Liz Truss Resigns Live Updates: British Prime Minister Liz Truss today dramatically announced her resignation just six weeks after taking office. Speaking in Downing Street, the UK PM said she would stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen to serve as Tory leader.
After Liz Truss unceremonious exit as UK’s prime minister with 45 days of taking oath candidates have a couple of days to gather the support of MPsNominations will close at 2pm on Monday and candidates are expected to have backing of at least 100 MPs to run
Nobody has declared their intention to run yet – but Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt are seen as contendersSources close to former PM Boris Johnson do not confirm or deny speculation that he is interested in the raceTruss resigned as PM on Thursday and speaking outside Downing Street, she said she could not deliver the mandate on which she was elected
UK’s Conservative Party is desperate to draw a line under Liz Truss’s disastrous premiership, with a rapid leadership contest aimed at trying to give the winner a shot at overturning an unprecedented deficit in the polls.
Supporters of Johnson said they were holding conversations with Tory MPs on Thursday night to gauge his chances, while saying the former premier — whose scandal-ridden tenure was ended by an unprecedented exodus of ministers — had not made a final decision on whether to run.
Even if he doesn’t run, Johnson’s backers could yet derail the prospects of former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, who was runner-up to Truss last time and his reputation has since been enhanced by the prescience of his dire warnings about her economic policies. But he is loathed by many MPs loyal to Johnson, who blame him for triggering the former premier’s demise in July.
Bring Back Boris’ Supporters Call for Johnson’s UK ComebackJohnson is still popular with grassroots Tory members and would likely be confident of winning if he could make the final two. But the threshold of 100 backers looks challenging, given many MPs have not forgiven him for bringing the party into disrepute. He also faces a parliamentary probe into whether he lied over the lawbreaking parties held in Downing Street during the pandemic.
If a Johnson return fills many Tory MPs with horror, moderates and centrists in the party were robbed of a potential candidate when Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, who was parachuted in to replace Kwasi Kwarteng last week to try to calm financial markets, ruled himself out on Thursday.
Hunt has ripped up most of Truss’s plans and restored some order to markets. But he has also put the Tories on the politically dangerous path of punishing austerity, and is due to make a full fiscal statement on Oct. 31.Liz Truss took office last month with hopes and promises of reinvigorating the British economy and putting it on the path to long-term success.
Instead, Truss’ tenure was scarred by turmoil as her economic policies threatened the country’s financial stability, driving the pound to record lows, sparking chaos on bond markets and increasing mortgage costs for millions of people.Though Truss took office amid a cost-of-living crisis, the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, her decision to announce 105 billion pounds ($116 billion) of tax cuts and spending increases without providing details on how she would pay for it unnerved investors, who warned of soaring public debt.
That undermined confidence in the government’s ability to pay its bills and raised questions about the economic credentials of a new prime minister.The Conservative Party is desperate to draw a line under Liz Truss’s disastrous premiership, with a rapid leadership contest aimed at trying to give the winner a shot at overturning an unprecedented deficit in the polls.
Under rules announced Thursday, a maximum of three Tory MPs will be able to run. The next leader could be decided as soon as Monday.Tory has set rules for the next UK Premier after Liz Truss quit on Thursday.Contenders for the UK PM post will need the backing of 100 Tory lawmakers to get on the ballot, Graham Brady, the Member of Parliament who heads the panel that sets rules on leadership contests, told reporters on Thursday. There are 357 Conservative MPs, so a maximum of three of them will be able to run.
Nominations close on Monday, when the ballot that is necessary to whittle the field down to a final two will also be conducted, Brady said. That will leave a final two. An indicative vote will then be taken among MPs, before the candidates are put to grassroots members in a deciding online ballot, with the result due to be announced on Oct. 28.The outcome of the first ballot of MPs will be announced at 6 pm on Monday. If an indicative vote is needed, the result would be announced at 9 pm
A national newspaper on Thursday declared a lettuce the victor in a race to see if it could outlast Liz Truss, after the under-fire prime minister resigned.The tabloid Daily Star set up a live feed on Friday showing the unrefrigerated iceberg next to a photo of Truss, asking readers: “Which wet lettuce will last longer?”
It later expanded the tableau, adding a wig, a face and grasping hands to the vegetable, as well as two British flags, a pasty on a plate and a red mug bearing the legend “Keep Calm and Carry On”, a slogan used to raise morale in Britain during World War TwoTalks on free trade agreements between India and Britain remain on track, and India will “wait and watch” the situation following the change in British leadership, India’s trade minister said on Thursday.
India and Britain launched negotiations in January this year for a pact that aims to double bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.The London stock market and the pound bounced on Thursday after British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation following disastrous policies that rocked the markets for weeks.
The pound briefly surged more than one percent against the dollar to $1.1336 after Truss ended six tumultuous weeks in power — but analysts said gains were pared by the ongoing uncertainty.The FTSE 100 index was up 0.3 percent while the country’s borrowing costs eased on the news, as the yield on 30-year government bonds, known as gilts, fell to 3.85 percent.
