Truss has tendered his resignation to King Charles. He will remain British Prime Minister until a successor is elected.

Truss said in his speech that he agreed with Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, that elections for a new leadership within the party would follow within a week. The country may have a new prime minister this month. After the resignation of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it took about two months for Truss to be voted in by party members.

‘Don’t hold back’

The resignation still comes as a surprise, says correspondent Anne Saenen. “We know that Liz Truss’ position is hanging in the balance last week. Her authority is very weak. She recently reversed her economic plans. Along with hiring a new Secretary of the Treasury, that should give her some breathing room.”

That’s clearly not the case. After the parliamentary vote – on shale gas drilling – last night the situation became unsustainable. “And today everything has moved to new equipment,” said Sanen. “An increasing number of lawmakers are speaking out openly against Truss’ prime ministerial post. No one is holding back.”

Prime Minister Mark Rutte found it “very upsetting of course” to Truss that he had announced his departure. Two weeks ago he had praised her at length. “We agreed on a lot of things,” Rutte said of Truss. “We talked longer” at a summit in Prague in early October and “I thought it was a really good conversation.”

Rutte “looking forward to working with who will now be my colleague again” in the UK. “That will be the fifth I believe.”

Truss took over as British Prime Minister a month and a half ago:

Truss made the decision to resign after speaking to top Conservative Party figures at his official residence. He will discuss the growing pressure within his own party with Brady, party leader Jake Berry and Deputy Prime Minister Thérèse Coffey. The popularity of Truss and his party plummeted in his short time as prime minister, largely due to his shaky economic policies. Seventeen party members publicly said this week that Truss should resign.

New election

Opposition leader Keir Starmer found it unacceptable that the Conservative Party could now choose its own new leader and demanded new elections soon. His Labor party is far ahead in opinion polls. If it’s up to the Conservatives, that election won’t be until 2024.