Why was Truss so unpopular?

By the end of her tenure, according to a YouGov poll , Truss’s net favorability stood at minus-70 percent. If that figure had continued its downward slide, she would have been on track to overtake Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has a net favorability rating of minus-84 percent among members of the British public. Truss became prime minister on Sept. 6 after being elected by members of the Conservative Party to replace Boris Johnson as their leader. Her first two weeks included the death of Queen Elizabeth II and were politically muted while the country entered a period of mourning. But on Sept. 23, her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng , made a fatal misstep: Without any warning, he unveiled a significant shift in the country’s economic strategy, promising to slash taxes for the highest earners and biggest corporations — with no plans to pay for it. Almost immediately, the British pound’s valuation tanked , the United Kingdom’s central bank was forced to hike interest rates, and the cost of taking out mortgages soared. Inflation — already at record highs — raised the cost of living further, shredding the Conservative Party’s reputation for fiscal responsibility. Some working-class voters who were drawn to Conservatives by their embrace of Brexit were turned off by a renewed sense that the party represented only the interests of financial elites. Truss made so few public appearances in the ensuing days that one of her ministers, standing in for her during a parliamentary grilling, told lawmakers that the prime minister was “not under a desk” hiding — a reassurance that succeeded solely in prompting people to picture her doing just that.

How many officials were fired or quit under Truss?

Three. Including 50 percent of her most senior ministers in a single week. First went Kwarteng, the architect of Truss’s vision for economic growth and a longtime political ally. Truss fired him Friday and replaced him with Jeremy Hunt, Britain’s fourth finance minister in as many months. With the markets roiling in the wake of Kwarteng’s disastrous “mini-budget,” the decision did not come as a surprise for a prime minister searching for ways to stem the bleeding of her political authority. Then went Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who quit Wednesday. This resignation was unexpected: Ostensibly, it was over a technical breach of the ministerial code after Braverman sent secret documents from her personal email. But in a blistering resignation letter , Braverman made clear she was unhappy with the direction of Truss’s government. If losing two ministers in Britain’s four Great Offices of State in less than a week wasn’t enough drama, British outlets reported Wednesday that Truss’s top aide, Jason Stein, had been suspended after anonymously criticizing fellow Conservative lawmakers to reporters. Truss’s press secretary refused to comment on staffing matters Wednesday but said the prime minister believed certain media briefings about parliamentary colleagues had been “completely unacceptable.”

What did a fracking vote have to do with low confidence in Truss?

Truss’s final full day in office was marked by a chaotic vote on fracking. Spotting the chance to strike a political blow, the opposition Labour Party put forward a motion Wednesday in Parliament to ban fracking, a controversial issue for the Conservatives. The party initially attempted to turn the vote into a show of strength for Truss’s government, threatening lawmakers with expulsion from the party if they did not vote against Labour’s motion. But as reports of growing dissent within the party mounted, party leaders appeared to row back on the threat shortly afterward. The result was a scene of pure chaos, with few lawmakers clear on the vote’s significance. Conservative lawmakers were “manhandled” into the parliamentary chamber to support the government, the Daily Telegraph reported. The vote was eventually held at 6:59 p.m. , with 40 Conservative abstentions — which, for some reason, included Truss herself. In a live television interview that evening, a visibly seething Conservative lawmaker, Charles Walker, described the situation as an “absolute disgrace,” blaming “talentless” colleagues for supporting Truss’s bid to become leader — “not because it’s in the national interest, but because it’s in their personal interest to achieve ministerial position.” The public’s view of how the party handled itself is so dim that as many as half of all Conservative lawmakers could lose their seats in a general election, he said.

What’s next for U.K. politics?

The bitterly divided Conservative Party will now vote on who among its lawmakers should replace Truss. “We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week,” Truss said in announcing her resignation. “I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen.” It is not clear whether the process will be limited to the party’s lawmakers in Parliament or whether grass-roots members will be invited to vote as well. The latter seems unlikely, given the short timeline. Political figures such as former finance minster Rishi Sunak, who in September lost the contest for Conservative leadership to Truss, cabinet minister Penny Mourdant and even former prime minister Boris Johnson have been touted. If they cannot decide within their party, Britain could go to a general election. This has been favored by the Labour Party, which has seen its popularity soar in recent weeks, thanks to Truss. It would also allow the public a democratic say, given that Truss was never elected by popular vote and was nominated by Conservative members.

What has lettuce and tofu got to do with the U.K. drama?

Vegetables have entered the stage, people. A day before quitting as Truss’s minister, Home Secretary Braverman lambasted the “Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati” while speaking in Parliament. Her comment, meant to insult left-leaning liberals, spawned songs, online memes and jokes, adding fuel to culture wars. And as Truss’s credibility crumbled, British newspaper columns poked fun at her, predicting that her career would have “the shelf-life of a lettuce,” which is about 10 days. One tabloid, the Daily Star, went a step further, setting up a 24-hour live video of a head of lettuce (at times dressed in a wig or glasses) next to a picture of Truss, asking viewers which would wilt first. On Thursday at lunchtime, the lettuce won.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Why Liz Truss resigned as U.K. prime minister: A guide to the chaos - The Washington Post

Europe

Why Liz Truss resigned as U.K. prime minister: A guide to the chaos

By Leo Sands

and

Adela Suliman

Updated October 20, 2022 at 10:05 a.m. EDT|Published October 20, 2022 at 9:44 a.m. EDT

Liz Truss lasted just 44 days as British Prime Minister. Here are the (few) highlights. (Video: The Washington Post)

LONDON — After 44 days as prime minister, the majority of which was spent clinging on for her political life, Liz Truss announced Thursday that she is resigning. Now she is set to become the shortest-serving occupant of Downing Street in 300 years of British history.

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A disastrous series of self-inflicted wounds — which turned into a political death spiral — began with a misfired attempt by the Conservative Party leader to radically reorient the government’s economic agenda by slashing taxes without saying how the decision would be paid for. It sent the markets reeling, and Truss never recovered.

Truss announces resignation after six weeks in office

By the end, Truss had grown so unpopular that her fellow party lawmakers were publicly contemplating plans to replace her.

Let us walk you through what happened.

Liz Truss’s resignation

The latest: British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation Thursday after just 44 days in office, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. Follow our live coverage.

Why did she resign?: Truss came to office with a vision for a low-tax, small government state. Since she took office Sept. 9, her grand financial plan tanked the British economy and politicians from the ruling Conservative Party called on her to quit. According to new polling released Tuesday, only 10 percent of the country viewed Truss favorably.

The search for a new prime minister: The bitterly divided Conservative Party will vote on who will replace Truss. Truss said that there would be a leadership election to replace her “to be completed within the next week.” She said that she would “remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen.” These are the most prominent contenders. to replace Truss.

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Why Liz Truss resigned as U.K. prime minister: A guide to the chaos

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Thursday, October 20, 2022

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Why Liz Truss resigned as U.K. prime minister: A guide to the chaos

Liz Truss’s resignation

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