By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja

Leaders of the UK’s opposition parties – the Labour Party and The Liberal Democrats – have called for an immediate general election after Prime Minister Liz Truss announced her resignation, the Sky News broadcaster reported on Thursday.

Truss, after much hesitation bowed to pressure yesterday, barely 44 days after she succeeded Boris Johnson, making her the shortest-lived Prime Minister in British history.

Her resignation as British prime minister  came after she lost the confidence of her Conservative Party members of parliament (MPs) and the public and oversaw economic turbulence.

She battled an open revolt from Conservatives demanding her departure.

Speaking from a lectern in Downing Street, Truss said on Thursday, she had told King Charles III she was resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party as she recognised she “cannot deliver the mandate” that Tory members gave her little over six weeks ago.

She held talks with the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives Graham Brady and agreed to a fresh leadership election “to be completed within the next week.”

“This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plan and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security,” she added, as she was accompanied by husband Hugh O’Leary.

“I will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer demanded a general election “now” so that the nation can have “a chance at a fresh start.”

Her resignation came just a little over 24 hours after she told MPs she was a “fighter, not a quitter.”

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said that the country needed a general election “now,” while Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey said that “the Conservatives (need to be) out of power and … (Britons) need real change.”

Truss was elected head of the UK government on Sept. 6 and had only been in office for 44 days by the time the resignation was announced.

Conservative lawmakers had increasingly called on Truss to step down after she was forced to junk most of her economic programme, which when delivered on Sept. 23 sent the pound and government bond markets tumbling.

She drafted in former health minister, Jeremy Hunt as her new finance minister to try to reset her administration, but on Wednesday, her lawmakers turned on each other and another senior minister resigned, leaving Truss’s authority in tatters.

Conservative lawmakers said her most likely successors are either her leadership rival, former finance minister Rishi Sunak or Penny Mordaunt, who came third in the race to become the next prime minister just six weeks ago.

France’s Macron Advises UK to Find Stability Soon

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it was important that Britain found “stability as soon as possible”, as he commented on the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss.

“We want, above all else, stability,” Macron told reporters as he arrived at a European Union summit in Brussels.

“On a personal level, I am always sad to see a colleague go,” he added.

In another reaction, Russia describes the outgoing PM as a ‘catastrophically illiterate’ disgrace.

Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it welcomed the departure of British Prime Minister Truss, saying she was a disgrace of a leader who would be remembered for her “catastrophic illiteracy”.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “Britain has never known such a disgrace of a prime minister.’’

However, the claim of illiteracy appears to refer to Truss’ visit to Moscow shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine while she was British foreign minister.

In a meeting with Russia’s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, she appeared to confuse two regions of Russia with Ukraine, triggering mockery by the Russian diplomat and across talk shows on Russian state TV. (Reuters/NAN)

 Tories  Risk Split into Two parties After Truss’ Resignation – Expert

The UK Conservative Party faces the risk of splitting in two due to internal political divisions amid upheaval caused by Liz Truss resigning as prime minister, a don, Mark Garnett, said Thursday.

Garnett, a senior lecturer in the department of politics, philosophy, and religion at Lancaster University, expressed the thought in an interview with Sputnik.

Earlier in the day, Truss announced her resignation less than two months after her appointment as leader of the Conservative Party and head of the UK government.

Truss added that she would remain in office until her successor is chosen, noting that a new party leader will be elected next week.

“There is, though, a possibility that the party is now so sharply divided that, back in opposition, it will split into at least two new parties.

“A right-wing, pro-Brexit economic liberal party, and a moderate party which is much more favourable to close ties with the EU and accepts the need for well-funded public services,” Garnett said.

The Tories have been under significant strain since Boris Johnson was pressured by the party, including his own cabinet members, to give up party leadership and premiership due to multiple scandals that had plagued the final months of his government.

Truss, who succeeded him, faced troubles from the get-go as her government was criticized for its economic policy that proved unable to curb inflation and price hikes, as well as sparked concerns about an increase in public debt. (Sputnik/NAN)