Politics & Finances

Liz Truss Becomes Shortest Tenured PM In History, Steps Down After Six Weeks

Liz Truss Becomes Shortest Tenured PM In History, Steps Down After Six Weeks

Six weeks ago, Liz Truss officially became British Prime Minister following Boris Johnson. Now, she has stepped down following the recent crash of the British pound amid her controversial tax plan. 

This makes Truss the shortest tenured Prime Minister in United Kingdom history. 

CNN shared details about the situation, noting that her "successor will inherit a mess that is unlikely to improve."

In a Twitter statement, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer post a lengthy statement calling for a general election. His caption reads:

After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos.

We need a general election, now.

Earlier this month, Truss fired Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and subsequently appointed Jeremy Hunt to the post. He made major changes on his first day on the job this week.

Reuters reported that one of Hunt's initial acts in his new position was to reverse nearly all of Prime Minister Truss's mini-budget that had led to the near-collapse of the British pound. Amid the fiscal turmoil, the pound hit a historic low but Truss still defended the major tax cuts early on.

On September 28, the now-former Prime Minister's plan led the Bank of England to take emergency measures to stop the pound's nosedive, stabilizing the currency in the global market.

On October 3, Truss announced that she had tabled her proposal, which had sparked global controversy. Hunt, however, officially scrapped the plan in its entirety.

This was not, however, enough to keep Truss from resigning amid mounting backlash.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported on the sweeping tax package, noting that it intended to "cut payroll taxes, freeze corporation tax, ditch banker-bonus cap and spend billions to subsidize energy bills."

An NBC report pointed out that "few Brits actually voted for [Conservative] Truss" and that Starmer has "joined others in urging the government to address the crisis by recalling Parliament, which is on recess."

In addition to the UK's recent tax debacle, all of Europe is facing an ongoing energy crisis that could lead to hundreds, or even thousands, of cold-weather related deaths this year if the situation is not resolved.

What do you think about Liz Truss's resignation as British Prime Minister?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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