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Greg Evans
Oct 21, 2022
Watch in full: Liz Truss resigns as PM after less than seven …
Independent
Liz Truss has announced that she is resigning as prime minister in an unscheduled public statement outside Downing Street on Thursday afternoon.
This comes after a series of chaotic scenes under the Truss government which remarkably lasted less than two months.
It all started when Truss and her ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a mini-budget which sent the economy and the value of the pound into freefall.
Last week, Truss then sacked Kwarteng and appointed Jeremy Hunt as her new chancellor but the drama didn't end there. Suella Braverman then 'departed' as home secretary after she was deemed to have sent a classified document from a personal email account.
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Then on Thursday evening, there were more chaotic scenes in parliament with Tory MPs reportedly being 'manhandled' and 'bullied' into voting to support the government on a fracking bill.
Speaking to the nation Truss said: "Liz Truss said there would be a leadership election to replace her “to be delivered within the next week”.
As you can imagine, reaction to this has caused quite a commotion on Twitter with many people referencing that the infamous Daily Star has outlived the prime minister.
\u201cThe lettuce has won\u201d— Sebastian Payne (@Sebastian Payne) 1666268696
\u201c\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f FINAL CALL for departing flight PM1922 now boarding at Gate 10\u201d— Ryanair (@Ryanair) 1666269071
\u201cA crown has just been added to the lettuce\u201d— Tom Richell (@Tom Richell) 1666269404
\u201chttps://t.co/JOt4GWf1Ol\u201d— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) 1666269353
\u201cHoly shit the lettuce won.\u201d— Scott Bryan (@Scott Bryan) 1666269369
\u201cThe pound is... rising\u201d— Ed Conway (@Ed Conway) 1666269693
\u201cBraverman lost to tofu, Truss lost to a lettuce, vegans having an amazing week tbf\u201d— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) 1666269864
\u201cLiz Truss resigning\u201d— Louis Staples (@Louis Staples) 1666269788
\u201cIt\u2019s like the Tories subscribed for a free month trial and have just remembered to cancel it.\u201d— Mhairi Black MP\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Mhairi Black MP\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1666269752
\u201cTerrible news for Arsenal, who did not drop a point during Liz Truss' time as PM.\u201d— Richard Jolly \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Richard Jolly \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1666269738
\u201cLiza Minnelli has outlived Liz Truss\u2019s time at 10 Downing Street. She has informed King Charles III that she has resigned.\u201d— LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LizaMinnelliOutlives) 1666269529
\u201cThe Daily Star lettuce:\u201d— Jason Okundaye (@Jason Okundaye) 1666269335
\u201cThe Conservatives to the UK public:\u201d— ReviewFootball (@ReviewFootball) 1666269770
\u201cI was born in 1999, and by next week I will have lived through 7 Prime Ministers (mad!)\u201d— Bethany Dawson (@Bethany Dawson) 1666270011
\u201cI was 24 when the fifth Prime Minister of my life was appointed \n\nMy son will most likely have matched that before his seventh birthday this December\u201d— Will Cooling (@Will Cooling) 1666268630
\u201cLiz Truss referred to Don Revie in her leadership campaign but resigns after 44 days, matching his successor Brian Clough\u2019s tenure at Leeds\u201d— Amitai Winehouse (@Amitai Winehouse) 1666269466
\u201chttps://t.co/3BYVw010GA\u201d— j (@j) 1666269802
\u201cJust finished my Christmas shopping nice and early. Getting everyone this really interesting book!\u201d— Ross McCafferty (@Ross McCafferty) 1666269623
\u201cHow it started.\n\nHow it ended.\u201d— Scott Bryan (@Scott Bryan) 1666269078
\u201cIt\u2019s over. Liz Truss is resigning and will become shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history. What an absolute shambles.\u201d— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1666269170
\u201c\u201cThe King has asked me to become Prime Minister because this nonsense has gone on long enough.\u201d\u201d— Larry the Cat (@Larry the Cat) 1666268880
\u201cLettuce 1 - Truss 0\u201d— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE) 1666270460
\u201cHow nice of her to stand down to allow our real prime minister to shine tomorrow\u201d— els (@els) 1666270060
