Bad show! Also, very short show:
Liz Truss’s resignation brings to an ignominious end her catastrophic tenure in Downing Street, which appeared doomed ever since Truss’s flagship economic agenda sent markets into panic and led to a fall in the value of the pound.
She won support from Conservatives members by promising low-tax, pro-growth policies – derided by her critics as a lurch towards trickle-down economics – but within weeks of coming to power she disavowed the plans in a humiliating pivot, firing her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and ditching virtually all of the fiscal agenda in the wake of a market backlash.
It came after investors rejected an announcement by the Truss government in late September that it would slash taxes while ramping up borrowing in a bid to produce faster growth, citing concerns that the plan would push up inflation just as the Bank of England wants to bring it down.
Fears also crept in about the sustainability of government debt at a time of rapidly rising interest rates.
The pound crashed to a record low against the US dollar, while bond prices slumped, sending yields soaring. That pushed mortgage rates much higher, and brought some pensions funds to the brink of default.
The Bank of England was forced to announce three separate interventions to avoid a full-scale meltdown in the UK government bond market.
Truss meanwhile failed to regain control of an increasingly mutinous Conservative Party, and her Home Secretary Suella Braverman launched a blistering attack on her leadership after leaving the role on Wednesday.
For those of you betting on the head of lettuce outlasting Truss, you win!!
It was a stunning reversal of fortune for the Tories and Truss, after a mere 6- weeks in office, following weeks of political and market turmoil over her budget and financial proposals. The resignation of several cabinet ministers, culminating in that of Home Secretary Braverman, signaled an early end to Truss' tenure.
Sadly for the Tories, the stench of aloof incompetence hangs heavy over their party following the tenure of the past four Tory P.M.s. From the Associated Press:
Newspapers that usually support the Conservatives were vitriolic. An editorial in the Daily Mail was headlined: “The wheels have come off the Tory clown car.”
International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, sent onto the airwaves Thursday morning to defend the government, insisted the administration was providing “stability.” But she was unable to guarantee Truss would lead the party into the next election.
“At the moment, I think that’s the case,” she said.
With opinion polls giving the Labour Party a large and growing lead, the Conservative Party decided its only hope of avoiding electoral oblivion was to replace Truss. But they remain divided over who exactly should do that.
Truss will remain the U.K.'s P.M. until a new leader is chosen "within a
week," according to Truss. Although an election doesn't have to be held until 2024, expect the groundswell for one to
gain steam, as potential new Tory P.M.s include Rishi Sunak, the former
chancellor who lost to Truss during the summer race; Penny Mordaunt,
the leader of the Common, and Jeremy Hunt, the current finance
minister. Former PM Boris Johnson is also signaling he might enter the race. Keir Starmer remains the head of the Labour Party
(Photo: Truss making her announcement/ Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images)
