UK PM Liz Truss may be ousted by this week: Report
British lawmakers seem to be gearing up to oust Prime Minister Liz Truss this week though Downing Street warned that this may lead to a general election in the UK, said international news reports.
A report in the Daily Mail quoting unnamed sources said that more than 100 members of parliament (MPs) belonging to the governing Conservative Party are all set to submit letters of no confidence in Liz Truss to Graham Brady, who heads the Conservative Party’s committee that organises the elections.
Another international newspaper said that some lawmakers have held secret discussions to replace Liz Truss with a new leader.
On October 2, Liz Truss, who had won the Conservative Party leadership last month after promising to cut taxes, did a major U-turn when she withdrew a policy abolishing top rates for the wealthiest.
Also Read: British PM Liz Truss sacks Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng
Liz Truss’ failure to manage soaring inflation in Britain and the currency hitting a record low, has added to her woes. In fact, her regime introduced a mini-budget on September 23 with the aim of imposing cuts on household taxes and energy bills. The slash triggered market turmoil which also triggered a rebellion within her party.
On Friday (October 14), Liz Truss dismissed her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng and appointed Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in his place. Liz Truss’s move was seen as an effort to stem the economic turmoil unleashed by Kwarteng’s mini-budget at the end of last month.
Britain has lost three prime ministers since it voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
According to the Daily Mail report, the MPs will urge Brady to tell the UK PM Liz Truss that “her time is up”. Or, they will change the political party rules to prompt an immediate vote of confidence in her leadership.
Graham, however, added the report is reluctant to agree to this move since he believes that Truss, along with newly appointed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, deserve a chance to set out an economic strategy in the budget on October 31, the report added.
The chaos has fuelled discontent in the party, which is falling behind the Opposition Labour Party in opinion polls. Not all are in favour of Liz Truss’ ouster. According to foreign minister James Cleverly, a change in the British prime minister would be a ‘disastrously bad idea’ and not just politically but also economically as they are going to stay focused on growing the economy.
