Calls for Liz Truss to reject £115,000 annual…

Calls for Liz Truss to reject £115,000 annual allowance she is entitled to every year for the rest of her life as a former Prime Minister

Politicians have called Liz Truss not to receive an allowance worth up to £115,000 a year for the rest of her life after she quits as Prime Minister. On Thursday, Truss announced her resignation after only serving in office for 44 days.

Although she is the shortest-serving PM in British history, Liz Truss is still entitled to the Public Duty Cost Allowance, which assists former prime ministers that are still active in public life. The allowance, good for up to £115,000 a year, means Truss can file for expenses when carrying out jobs or expenditure related to her briefly-held position as the UK’s most powerful politician.

The allowance was introduced in 1991 following Margaret Thatcher's resignation, and was designed to support the politician who was in charge for more than a decade after her party moved against her. The allowance will also benefit Truss, even though she had to resign after only six weeks.

The Public Duty Cost Allowance limit was set in 2011 and will remain frozen at that rate until at least 2023, and it has reportedly paid out millions since being established by Sir John Major, who succeeded Thatcher. The Cabinet Office says: "The costs are a reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary office costs and secretarial costs arising from their special position in public life. The allowance is not paid to support private or parliamentary duties."

The money is supposed to be spent on office, correspondence and public speaking costs associated with any public role former prime ministers continue to play. Costs are reimbursed only after proof of expenditure is provided.

The allowance is paid to all former PMs, even if they continue serving in Parliament. That rule means that ex-Downing street incumbents such as Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and now Liz Truss, who have continued to serve as MPs, can claim the six-figure allowance on top of their basic Commons salary of £84,144.

Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, says that Liz Truss should not take the £115K allowance after quitting as Prime Minister (Getty Images)

If Liz Truss was to claim the allowance, experts have equated that for over 10 years, the allowance would app up to £1.15m which would fund 4,000 ambulance trips and 3,000 GP appointments. Some leading politicians have said that Mrs Truss should not receive the allowance.

The Liberal Democrats have urged Ms Truss to turn down the allowance. The Liberal Democrats' cabinet office spokesperson Christine Jardine said: "Liz Truss will forever be known as the 50-day prime minister - there is no way that she should be permitted to access the same £115,000-a-year for life fund as her recent predecessors - all of whom served for well over two years."

On Thursday morning in an interview with Good Morning Britain on ITV, Labour leader Keir Starmer also called on the former prime minister not accept the allowance. When asked by Susanna Reid if she should take it, Mr Starmer replied: "No, she should turn it down - that's the right thing to do. She's been in office for 44 days, she's not really entitled to it. She should turn it down and not take it."