London| The ruling Conservative Party will have to find a new prime minister of the United Kingdom in a week, as Liz Truss resigned as head of government in dramatic fashion on Thursday. He served just 45 days, which is the shortest tenure of any British Prime Minister.
Truss, standing in front of the door of his office cum residence – 10 Downing Street, declared, “I cannot abide by the mandate for which I was elected by the Conservative Party.” In fact, Britain will have a third prime minister within three and a half months. This is an incredible and unprecedented event in the history of Britain.
Truss said he agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 committee, that the leadership election would be completed within a week. This committee conducts internal elections in the Conservative Party.
The election of a new prime minister in a week means that the vote is unlikely to extend to the rank and file of the party and may be confined to Conservative MPs.
Speculation was rife in Westminster and Whitehall about Indian-origin former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak – who lost his bout to Truss in the summer, has once again thrown his hat into the ring. However, this has not been confirmed from their side yet. He has certainly made enemies within his party for being instrumental in the downfall of pre-truss Prime Minister Boris Johnson and has been quiet since his defeat.
Besides Sunak, Secretary of State for Defense Penny Mordaunt, House of Commons leader Ben Wallace and even Johnson are also in the news. Wallace had refused to run for leadership. Penny Mordaunt said she would ‘keep calm’ for now. Another Indian-origin personality Suella Braverman, who resigned as Home Secretary on Wednesday, may also have ambitions.
The BBC reported that current chancellor Jeremy Hunt would not run for prime ministership.
Johnson supported a truce against Sunak. Rumor had it that he did this because he knew their limitations, hoping that the trusses would soon be stuck, paving the way for their return thereafter.
Leader of the opposition Labor Party and their prime ministerial candidate Sir Keir Starmer called for an immediate general election. “The Conservative Party has shown that it no longer has the mandate to govern,” he said.
