Liz Truss has resigned as UK Prime Minister after 45 days in office amid massive economic crisis, becoming the shortest-serving leader in British history. Conservatives will choose a new UK leader within a week, Truss said in her resignation statement. She had defeated Indian-origin Rishi Sunak in the UK PM race.
After her economic plan shocked the markets and split her Conservative Party just six weeks after taking office, Liz Truss announced on Thursday that she was stepping down as the prime minister.
A leadership election will be completed within the next week.
“I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party”- Liz Truss
Speaking to reporters outside her office at 10 Downing Street, Truss acknowledged that after losing the confidence of her party, she could not keep the commitments she made when running for Conservative leader.
“I recognize though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party,” she said.
“This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week. This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.”
In her first six weeks in office, Truss was forced to abandon nearly all of her policies after it sent the bond market into a tailspin and caused her and the Conservative Party‘s approval ratings to plummet.
Since last Friday, she has lost two of the top four ministers in the government. She watched helplessly as her new finance minister shredded her economic plans in parliament, and endured raucous jeers as she attempted to defend her record.