\u201cLiz Truss lasted 4.1 Scaramuccis\u201d— Anthony Scaramucci (@Anthony Scaramucci) 1666270105
\u201cOn current pace, King Charles could surpass his mother\u2019s record of 15 prime ministers before the end of 2024\u201d— Philip Sim (@Philip Sim) 1666269526
\u201cIf she doesn\u2019t mind, I\u2019ll now just wait for whoever will become the 5th PM (so far) during my time as FM \ud83d\ude09\u201d— Nicola Sturgeon (@Nicola Sturgeon) 1666270083
\u201ccant believe she came, she killed the queen, she crashed the pound, and she left.\u201d— harry x (@harry x) 1666269240
\u201cLiz Truss\u2019 time in office\u201d— Harrison Brocklehurst (@Harrison Brocklehurst) 1666269325
\u201chttps://t.co/4xCXHQfazs\u201d— out of context the thick of it (@out of context the thick of it) 1666269904
\u201c\ud83d\udfe2 Lettuce GAIN from Con\u201d— Stats for Lefties (@Stats for Lefties) 1666269557
\u201cLiz Truss is the only PM to not have an episode of #DoctorWho air during their premiership since the show began in 1963.\u201d— Morgan Jeffery (@Morgan Jeffery) 1666269414
\u201cSam Allardyce lasted longer as England manager (67 days) than Liz Truss as Prime Minister (45 days).\u201d— Noah Robson (@Noah Robson) 1666269034
\u201cLiz Truss resignation speech.\u201d— OOZE Kempner (Sooz doesn't have an E on the end) (@OOZE Kempner (Sooz doesn't have an E on the end)) 1666271665
\u201cwhatever you think of liz truss, it takes real courage to come out and deliver a resignation speech like this with the eyes of the entire country on you\u201d— Stan's Account (@Stan's Account) 1666271866
\u201cLiz Truss promoted to a top division and relegated in record time - you can take the woman out of Norwich, but you can\u2019t take the Norwich out of the woman.\u201d— Matt Francis (@Matt Francis) 1666269465
\u201c. @trussliz omg just heard there\u2019s a leadership election nxt week????? u shud run babe youd be perfect!!! \ud83d\udc9d\ud83d\udcab\ud83d\udca5\u201d— Joe Lycett (@Joe Lycett) 1666272641
\u201cLiz Truss \ud83e\udd1d William Gallas \n Never looked right in number 10\u201d— Si Lloyd (@Si Lloyd) 1666272290
\u201c\u2018Believe\u2019 by Cher was number one in the UK for five days longer than Liz Truss was Prime Minister\u201d— James (@James) 1666270130
\u201chttps://t.co/dShpgvCxAI\u201d— harry (@harry) 1666271192
\u201cThe highlight of Liz Truss\u2019 tenure: \u201d— Paddy Power (@Paddy Power) 1666271986
\u201cWho is going to play Liz Truss on the last 10 seconds of "The Crown?"\u201d— Rohita Kadambi (@Rohita Kadambi) 1666226661
\u201cLIZ TRUSS | Amazing Skills, Goals & Assists | 2022-22 HD\u201d— Aidan James (@Aidan James) 1666278052
\u201clive footage of Liz in the veg aisle in Tesco\u2019s\u201d— mishti ali \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde9 (@mishti ali \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\udde9) 1666273103
\u201cAm going to triple-captain Rishi Sunak for next week's Fantasy Cabinet League.\u201d— Richard Osman (@Richard Osman) 1666278240
\u201cBournemouth have been searching for a permanent manager longer than Liz Truss was PM\u201d— Matthew Stanger (@Matthew Stanger) 1666269861
\u201cNobody: \n\nLiz Truss as PM: \n\nhttps://t.co/RVqCU3FCya\u201d— Wrestlelamia.co.uk (@Wrestlelamia.co.uk) 1666271811
\u201cShe was a Titanic PM. Defeated by an iceberg.\u201d— Keith Burge (@Keith Burge) 1666270368
\u201cBoris Johnson returning to number 10\u201d— Memeulous (@Memeulous) 1666269591
\u201chttps://t.co/IevHQOIoJL\u201d— Out Of Context Football (@Out Of Context Football) 1666281025
\u201c\u201cThe winner of #DragRaceUK Season 4 will become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom\u201d\u201d— Meh (@Meh) 1666270105
\u201cThe lettuce after outlasting Liz Truss\u201d— George Civeris (@George Civeris) 1666283676
\u201cGCSE history exam, 2075: which vegetable rose to considerable fame in 2022 and why. (5 marks)\u201d— Duolingo UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@Duolingo UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7) 1666270189
It is a simple and fundamental principle that the government derives its democratic legitimacy from the people. The future of the country must not be decided by plotting and U-turns at Westminster; it must be decided by the people in a general election. And for this reason The Independent is calling for an election to be held. Have your say and sign our election petition by clicking here.
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