Liz Truss Resigns As British Prime Minister After Only 44 Days

LAGOS (CoinChapter.com) — Liz Truss became the shortest-serving British Prime Minister in the country’s political history on Thursday after she was forced to resign her position less than two months into the job.

In detail, Truss who spent only 44 days in office resigned after she was overwhelmed by the economic and energy crisis. The development occurred after her tax cuts plan backfired, resulting in a dramatic surge in interest rates and an emergency intervention by the Bank of England.

Furthermore, Liz Truss failed plan led to the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor. It also drove her personal poll ratings to the lowest ever recorded for a prime minister. In one survey for polling firm Opinium, Truss had a personal approval rating of -47. Multiple polls have shown that the opposition Labour Party would likely win a landslide victory in a general election.

Following her loss of favor Truss was told to quit by senior party figures on Thursday morning. Several members of her own Conservative Party tagged her as not fit to rule, calling for her resignation.

Recall that Liz Truss won the race to succeed Boris Johnson by 57.4% of the members’ vote against Rishi Sunak. It is worth noting that the previous shortest tenure for a British leader was held by Sir Alec Douglas-Home. He administered affair at Number 10 for one year and one day, from 1963 to 1964.

Race To Succeed Liz Truss Begins

Meanwhile, the race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister among the Conservative Party members has already begun. It is worth noting that Britain elects a party, not a specific leader. Hence, Truss will be replaced by another lawmaker from her ruling party.

Currently, under British political rules, the Conservative Party must call an election before January 2025. However, the ruling party doesn’t have an obvious candidate to replace Truss, so top party members will on again gun for the top job.

Some notable candidates for the post include Rishi Sunak, Britain’s former finance minister. He lost in the final round to Liz Truss in the recently completed campaign that replaced Boris Johnson. Penny Mordaunt, a former defense secretary, is also a top candidate for the top job. Mordaunt was a passionate supporter of Brexit and also missed out on the final two-place run-off in the recent leadership challenge.

Jeremy Hunt, present chancellor; Ben Wallace, Britain’s defense secretary; former prime minister Boris Johnson, among others are also notable candidates. Nonetheless, Truss’s resignation, after 44 days, means the Conservatives are set to select their fifth leader in just six years.