Liz Truss has resigned as Prime Minister.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street just past 13:30 this afternoon, Truss said “I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the conservative party.
“I therefore have 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 conducted within the next week.”
She said she would remain on as a caretaker PM until the Conservative Party had chosen a successor.
Truss was only in office for 45 days, making her the shortest serving Prime Minister in history.
This comes after a tumultuous day for Liz Truss yesterday, with the resignation of Suella Braverman as home secretary.
Grant Shapps, the former transport secretary, replaced Braverman as home secretary.
An opposition day motion by Labour to ban fracking saw chaos engulf parliament, as the Conservative chief and deputy chief whips resigned and then unresigned.
Craig Whittaker, deputy chief whip, said upon leaving parliament yesterday, “I am fucking furious and I don’t give a fuck anymore.”
Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker said yesterday that: “I expect the Prime Minister to resign very soon because she’s not up to her job.”
By the time the Prime Minister resigned, 15 MPs had publicly called for Truss to go.
More to follow…
Image “Prime Minister Liz Truss leaves for PMQ’s” by Number 10 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0