U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced her resignation after just 44 days in office, making her the shortest-serving head of state in modern British history.
Her departure follows a rocky term, during which the economic policies she pursued created turmoil in financial markets, causing members of her own party to turn against her.
Truss replaced Boris Johnson after campaigning on a platform that included lowering taxes for the rich in order to bolster economic growth.
She recently announced her plan for 45 billion pounds — $50 billion — in unfunded tax cuts at the same time as large energy subsidies, which panicked financial markets, spurring the Bank of England to intervene to contain the fallout and to limit risk for pension funds.
The market reaction forced Truss to fire her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng on Oct. 14 and scrap the tax cut provision of her economic plan. The following day, Truss reversed course and announced a tax hike proposed by her predecessor, Johnson: raising corporate income taxes from 19 percent to 25 percent.
“I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability. Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills,” Truss said in a statement after her resignation. “Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent. And our country has been held back for too long by low economic growth.”
Her resignation letter continued:
I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this. We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance. And we set out a vision for a low tax high growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.
I recognise though given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.
This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week. This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.
I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen. Thank you.
Truss’s successor is set to be elected Oct. 28, according to Sky News.
