Liz Truss has announced she is resigning as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party.
It follows a chaotic 44 days in office during which she lost the confidence of Tory MPs and the public and oversaw economic turbulence.
Ms Truss is set to become the shortest-serving Prime Minister in history after she battled an open revolt from Conservatives demanding her departure.
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Speaking from a lectern outside Number 10 Downing Street, Ms Truss said she had told the King she was resigning as the leader of the Conservative Party.
She said there will now be a leadership election to be completed within the next week, after speaking to the leader of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, in No 10.
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“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 Sir Keir Starmer demanded a general election “now” so that the nation can have “a chance at a fresh start”.
Ms Truss' premiership came under sustained pressure after Suella Braverman resigned as Home Secretary and there was open Tory revolt in a chaotic vote on fracking.
Her resignation came just a little over 24 hours after she told MPs she was a “fighter, not a quitter”.
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