UK Party To Elect New Leader Oct. 28 After Kicking Out Truss

UK Party To Elect New Leader Oct. 28 After Kicking Out Truss
Liz Truss
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Liz Truss on Thursday officially resigned as British Prime Minister after her party members revolted against her just after 45 days in office.

According to reports, the Conservative Party, which presently holds a big majority in parliament will not be needing to call a nationwide election for another two years, and will elect a new leader by Oct. 28. That contest is likely to pit ex-finance minister Rishi Sunak against Penny Mordaunt, however, the race could also see the return of former premier Boris Johnson, who was booted out in July when his ministers resigned en masse to force him out of power.

The resignation now means that Truss has now become the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the history of Britain.

Her trouble had began after an economic programme that roiled financial markets, pushed up living costs for voters and enraged much of her own Tory party. A series of U-turns on her economic plan sapped her of authority. In a brief speech outside Downing Street, Ms Truss said the Conservative Party had elected her on a mandate to cut taxes and boost economic growth.

Read Also: UK PM: Liz Truss Quits, Johnson Expected To Make Return

But given the situation, Ms Truss said: ‘I recognise that I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.’ Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she had lost the faith of her party and said she would step down next week.

‘I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party,’ said Truss, who was supported only by her husband with her aides and loyal ministers noticeably absent.

With her support, finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng had unveiled £45bn of tax cuts in her third week. But it was widely blamed for reducing the value of the pound and panicked financial markets. Almost all of it has now been reversed and Kwarteng was sacked as chancellor.

On Wednesday she lost the second of the government’s four most senior ministers, faced laughter as she tried to defend her record to parliament, and saw her lawmakers openly quarrel over policy, deepening the sense of chaos at Westminster.

Africa Daily News, New York reports that the sight of yet another unpopular prime minister being driven out of office underscores just how volatile British politics has become since the 2016 vote to leave the European Union unleashed a battle for the direction of the country. With the economy heading into recession and inflation running at a 40-year high, millions of Britons are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Africa Daily News, New York

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