- Truss losing authority as lawmakers squabble
- Pound stable against the dollar
- Some lawmakers say Truss must go now
LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Liz Truss struggled to hold on to power on Thursday, a day after a second top minister quit and a row broke out among her lawmakers in parliament in a dramatic breakdown of unity and discipline. .
Just six weeks into the job, Truss has been forced to abandon almost her entire policy agenda after it led to a crash in the bond market and a collapse in her approval ratings and those of her Conservative Party .
In just six days he has lost two of the government’s four most senior ministers, sat blankly in parliament as his new finance minister tore apart his economic plans and faced laughter as she tried to defend her record.
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“We can’t go on like this,” a conservative lawmaker told Reuters late on Wednesday, of the chaotic scenes in parliament.
The sight of another unpopular prime minister clinging to power highlights how volatile British politics have become since the 2016 vote to leave the European Union sparked a battle for the country’s leadership.
Truss became Britain’s fourth prime minister in six years after being elected to lead the Conservative Party by its members, not the wider electorate, and with the support of only a third of the party’s lawmakers. He promised tax cuts financed by borrowing, deregulation and a sharp shift to the right on cultural and social issues.
His abrupt loss of authority comes as the economy plunges into recession and his new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, races to find tens of billions of pounds of spending cuts to reassure panicking investors before Truss’s political proposals.
Government borrowing costs, while lower than they were at the height of the crisis last week, remain high as investors question who is in charge and whether Hunt will be able to restore confidence in the reputation UK economy.
Crispin Blunt, a Conservative lawmaker for 25 years, told Reuters the situation was so dire that his colleagues had to allow someone with experience to take over.
“Personal considerations and ambition must now be put aside,” he said, adding that he would back Hunt as leader.
Simon Hoare, in parliament for seven years, said Thursday and Friday were crunch days for the government. “I have never known … a growing sense of pessimism in all wings of the Tory Party,” he said.
BUFFET FOR EVENTS
Truss has been fighting for his political survival since September 23, when his then finance minister and close ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced a “mini-budget” of huge unfunded tax cuts that sent shockwaves through financial markets.
He fired Kwarteng on Friday and his interior minister, Suella Braverman, resigned on Wednesday.
With opinion polls showing the Tories facing a wipeout at the next election, some lawmakers say Truss should go so they can try to rebuild their brand. Others seem to have given up.
“Unfortunately, it looks like we have to change leaders, BUT even though the angel Gabriel is now taking over, the Parliamentary Party urgently needs to rediscover discipline, mutual respect and teamwork if we are to (and) govern the Kingdom well United and (ii) avoid slaughter in the next election,” lawmaker Gary Streeter said on Twitter.
With inflation at a 40-year high and mortgage rates soaring, scenes of warring lawmakers and cheating in parliament risk deepening anger among voters bracing for a tough winter of rising housing costs food and energy.
The parliamentary drama on Wednesday was sparked by confusion over whether a vote on fracking was being used as a vote of confidence in the government. Opposition lawmakers said some of Truss’s Tories were “manipulated” into voting with the government.
With lawmakers lining up to denounce the state of affairs in the country, the government was unable to say for several hours whether the politician in charge of party discipline, or the leader, had resigned or not.
In a sign of the chaos, Truss’s Downing Street office issued a statement at 1:33 am (0033 GMT) to say the prime minister had “full confidence” in the chief whip and his deputy.
He also said any lawmakers who abstained from voting to allow fracking could “expect commensurate disciplinary action.” Voting results show more than 30 Conservative lawmakers did not vote, including those who were absent or ill.
Transport Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, sent to speak to broadcasters and radio stations on Thursday morning, was asked if Truss would lead the Conservative Party into the next election, due in 2024.
“For now that’s still the case,” he said.
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Written by Kate Holton; additional reporting by Farouq Suleiman and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by William Schomberg, Sarah Young and Catherine Evans
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