LIZ TRUSS said that she has agreed with Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench 1922 committee of MPs, a timeline under which she would be replaced by the end of next week.
That timeline implies that MPs will choose the next prime minister without a vote of the Conservative membership.
“I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability,” she said. “Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills. Putin’s war in Ukraine threatens the security of our entire continent.”
Truss said she was elected with a mandate to create greater economic growth but was not able to deliver it.
Liz Truss has announced her resignation as prime minister after just 44 days in Downing Street.
“I recognise that given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative party. I’ve spoken to his majesty the King to notify him I’m resigning as leader of the Conservative party,” she said.
Truss only became Britain’s premier in early September after a lengthy leadership contest which followed the resignation of Boris Johnson. But she was forced to drop most of her controversial “mini Budget” after it prompted a slide in sterling and a sharp rise in gilt rates.
There will be a leadership election next week.
Commenting on the news, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives – Andrew RT Davies has said:
“The Prime Minister has done the right thing and stood down.
“People wherever they live in the United Kingdom are rightly concerned about the cost-of-living crisis.
“The new Prime Minister must [get a] grip of this situation quickly, and provide leadership, confidence and hope to people across our nation.
“The Conservative Party must rise to this challenge, and deliver for people across Wales and the United Kingdom.”
Gary Smith, GMB General Secretary, said: “The country needs a general election right now.
“The Tories have treated the public with utter contempt, trashing the economy and shredding the UK’s international standing whilst people struggle to pay the bills and feed their families.
“They’re tired of being used as lab rats in a catastrophic Conservative economic experiment.
“In our democracy it’s the people who are the boss. It’s time they have their say and consign this toxic Tory administration to the history books.”Responding to the news Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds stated:
“Liz Truss was right to resign, but let’s be clear, the problem isn’t just her or any individual Minister – the entire Conservative Party is dysfunctional from top to bottom and is unfit to lead the country.
“Since 2015, the Conservatives have lurched from extreme to extreme, causing economic vandalism on a massive scale. We owe it to the households, individuals and businesses up and down Wales and the rest of the UK who have been hit hard by this crisis, to take firm action now.
“We do not need another Conservative Prime Minister lurching from crisis to crisis, we need a general election, we need the Conservatives out of power and we need real change.
“The Welsh Liberal Democrats are prepared to fight a general election and play our role in removing the Conservative Party from power.”
