Liz Truss resigned as U.K. prime minister after a brief and chaotic tenure that saw her announce a massive package of unfunded tax cuts before unwinding most of it in the face of a market rout.
Truss, 47, quit after just 44 days in office, becoming the shortest-ruling prime minister in British history. She came to power in early September promising an all-out push for growth, but her program proved unpalatable to financial markets as both the pound and gilts tanked amid concerns about how she’d pay for her economic plans.
Her departure leaves the ruling Conservative Party badly damaged, languishing more than 30 points behind Labour in the polls after 12 1/2 years in power. Her successor will become the party’s fifth premier in less than seven years since the 2016 Brexit referendum ushered in a period of unprecedented chaos in British politics.
