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Will Liz Truss be UK's shortest-serving PM? Who could replace her?

Dristi SharmaOctober 17, 2022 | 14:09 IST

The shortest-serving prime minister in UK's history was Tory party's George Canning who held office for only 119 days in 1827 before his death. If reports in UK are to be believed, PM Liz Truss looks all set to break Canning's record.

Photo: Tory Statesman George Canning

She is facing a rebellion inside the governing Conservative Party over the economic crisis in the country. Truss needs to remain at her office at least till New Year to save herself the embarrassment of making her tenure the shortest one in the history of the UK.

Even though, the UK’s Conservative Party under its current rule can't replace Truss until she has served a full year, several news outlets are reporting that some Conservative members of parliament (MPs) are deeply dissatisfied with her and are willing to even amend laws for making it possible.

Nicholas Watt, a political editor of the in-depth current affairs programme on TV, BBC Newsnight, tweeted: “The PM will find it difficult to survive”. According to him, a group of Conservative lawmakers are planning to call on Truss to resign this week.

Why?

On Friday (October 14, 2022), Truss fired her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, and reversed a tax plan proposed by him which caused a ‘financial turmoil’.
Reuters reported that the Prime Minister said the plan went "further and faster" than expected. The tax plan, which was launched last month and was known as Kwateng's 'mini-budget'. It left the British government with a 62 billion-pound hole in its finances.
During this time, the pound's value collapsed from around $1.30 to almost equal to the United States dollar.

I have acted decisively today because my priority is ensuring our country's economic stability. I want to be honest, this is difficult. But we will get through this storm.

- Liz Truss while firing Kwasi Kwarteng said

However, experts do believe that the mini-budget was a part of Truss’s promises of certain tax cuts during her campaign and also not everyone in Truss's cabinet is happy about this.

Who could replace her? With experts believing that Truss has only a few days left ahead of her in the office, here are some possible contenders who could replace her:

Rishi Sunak: The former Indian-origin UK Chancellor who recently lost the PM’s race to Liz Truss might be considered again for the post. Post his loss, Sunak has spent the last month silently showing he was right.

The lights on the economy are flashing red, and the root cause is inflation. I’m worried that Liz Truss’s plans will make the situation worse.

- Rishi Sunak

Rishi first became an MP in 2015 and made history when he was appointed to one of the most important roles in the UK’s cabinet- The Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Boris Johnson: Truss’s predecessor Boris Johnson, who famously led the Conservative Party to a resounding win in 2019, was forced to step down after an ethics scandal and mass resignations from his cabinet. His resignation was termed as ‘unfair’ by his supporters and now he can be considered for the position again.

We've transformed our democracy and restored our national independence. We've helped, I've helped to get this country through a pandemic and helped save another country from barbarism. And frankly, that's enough to go on with. Mission, largely accomplished for now.

- Johnson had said in his final address as PM while defending his government's track record

Penny Mordaunt

Penny Mordaunt was one of the top choices in the recent PM’s race and was believed to overtake Truss and Sunak also. However, she lost to Liz during the final round.
Under Truss’s leadership, Penny was made Commons leader which according to the Guardian, allowed Mordaunt to maintain links with MPs and also saving her image from the ‘mini-budget’.

Michael Gove

Michael Andrew Gove is a British politician serving as a Member of Parliament for Surrey Heath since 2005.
A member of the Conservative Party, he has served in various Cabinet positions under Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson.
Though he is a popular public choice, the question is whether he wants to be a part of this race, as he supported Truss at a recent conference and offered many suggestions for amending her mini-budget.

Ben Wallace

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is another Tory leader who has remained untarnished by the scandals of the Boris Johnson tenure and the mini-budget fallout of the Liz Truss reign.
Wallace was also among the favourites to replace Boris Johnson, but he decided not to run.
Ben Wallace remained in post when Boris Johnson's government collapsed and ministers resigned. He stayed on, saying he had an "obligation to protect the country"

In September 2022, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Truss as prime minister after she defeated former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Truss’s response:

I’m absolutely determined to see through what I’ve promised. To deliver a higher growth, more prosperous United Kingdom. To see us through the storm we face.

- Liz Truss, on being asked why she should remain as prime minister, given she dumped her key promise of tax cut.

Last updated: October 17, 2022 | 14:09

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