Liz Truss Resigns as British Prime Minister

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When Boris Johnson resigned his position as British prime minister back in July, he set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to a new record: the shortest-serving prime minister in the United Kingdom.

Liz Truss, the former foreign secretary during Johnson’s premiership, was invited to form a government by Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 6 after winning the Conservative leadership election. Her appointment came at a critical time for the UK as the war in Ukraine continued and inflation reached its highest point in 40 years. But on Oct. 20, only 45 days after she entered into office, she announced she was stepping down.

Having been part of the Conservative Party since 1996, Liz Truss beat former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak by over 20,000 votes on Sept. 5. Leading this party guaranteed her the position of prime minister, as the head of the party with a majority of seats in the House of Commons.

As the leader of one of the most powerful countries in Europe, and being the third woman to hold this position in the UK, she received support from most political leaders in Europe.

However, the public response had been more negative from the start. Truss’s personal ratings, as recorded by an Opinium poll in early October, dropped to negative 47, which is the worst rating ever recorded in an Opinium poll, according to The Guardian. The same poll recorded 64 per cent of respondents disapproving with the job she is doing, with only 16 per cent approving.

Such a low rating can be attributed to the drastic changes she made within her first month. Only days after becoming prime minister, Truss announced a “mini budget”— an economic plan that included major tax cuts, primarily towards the wealthy. In response, the British pound crashed to its lowest point against the US dollar since 1985. Other sectors displayed distrust in the budget changes, with a spike in government borrowing, in addition to the UK pension funds becoming a “full-scale liquidation event”, according to one Bank of England director.

Facing outrage from the public and protests in multiple cities, Truss made another drastic change, reversing most of the plans she had introduced regarding tax cuts. This caused her ratings to drop further, due to the lack of trust in the Tories’ governing capability.

On Oct. 4, during the Conservative Party Conference, Truss’s speech defending her actions was interrupted by a group of protestors in the audience, holding a large poster reading “Who Voted For This?” Outside, crowds of protestors rallied, expressing outrage at the mini budget.

Truss dismissed her Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, on Oct. 14 as she tried to contain the fallout from her mini-budget. As Chancellor, Kwateng was also responsible for the financial packages introduced in the Truss government.

Losing her grip on the Conservative MPs, Truss came under pressure as rebellions within her own party spiked, and at least three senior MPs chose to vote against her in a bill involving fracking. Multiple Tories resigned, including Truss’s home secretary, Suella Braverman.

“I have had serious concerns about this government’s commitment to honouring manifesto commitments,” explained Braverman in her resignation letter.

A YouGov poll, which surveyed 530 Conservative Party members, revealed on Oct. 18 that over half of Tories believed that Truss should step down. MPs claimed they “missed Boris Johnson”, with 63 per cent of voters believing that he would be a good replacement. Only 38 per cent of the surveyed group believed Truss should remain as prime minister.

To many experts and politicians, it was no surprise when, on Oct. 20, Truss addressed the nation in a resignation speech outside her residence at 10 Downing Street.

“I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability,” she stated, describing the political and economic chaos the country was in. “I was elected by the Conservative party with a mandate to change this.”

“I recognise, though,” she added later, “given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.”

Truss is succeeded by Rishi Sunak, after Boris Johnson announced in a statement that he would not run for party leader, leaving Sunak to run unopposed for Conservative leader. Sunak was formally invited to be prime minister by King Charles III on Oct. 25, making him the first person of Asian descent to do so.