing prime minister announced that an election to choose her successor would be completed within the next week.
“We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week,” she said, after senior backbench MP Graham Brady told her the game was up.
Conservative leader Jeremy Hunt has announced that he will not run for the prime minister.
One of the probable names that is expected to feature in the elections is Rishi Sunak, who Liz Truss defeated in this summer’s elections.
If he wins, Rishi Sunak would be the first Indian-origin person to hold the UK Prime Minister’s office.
