Liz Truss resigns as British prime minister

British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced Thursday that she is resigning as head of the Conservative Party just over six weeks after she became the head of the United Kingdom’s government.

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Speaking outside No. 10 Downing St., Truss said she informed King Charles III of her decision to resign on Thursday.

She made her first address as prime minister in the same spot on Sept. 6.

She said Thursday that she came into office “with a vision for a low-tax, high-growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.”

“I recognize, though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” she said. “I have therefore spoken to his majesty the king to let him know that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”

A vote will be held within the next week to choose the next leader of the party.

“I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen,” she said.

In a statement, President Joe Biden thanked Truss for her partnership with the U.S. on issues “including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine.”

“The United States and the United Kingdom are strong Allies and enduring friends — and that fact will never change,” he said. ”We will continue our close cooperation with the U.K. government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face.”

In the wake of Truss’ resignation, British leaders called for a general election to determine whether the Conservative Party should continue to lead the U.K.

“The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern,” Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, said in a statement obtained by The Guardian. “The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future. We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election — now.”

Liz Truss: What you need to know Truss succeeded Boris Johnson as the leader of the Conservative party, becoming the U.K.'s third female prime minister. (NCD)

Truss’ comments came after she held a meeting earlier Thursday with a Conservative Party official charged with assessing whether the prime minister had the support of Tory members of Parliament, The Associated Press reported.

Truss had faced growing calls for her resignation since unveiling an economic plan last month that sparked turmoil in the market and caused the pound to fall to record lows, according to Reuters. She resisted the calls as recently as Wednesday, when she told Parliament, “I am a fighter, not a quitter.”

With just 45 days in office, she will leave with the shortest tenure of any British prime minister, according to BBC News. Before her, the shortest-serving prime minister had been George Canning, who spent 119 days in office before his death in 1827, the news network reported.

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Photos: Liz Truss resigns as British prime minister Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation at 10 Downing St. on October 20, 2022, in London. Truss has been the UK Prime Minister for just 44 days. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

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