Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party in a statement made from Downing Street today (20th October).
Despite only entering office at the start of September, Liz Truss has seen her premiership defined by a disastrous Mini-Budget that was announced by her then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng.
Truss later sacked Kwarteng after the Mini-Budget was poorly received by financial markets and was blamed for a rapid fall in the value of the pound and required a response from the Bank of England.
The appointment of Jeremy Hunt as the new chancellor saw most aspects of the Mini-Budget reversed and Truss’ economic vision abandoned.
How to watch Liz Truss’s statement
The prime minister’s speech was broadcast live on BBC News, Sky News and ITV at 1:35pm, with analysis and commentary expected to dominate news programmes afterwards.
Viewers can watch her statement back via BBC News on BBC iPlayer and Sky News on YouTube.
The announcement will also be shared on the 10 Downing Street social media channels.
What can we expect from Liz Truss’s announcement?
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Truss resigned from her role as Conservative Party leader and, ultimately, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following a tumultuous few weeks in office.
Having previously served in the UK government in multiple cabinet roles, Truss won the Conservative Party leadership election over the summer and replaced Boris Johnson as PM on 6th September 2022.T
Truss’s time in office was quickly dominated by the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the subsequent mourning period and state funeral, and the ascension of King Charles III.
Following this, Truss and her then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng revealed a “Mini-Budget” that announced large-scale borrowing and various tax cuts to respond to the cost of living crisis and energy supply crisis.
The Mini-Budget was poorly received by financial markets and was blamed for a rapid fall in the value of the pound and required a response from the Bank of England.
The economic policy was roundly criticised by the International Monetary Fund, the Labour Party, sections of the Conservative Party, other opposition parties, and even US President Joe Biden.
In response to the crisis, Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked from his position and subsequently replaced by Jeremy Hunt who made a new economic statement that largely reversed the Mini-Budget.
As a result, Truss’ position and reputation were largely considered untenable, leading her to resign from the office of Prime Minister.
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