21 October 2022 - PM Liz Truss resigns
Liz Truss: what happened in the night of Westminster chaos that triggered the PM’s resignation?
Thomas Caygill (The Conversation, 20/10/2022)
Many factors combined to cause Liz Truss’s demise but it was a night of chaos in the British parliament that triggered her resignation.
Events in the House of Commons on October 19 made it clear that the prime minister had lost control. Conservative MPs were called into a vote that was ostensibly about fracking but may or may not have been a vote of confidence in Liz Truss’s government. Accusations were made that Conservative whips behaved inappropriately in order to get their MPs to vote with the government.
Why was Truss’ tenure so short — and now what?
Danika Kirka (AP, 21/10/2022)
British Prime Minister Liz Truss took office last month with hopes and promises of reinvigorating the British economy and putting it on the path to long-term success.
It didn’t go to plan.
Instead, Truss’ tenure was scarred by turmoil as her economic policies threatened the country’s financial stability, driving the pound to record lows, sparking chaos on bond markets and increasing mortgage costs for millions of people.
Keir Starmer leads calls for immediate general election
Joshua Nevett and Sam Francis (BBC News, 21/10/2022)
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for an immediate general election following the resignation of the prime minister.
Sir Keir said the country "cannot have another experiment at the top of the Tory party".
Liz Truss resigned as prime minister after just 45 days in the job, claiming she "cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected".
Liz Truss’s entitlement to ex-PMs’ £115,000 annual grant sparks anger
Ben Quinn (The Guardian, 21/10/2022)
Anger has been sparked at rules that mean Liz Truss will be entitled to an annual office allowance of up to £115,000 after serving as prime minister for a matter of weeks.
Amid calls for her to forgo the allowance, a trade union representing civil servants hit out at her entitlement to the perk amid a mounting squeeze on public services and the cost of living crisis.