All the ways Liz Truss could be removed from power

She's been prime minister for less than two months but people are already talking about the fall of Liz Truss.

Thanks to being crushed under the weight of negative public opinion, delivering a terrible mini-budget (then promptly reversing most of it), failing to reassure people of her authority by dodging most of a session in parliament, and that's just scratching the surface, we would liken her grip on power to someone trying to pick up a fish from the sea using only one hand.

So - not great.

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So people are talking about the fall of Truss but - like anything in politics - getting rid of the prime minister is no simple business.

There are a few ways Truss could be forced to go - so how could it work?

Truss could resign

The most simple, and perhaps most dignified, route for Truss's exit from power would be if she resigned from her role. Two days ago she told the BBC she would take the Tories into the next general election so it isn't looking likely that this is something she is considering.

Nevertheless, if she faces enough pressure from staff resigning or MPs sniping to the media, she like Boris Johnson before her might have to pack up her things and leave.

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Or rebellious Tories could trigger party rule changes

Truss may have been sitting in a bath of complacency for the last few weeks because prime ministers cannot face a confidence vote for the first year that they are in power.

After the first year, if 15 per cent of the parliamentary party – currently 54 MPs – send a letter, then a no-confidence vote of all MPs is triggered.

However, if enough Tory MPs send letters to Sir Graham Brady, who chairs the 1922 committee of backbench MPs, they could consider changing the rules and have a vote anyway.

There are already reports that letters have gone in, but only Brady knows how many.

There could be a coronation

Picture the scene - another lengthy Tory leadership race in which the party gazes at its navel for weeks before deciding who the new leader and therefore PM should be for the rest of the country, having already done just that over the summer when Johnson resigned.

There's no appetite for that kind of nonsense at all, so if Truss resigns or is booted out by a no-confidence vote, the party could decide to anoint a new leader without going to their members.

It doesn't sound like the most democratic thing in the world but there we go.

To do so, the Tories would have to change their constitution which ensures members choose their leaders. That would require a two-thirds majority in a vote of the National Conservative Convention, which has 800 members comprising the party's senior officials including grassroots association chairs.

A different 'coronation' scenario could see backbench MPs set a higher bar of 100 nominations for Tory MPs to enter the race to replace Truss, encouraging the parliamentary party to rally around a unity candidate.

It has been suggested that this unity candidate could be Ben Wallace, Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt.

The PM could trigger a general election

Truss could also call a general election. Certainly, lots of people have been calling for one (including The Independent), not least because she was elected by a tiny group of Brits who are members of the Tory party and even these people are sick of her.

But this would be pretty mad unless Truss has been an agent for the Labour Party all along because the Tories have plummeted in the polls and an election would spell total wipeout for the party.

Another way to trigger a general election is through a motion of no confidence in the government. Labour can table one and for it to pass, more MPs need to vote in favour of toppling the government than against it. That would mean a significant portion of Truss's MPs turning against her.

So there are quite a few scenarios in which Truss could be forced to grab her suitcase and pack up her things.

We will just have to wait and see which one (if any) gets her first.

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