October 2022 United Kingdom government crisis
 Liz Truss announcing her intention to resign as Conservative leader on 20 October 2022 | |
| Date | 14–20 October 2022 |
|---|---|
| Cause | September 2022 mini-budget Confusion over a parliamentary vote to ban fracking |
| Motive | Pressure Liz Truss to resign |
| Participants | Conservative Party MPs |
| Outcome |
|
In September and October 2022, the government of the United Kingdom, led by the Conservative party and the newly-appointed prime minister Liz Truss, went through an energy, economic and political crisis.
Budget and economic crises
[change | change source]The crisis began after the 23 September 2022 United Kingdom mini-budget, which had many critics and negative responses by the world financial markets.[1] This caused Truss to fire Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, on 14 October.[2]
In the next days Truss had many pressures to continue reversing many of her economic policies and by 17 October five Conservative Members of Parliament had called for her resignation.[3] Many world leaders such as U.S. President Joe Biden criticized Truss's economic policies.[4]
Overall, her economic policies caused the pound to fall to a record low against the US dollar[5] and there was an increase in the cost of government borrowing.[6]
Political crises
[change | change source]On 19 October Suella Braverman, the home secretary, resigned over a technical breach of the Ministerial Code.[7] Braverman's resignation letter was very critical of Truss. Later that day, MPs voted on a Labour Party motion to create time to debate a ban on fracking in the United Kingdom. The vote caused confusion among Conservative MPs who were not clear if it was a confidence vote.
On 17 and 20 October, Truss had meetings with Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee.[8] The meeting on 17 October caused Truss to miss an emergency Prime Minister's Questions, in which Penny Mordaunt, answered on Truss's behalf.[9] Truss not going to the debate was criticized by many politicians.[10]
Truss's resignation
[change | change source]On 20 October Truss announced that she would resign, but remain in office until the Conservative Party had chosen her replacement.[11] She is the shortest serving Prime Minister in history. The leadership election was held shortly after with Rishi Sunak elected to replace her on 24 October 2022.
Lettuce comparison
[change | change source]On 11 October, The Economist published an article criticising Truss and said that she had seven days in control of the economy. They wrote: "That is roughly the shelf-life of a lettuce."[12] Since then, many commentators were comparing Truss's time as prime minister to lettuce. On 14 October, the Daily Star began a live stream on YouTube of a lettuce dressed as Truss to see if it would rot before the Prime Minister resigned, which it did not.[13]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Sally Hickey (27 September 2022). "IMF warns UK over mini-Budget tax cuts". Financial Times advisor. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ↑ Nevett, Joshua (14 October 2022). "Kwasi Kwarteng: PM's vision was right, says sacked chancellor". BBC News. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ↑ Turner, Camilla (17 October 2022). "The Tory MPs calling for Liz Truss to resign". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ↑ "Joe Biden: Liz Truss tax cuts a 'mistake' and 'I wasn't the only one' who thought so". The Guardian. 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ↑ "Pound sinks as investors question huge tax cuts". BBC. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ↑ "Mini-budget: Why financial markets have been spooked by the chancellor's growth plan". Sky News. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ↑ "Suella Braverman has departed role as home secretary after sharing secure information on private phone". Sky News. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
- ↑ "Liz Truss's future as PM uncertain as more Tory MPs call for her to step down". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ "Liz Truss to dodge MPs' questions, sending Penny Mordaunt instead". The Independent. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ↑ "Liz Truss leaves the Commons an hour after arriving late because of 'meeting with Sir Graham Brady'". LBC. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ↑ "Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ↑ "Liz Truss has made Britain a riskier bet for bond investors". The Economist. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ "Iceberg lettuce in blond wig outlasts Liz Truss". the Guardian. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
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