Liz Truss’ Resignation and What is Likely to Come Next

News was released yesterday around lunch time that the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, was going to make a speech, with the speech beginning shortly after 1:30pm UK time.

In recent days, Truss faced backlash from her own MPs, as well as others from across Parliament, after fall out following the introduction of her Mini Budget, which threw the UK into a recession. The Mini Budget was first introduced by Kwasi Kwarteng, Liz Truss’ first Chancellor, on the 23rd of September.

Another new leader is meant to be in power within a week, with 100 people being required to nominate a each candidate. If one person gets 100 votes, they will become the new leader, but if two or three people get 100 votes, a private online poll will be held for Conservative MPs

Ms Truss’ resignation makes her the shortest serving Prime Minister in history — having served for just 44 days — pushing the previous shortest serving, a Georgian Prime Minister, George Canning, out of the line up, who died in office after serving for just 119 days.

It was only on the 19th of October when Ms Truss was releasing statements that she was a fighter and not a quitter.

Since she came to power:

• 7th September: Ms Truss announced a new energy price guarantee, which promised support for struggling businesses for six months.
• 8th September: Ms Truss became Queen Elizabeth II’s last Prime Minister, after our late monarch died suddenly on the 8th of September.
• 23rd September: Kwasi Kwarteng announces the biggest tax cuts the UK has seen in half a century, which makes the pound fall to a 37-year low, and throws the UK into turmoil
• 2nd September: The Prime Minister acknowledges mistakes were made over the Mini Budget.
• 3rd September: The Prime Minister and Kwasi Kwarteng abandon their plan to abolish the 45p rate of income tax for top earners.
• 14th October: Kwasi Kwarteng is sacked and replaced with Former Health / Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt.
• 16th October: Former-Tory MP, Crispin Blunt, becomes the first to publicly call for Ms Truss to go.
• 17th October: Jeremy Hunt makes a speech 2 weeks earlier than expected, reversing nearly all of the Prime Minister’s economic plans.
• Liz Truss later faces backlash in the Commons as she watches on in silence, while her new Chancellor outlines everything that’s new.
• 18th October: Ms Truss survives another meeting of the cabinet without any ministers calling for her to go, while Hunt tells colleagues they must review departmental budgets to find ways to save taxpayers money.
• October 19th: Ms Truss tries fighting on at PMQs.
• Tory MPs are told that a Labour vote in the Commons on Fracking is being treated as a “Confidence Vote”. It was later defeated by 326 votes to 230.
• Suella Braverman stepped down as Home Secretary, with 6 more resigning overnight.

The pound originally responded well to the Prime Minister’s resignation, but has started to slide compared to the dollar.

What Do We Know at the Minute is Likely to Follow Next

Penny Mourdont was the first to put her name forward only 24 hours after Liz Truss resigned, but at 10:31am on October 23rd, Rishi Sunak announced he’s running to be the Leader of the Conservative Party and to become the new Prime Minister.

Who is Penny Mordaunt?

Largely unknown outside Westminster, Penny Mordaunt is one of the lesser known candidates hoping to win enough support to be Prime Minister.

She’s voted for and against different Environmental Issues, including twice for and against fracking; eight times for new high speed rail infrastructure; for and against financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods (once for and twice against), as well as for selling England’s state owned forests.

She’s also voted mostly for measures to prevent Climate Change.

One of the leading faces of the Leave campaign at the time of the EU referendum that led to Brexit, she’s been a staunch supporter during her time serving under four Prime Ministers.

Ms Mourdont has also been a huge supporter of Trans rights, although this has been something that has been argued with by those in favour and those against in the last few years and months, while discussions of Self ID continue to go on.

Ms Mourdont has also faced backlash in relation to her support for Trans rights in face of discussions re how we should deal with Woke culture.

Who is Rishi Sunak?

Slightly more well known — thanks to his popular nickname “Dishy Rishi” throughout the Pandemic — Rishi Sunak remained Chancellor up to only a few months ago on the 5th of July.

The son of a father who was an NHS family GP and a mother of a local chemist shop, he enjoyed a successful business career before stepping into politics.

Throughout his career, Rishi has voted against a ban on Fracking, against the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, against the Online Safety Bill, for the Energy (Oil and Gas) Profits Levy Bill Committee, and has also been in favour of fighting Woke culture.

His most popular legacy recently has been being in charge of the Furlough system throughout the global Coronavirus pandemic.

Who all has ruled themselves out?

The MPs so far who have ruled themselves out are Jeremy Hunt and Ben Wallace. At 9:04pm on Sunday the 23rd, Boris also ruled himself out of the race.

Sources

Liz Truss Resigns (BBC): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63332037

Liz Truss Timeline: Everything That Happened in 44 Days as Prime Minister (Daily Record): https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/liz-truss-timeline-everything-happened-28288795

Penny Mourdont Voting History (Yorkshire Post): https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/what-is-penny-mordaunts-voting-record-health-housing-education-transport-and-foreign-policy-3768739

Who is Penny Mourdont (Evening Standard): https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/penny-mordaunt-tory-leadership-contest-brexit-trans-rights-royal-navy-b1011602.html#r3z-addoor

Rishi Sunak’s Website: https://www.rishisunak.com/about-me

Voting Record of Rishi Sunak (Parliament.uk): https://members.parliament.uk/member/4483/voting?page=3