LONDON: Liz Truss said on Thursday (Oct 20) she was resigning as British prime minister just six weeks after she was appointed, brought down by an economic programme that sent shockwaves through the market and divided her 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, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.
Truss, who had said on Wednesday she was a "fighter and not a quitter", told the mass of journalists gathered in Downing Street that she realised she could no longer deliver on the promises that won her the Conservative leadership.
"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.
A new leadership election will be completed by Oct 28. Those expected to run include former finance minister Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, a former defence minister.
Jeremy Hunt, the man brought in to rescue the public finances, has ruled himself out.
Party members and Conservative lawmakers are expected to be given a say in the vote. A poll earlier this week showed that most members wanted former prime minister Boris Johnson - who was ousted from Downing Street in July - to return.
Britain is not scheduled to hold a national election for another two years.
Betting odds put Sunak as the favourite, ahead of Mordaunt and Johnson.
Appointed on Sep 6, Truss was forced to sack her finance minister and closest political ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, and abandon almost all her economic programme after their plans for vast unfunded tax cuts crashed the pound and British bonds. Approval ratings for her and her Conservative Party collapsed.
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2022-10-20 12:43:00Z
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