The head of the Interior alleged as a reason for her resignation that she had used her personal email account to send an official document to a colleague, an “error” and a “technical infraction” for which she accepted her “responsibility”, but also assured that she they were “seriously” concerned about the government’s policies.
“Pretending we haven’t made mistakes, acting like no one can see we’ve made them, and hoping things will magically work out for the best is not serious politics,” he wrote.
Grant Shapps, former Minister of Transport with Boris Johnson and support of Rishi Sunak (the other candidate to lead the Tories who lost to Truss) was appointed, hours later, as Braverman’s replacement.
Rejected by public opinion and questioned within her own party, the conservative leader assured on Wednesday in an appearance before the British parliament that she intends to remain in office.
“I am a fighter, not someone who gives up” and “I am willing to make difficult decisions,” she insisted, despite the humiliating abandonment of almost all the measures that made up her economic plan.
October 20: resignation
Although the same Thursday morning Truss refused to resign, the pressure could and more and the conservative leader presented her resignation around noon.
“Given the situation, I cannot fulfill the mandate for which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” said Truss, 47, who became the head of the British government who spent the least time in the executive.
A leadership election will be held next week to replace Truss, who is the shortest-term prime minister in British history. The record was held by George Canning, who served 119 days in office when he died in 1827.
Given the divisions in the party, there is no obvious candidate and any replacement would face a country likely headed for recession.
With information from AFP and Reuters