UK PM resigns: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Liz Truss resigned from her position as United Kingdom trudges through an economic crisis. Bowing to the inevitable, after a tumultuous six-week term in which her policies triggered turmoil in financial markets and a rebellion in her party, obliterated her authority. She said, “I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected.”
Just a day earlier Truss had vowed to stay in power, saying she was “a fighter and not a quitter.” But Truss left Thursday after she was forced to abandon many of her economic policies and lost control of Conservative Party discipline.
Her departure leaves a divided party seeking a leader who can unify its warring factions. British Prime Minister Liz Truss held on to power by a thread on Thursday, after a senior minister quit her government with a barrage of criticism and a vote in the House of Commons descended into chaos and acrimony.
Truss was due to make a statement amid intense speculation about her future. The event at Downing Street comes after Truss held a hastily arranged meeting with a Conservative official tasked with assessing whether the prime minister still has the support of Tory members of Parliament.
A growing number of lawmakers have called for Truss to resign after weeks of turmoil sparked by her economic plan. The plan unveiled by the government last month triggered financial turmoil and a political crisis that has seen the replacement of Truss’ Treasury chief, multiple policy U-turns and a breakdown of discipline in the governing Conservative Party.
Nominations open for new UK PM to replace Liz Truss, cut-off set at 100 MPs
The nominations for Conservative Party members planning to contest in the leadership election to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader and British Prime Minister officially opened on Thursday evening, with a high threshold of 100 members of Parliament set for the final shortlist.
Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Backbench Committee in charge of Tory elections, said that potential candidates are expected to file their nominations by 2 pm local time on Monday for a final two contestants to be shortlisted.
Unless there is parliamentary consensus struck around a single candidate, the final two will be put up for an expedited online voting process before the wider Tory party membership to be concluded by October 28.
“It [100 MPs] should be achievable by any serious candidate, who has a realistic prospect of going through," said Brady, as he confirmed the likelihood of three possible candidates emerging, given the 357 Tory MPs in the House of Commons.
Also Read: Suella Braverman resigns as UK Home Secretary over 'mistake'
