Liz Truss resigns, becomes shortest-serving PM in Britain's history; next PM to be elected on Oct 28
Photograph: (Reuters)
Key Updates
20 Oct 2022, 10:49 PM (IST)
The Conservative Party on Thursday set a high threshold of at least 100 lawmaker nominations for any leadership hopefuls, effectively limiting the race to three candidates.
Nominations will close on Monday and after a vote by Tory MPs, party members will decide the winner in an accelerated online vote with the winner announced on October 28, party managers said.
20 Oct 2022, 8:51 PM (IST)
The Prime Minister is right to provide a roadmap for an orderly transition.
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) October 20, 2022
MPs must now be prepared to compromise. It is our duty to provide sensible, competent government at this critical moment for our country.
20 Oct 2022, 7:25 PM (IST)
Markets reacted positively after Liz Truss announced her resignation on Thursday.
The pound rose against the dollar, touching $1.13 at one point before slipping back.
Shares also moved upwards initially on the FTSE 100, and the government's borrowing costs fell.
One analyst told BBC that the reaction of the markets meant they felt "relieved" by Truss's departure despite there still being a lot of uncertainty.
20 Oct 2022, 6:39 PM (IST)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday hoped that UK quickly returns to stability after Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after six weeks in office marred by political and economic chaos.
At an EU summit, Macron said he would not comment on British domestic politics, but added: "It is important that Great Britain regains political stability very quickly, and that is all I wish."
20 Oct 2022, 6:37 PM (IST)
We don't need another Conservative Prime Minister lurching from crisis to crisis.
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) October 20, 2022
We need a General Election now and the Conservatives out of power.
20 Oct 2022, 6:31 PM (IST)
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 had 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 Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady. We have agreed there will be a leadership election to be completed in the next week. This will ensure 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 .
20 Oct 2022, 6:27 PM (IST)
Labour party leader Keir Starmer has called for an immediate general election.
In a statement following Liz Truss’s resignation, Starmer said:
The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern. After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos. In the last few years, the Tories have set record-high taxation, trashed our institutions and created a cost-of-living crisis. Now, they have crashed the economy so badly that people are facing £500 a month extra on their mortgages. The damage they have done will take years to fix. Each one of these crises was made in Downing Street but paid for by the British public. Each one has left our country weaker and worse off. The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people. They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish. The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future. We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election - now.
20 Oct 2022, 6:16 PM (IST)
BREAKING BREAKING BREAKING: LIZ TRUSS HAS RESIGNED.
— BettingOdds (@BettingOddsUK) October 20, 2022
RISHI SUNAK IS THE FAVOURITE TO BE THE NEW PM! 🤯🤯🤯
18+ | BeGambleAware
20 Oct 2022, 6:05 PM (IST)
I recognise that given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate... -I am resigning as the leader of Conservative Party.
20 Oct 2022, 5:16 PM (IST)
Downing Street has denied that there is any change to Liz Truss’s plan to stay in No 10 beyond the fiscal plan on October 31.
A spokesperson for the prime minister told reporters, "No plans for any change. The prime minister will continue beyond the 31st."
"She’s also working with the chancellor on delivering economic stability and growth."
20 Oct 2022, 5:01 PM (IST)
Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan refused five times to say that Liz Truss will lead the Conservative Party into the next general election.
The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman was just asked the following: Does the Prime Minister still think she will lead the Tories into the next general election?
The spokesman replied: “Yes.”
20 Oct 2022, 4:59 PM (IST)
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss said she had a "difficult day" yesterday after Susuella Braverman resigned over national security breach.
She wants the government to focus on its priorities, her official spokesman said on Thursday.
"The prime minister acknowledges yesterday was a difficult day," the spokesman said after Truss faced opposition jibes, MPs' rebellion and the resignation of a key minister. Truss wants the government to focus "less on politics" and more on "delivering priorities", he added.