(CNN Spanish) — Liz Truss, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced his resignation just six weeks following taking office, deepening the political crisis in the country and especially within the Conservative Party.
Truss arrived at Downing Street on September 6 to replace Boris Johnsonbut since then his short term in office has been marked by political and economic chaos – which also led to the resignation of his secretary of the interior—and the legislators of his own party finally They left to support her.
During the announcement, Truss said which set out “a vision of a high-growth, low-tax economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit”.
“However, I recognize that, given the situation, I cannot fulfill the mandate for which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” added.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss during the announcement of her resignation. (Credit: REUTERS/Henry Nicholls)
His short tenure has characterized by falling markets and constant speculation regarding its long-term future, following a budget replete with unsupported tax cuts sent the British economy into turmoil.
Truss thus leaves the Government with a sad record: the prime minister who has been in office for the shortest time in the history of the United Kingdom.
George Canning had been the shortest to date, serving 119 days in government until his death in 1827, but Truss has surpassed him: just 45 days at the helm of the United Kingdom.
What will happen now?
Truss’s decision guarantees a new fight to elect new leaders within the Conservative Party, in power since 2010, which has hemorrhaged public support over the past year from the tensions that led to the fall of first Johnson and then Truss in the space of a few months.
Under current Conservative Party rules, those wishing to stand as leaders must submit to a vote by the party’s 357 members who hold seats in parliament. Then the two most voted candidates would go on to a second round, in which the vote is extended to all party members.
This may not happen this time. On the other hand, there is speculation that the new conservative leader will be chosen solely by parliamentarians, without resorting to militancy.
A unity candidate who can claim to mend the party’s fissures will likely seek to garner enough support among MPs to win the race quickly in this way, and avoid a long period without government.
But that will mean a conservative successor to Truss will have a serious credibility problem.
Details of exactly how the contest will play out will be announced soon.
The possible call for general elections
Furthermore, such a rushed process will only increase opposition calls for a general election. It is practically unheard of, in times of peace, for a third prime minister to take office without a general election in between.
Truss was elected by a few thousand Conservative members; if her successor is elected by just 357 Conservative Party MPs, the main opposition Labor Party will undoubtedly demand a general election.
Furthermore, according to the latest opinion polls, the Labor Party leads in voting intentions and he appears headed for a landslide victory, with support levels historically low for the Conservatives.
“After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve much better than this revolving door of chaos,” said its leader Keir Starmer following Truss’s resignation. “We need a general election, now.”
There is no certainty that this will happen, however.
As long as the Conservative government can win the confidence of the House of Commons in parliament, it will be able to decide when to call an election. Despite their agitation, the Conservatives have a healthy working majority of 71 MPs in parliament and their MPs are unlikely to voluntarily opt for an election that might lose them their jobs.
The next national general election is scheduled to take place in January 2025 at the latest, and the expectation before Truss’s resignation was that they would take place in mid-2024. But the government can organize them earlier, if it has parliament’s approval. .
The last Labor government in the United Kingdom was that of Gordon Brown, between 2007 and 2010. The United Kingdom was then led by David Cameron (2010-2016), Theresa May (2016-2019), Boris Johnson (2019-2022) and now Liz Truss (2022), all members of the Conservative Party.
But even when Truss does step down, a week from now, his successor, from whatever party, will inherit huge problems that probably won’t be fixed anytime soon.
With information from Mick Krever and Zahid Mahmood.
