Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned as UK prime minister in a statement outside Downing Street Thursday afternoon.
She said she could not deliver the mandate she was elected and had notified the King that she was resigning as Tory leader.
There will be Conservative leadership election to be completed within the next week, she said.
I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen,” she said
Her departure after 45 days in office makes her the shortest-serving PM in UK history
It comes after she met the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs as more Tories called for her to quit.
Truss’s premiership has been in turmoil since her mini-budget last month, which rocked markets and was later scrapped by her new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.
The resignation of her home secretary on Wednesday and a chaotic vote in the Commons sealed her fate.
There was fury on Wednesday evening around the vote and the methods used to get MPs to vote with the government.
Jeremy Hunt not running to be PM
The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has confirmed he will not stand to be the next Conservative leader and UK prime minister.
Truss the briefest serving PM in UK history
Liz Truss has been in office for just 45 days – the shortest tenure of any UK prime minister.
The second shortest serving PM was George Canning, who served for 119 days after dying in 1827.
Trouble began when her first Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, spooked the financial markets with his mini-budget on September 23, 2022.
Since then, Conservative disquiet has morphed into widespread anger within the parliamentary party.
Her stepping down today follows dramatic scenes in the House of Commons last night over a vote on fracking. Calls for her to go kept growing in the hours afterwards.
Labour leader Starmer demands election as Truss quits
Meanwhile, Labour leader Keir Starmer has demanded a general election “now” after Liz Truss announced her resignation as prime minister.
Truss’s statement in full
Here’s the full statement Liz Truss delivered outside Downing Street confirming her resignation as prime minister.
“I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills. Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. And our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth.
I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills. Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. And our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth.“I was elected by the Conservative party with a mandate to change this. We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance. And we set out a vision for a low tax high growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.
I was elected by the Conservative party with a mandate to change this. We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance. And we set out a vision for a low tax high growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.“I recognise 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.
I recognise 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.“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 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. I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen. Thank you”
“This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security. I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen. Thank you”
