Liz Truss has announced her resignation as prime minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Conservative Party.
In doing so, she becomes the shortest-serving prime minister in history with her reign having ended after just 45 days.
Resigning from her post, Truss said “I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party”.
This comes after weeks of political and economic upheaval, much of which in the wake of former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget which drastically cut taxes, sending the pound spiralling and the markets into panic.
A leadership contest will ensue over the coming days – and Jeremy Hunt has ruled himself out of the running.
An Oddschecker poll has former Chancellor Rishi Sunak – who lost the previous leadership race to Liz Truss – as the favourite with a 36% chance of taking over, with Penny Mordaunt, Ben Wallace, and Boris Johnson behind him with 18%, 9%, and 7% chances respectively.
A result of the contest is expected by Friday.
Yet, whoever comes out on top will have the unenviable task of stabilising a ship which is currently rocking with ferocity.
According to Labour leader Keir Starmer, it is a ship which has already sunk and no longer has a mandate to govern. “They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment – Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish,” he said. “We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.”