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Liz Truss Resigns as Prime Minister

After 44 days of serving as Prime Minister, Liz Truss has officially resigned

Liz Truss has the record for shortest tenure at 44 days as Prime Minister, with the next closest candidate being George Canning in 1827. Canning had a 119-day term and died in office. Truss’ predecessor, Boris Johnson, had also resigned after a relentless wave of scandals.

Queen Elizabeth II formally appointed truss on September 6th, just a couple of days before the queen passed away. At first, this wasn’t a good omen and seemed to herald the crash-and-burn of her tenure as minister.

A big part of what motivated Truss to resign seems to be the public reception of her ‘economic experiment’, after her tax plan caused panic in the markets, and her own party seemed to turn on her. “I recognize that given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which the Conservative party elected me. I have spoken to his majesty the king to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative party.” She said, “I will remain as prime minister until a successor is chosen.”

Truss had won the intra-party race to serve after Boris Johnson’s resignation, promising tax cuts for the rich to boost economic growth. The plan was considered sketchy at best, given the rising inflation and the UK’s strained fiscal circumstances. 

The tax plan was announced boldly, along with expensive energy subsidies. This prompted the Bank of England to organize an emergency intervention upon seeing the possibly disastrous economic situation the plan would trigger. Liz Truss handed economic policy over to Jeremy Hunt to avoid further disaster.

Liz Truss Resigns

Liz Truss © Reuters

A leadership contest is now being held to decide the next head of the ruling Conservative party, who’ll become the next prime minister. It’s set to conclude the next week. Truss assured Parliament during the weekly Prime Minister’s Question sessions that she was a fighter, not a quitter. On the other hand, the opposition Labour Party called for an immediate national election.

Despite the current political situation of the British government, many UK residents are making light of the situation. The social media memes and comments used to cope with the fear and doubt have spread. A standout from Reddit was a user who stated Liz Truss would become a trivia question in the future. “Who’s the first Prime Minister to serve under two different monarchs?” Another mentioned how her time as Prime Minister was shorter than the campaign she fought to become Prime Minister.

There’s some gossip that the former finance minister under Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, would be a contender for the next voting contest. Should a candidate receive the support of 100 MPs, the final decision will be made by a vote of the 200,000 registered members of the Conservative Party.

While no elections are due for two years, Conservatives expect a loss of power and popularity, with polls now putting them 30 points behind Labour.

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