It was reported that more than 100 MPs belonging to the governing Conservative Party are ready to submit letters of no confidence in Truss to Graham Brady, the head of the Conservative Party’s committee which organises the leadership contest…reports Asian Lite News
British lawmakers will try to oust Prime Minister Liz Truss this week despite Downing Street’s warning that it could trigger a general election, the Daily Mail reported.
More than 100 members of parliament (MPs) belonging to the governing Conservative Party are ready to submit letters of no confidence in Truss to Graham Brady, the head of the Conservative Party’s committee which organises the leadership contest, the tabloid reported, quoting unnamed sources.
Britain, engulfed in a political crisis, has lost three prime ministers since it voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
The MPs will urge Brady to tell Truss that “her time is up” or to change the political party rules to allow an immediate vote of confidence in her leadership, the report said.
Graham is said to be resisting the move, arguing that the Truss, along with newly appointed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, deserve a chance to set out economic strategy in a budget on Oct. 31, the report added.
Separately, The Times reported that some lawmakers have held secret discussions on replacing Truss with a new leader.
Truss, who won the Conservative Party leadership last month after promising to slash taxes, is fighting for her political survival after ditching key parts of the programme.
The chaos has fuelled discontent in the party, which is falling behind the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls
Truss is reeling under a looming threat of being finished as the PM owing to failure in managing soaring inflation in Britain and the currency hitting a record low. In fact, her regime introduced a mini-budget on September 23 with the aim of imposing cuts on household taxes and energy bills.
Following this, traders warned of amplified debts and the said budget did not have the desired effect on the UK economy.
The budget was tabled under Truss-appointed Kwasi Kwarteng as UK Finance Minister, the first black to hold the office. However, on Friday, Truss sacked her minister and appointed Jeremy Hunt as her new Finance Minister, engulfing Britain in a fresh crisis. It may be noted that the UK has recorded the ouster of three of its prime ministers since the country voted to exit the European Union in 2016.
A report in the tabloid suggests that the MPs will urge the committee head to inform Truss that her ‘time is up’ or she would be directed to change rules to allow an immediate vote of confidence in her leadership. It stated that Brady is resisting Truss’s ouster and he has argued that the newly-appointed Hunt and Truss deserve a chance to set out economic strategy in a budget on October 31, the report said.
On the other hand, The Times has reported that a few lawmakers held secret discussions in this regard and have considered replacing Truss with another leader. This would record a change in the UK PM for the fifth time since Brexit.
The ouster surfaced after Truss did not keep up with realising vital aspects of her poll vows, thus fuelling discontent amongst party leaders. She promised to scrap taxes before she won the Conservative Party leadership in September 2022. Also, opinion polls suggest that the Party is behind the Opposition Labour Party in opinion polls.
Amid speculation over Truss’s ouster, there exist many leaders and ministers who oppose the move. According to foreign minister James Cleverly, a change in the British prime minister would be a ‘disastrously bad idea’.
“I think that changing the leadership would be a disastrously bad idea, not just politically but also economically, and we are absolutely going to stay focused on growing the economy,” Cleverly said pertaining to reports on Truss’s ouster.
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