The newly elected prime minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss has resigned from her position on Thursday.
Truss announced her resignation as Conservative Party leader after just six weeks in power and said her successor would be elected by the end of next week.
In her words, “I recognise that 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.”
A leadership election for MPs to select her successor will be “completed within the next week,” she added.
She took office only 45 days ago after Boris Johnson’s resignation.
Of late, Truss battled to stabilise her position after an economic crash forced her into humiliating U-turns on tax reforms.
Truss was told to quit by senior party figures , leaving divided Tory MPs facing the prospect of having a third prime minister in a matter of days.
Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 , met Truss on Thursday amid speculation from senior Conservatives that was drawing to a close. insiders confirmed that Brady, who is overseeing Tory contests, met Truss in Downing Street at the prime minister’s request.
The meeting was unscheduled and Truss allies said she requested the meeting with the “shop steward” of Tory MPs to “take the temperature” of the party.
Jake Berry, Tory and Therese Coffey, deputy prime minister, were also seen entering Downing Street, adding to a sense that Truss’s government was coming to a head.
At least Tory MPs have called on Truss to resign, including Miriam Cates who is a member of the 1922 executive. “It seems untenable,” she said. “Yes, I do think it’s time for the prime minister to go.”
