First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey have demanded a general election after Liz Truss announced her resignation as Prime Minister.
Truss quit after a chaotic 44 days in office during which she lost the confidence of Tory MPs and the public and oversaw economic turbulence including crashing the pound to its lowest ever level against the US dollar.
She is set to become the shortest serving Prime Minister in history after she battled an open revolt from Conservatives demanding her departure.
Speaking from a lectern in Downing Street, Ms Truss said she had told the King she was resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party as she recognised she “cannot deliver the mandate” which Tory members gave her little over six weeks ago.
Liz Truss's 44 days in office makes her the shortest serving Prime Minister in history.
Her resignation came just a little over 24 hours after she told MPs she was a “fighter, not a quitter” pic.twitter.com/Z6rJaMvoEy
— PA Media (@PA) October 20, 2022
She held talks with the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives Sir Graham Brady and agreed to a fresh leadership election “to be completed within the next week”.
“This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security,” she added, as she was accompanied by husband Hugh O’Leary.
“I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.”
Her resignation came just a little over 24 hours after she told MPs she was a “fighter, not a quitter”.
Sturgeon has said a general election is a “democratic imperative.” Speaking on Twitter she said: “There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately.
“It’s beyond hyperbole and parody. Reality though is that ordinary people are paying the price.
“The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now. A General Election is now a democratic imperative.”
There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately. It’s beyond hyperbole – & parody.
Reality tho is that ordinary people are paying the price.
The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now.
A General Election is now a democratic imperative.— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 20, 2022
Starmer has said the country needs a “fresh start,” and has said a general election needs to be called immediately.
He released a statement which said: “The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern.
“After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos. In the last few years, the Tories have set record-high taxation, trashed our institutions and created a cost-of-living crisis. Now, they have crashed the economy so badly that people are facing £500 a month extra on their mortgages. The damage they have done will take years to fix.
“Each one of these crises was made in Downing Street but paid for by the British public. Each one has left our country weaker and worse off.
“The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people. They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish.
“The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future. We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.”
Britain can’t afford the Tories’ chaos.
My Labour government will provide the stability and leadership needed.
For our economy. For growth. For working people.
General Election, now.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 20, 2022
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey agreed with the calls, and said: “Boris Johnson failed our country and Liz Truss trashed our economy. The Conservatives have proven time and time again they are not fit to lead our great country.
“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.
“It is time for Conservative MPs to do their patriotic duty, put the country first and give the people a say.”
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