What happens if Liz Truss resigns today?
Prime Minister Liz Truss has had the worst start to her premiership than any other PM. And the last 48 hours in Westminster have been chaos.
There are rumours that the Liz Truss era is fast approaching its end, and many are plotting to oust her from No 10.
She has only been in the job since September 5.
In that time, the Queen died, Liz Truss crashed the economy, her mini-budget has been ripped up and replaced with policies that she campaigned against during the leadership race, she fired her chancellor and replaced him with a Rishi Sunak supporter, her home secretary resigned and offered up a scathing letter and there were reports of bullying from her cabinet at last night’s Commons vote.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was fired after the mini-budget spooked the financial markets. Many argue that Truss should have gone with him as it was her financial vision as his.
READ – PM in crisis: Suella Braverman quits and voting chaos
How does a Tory leadership election work?
According to the 1922 Committee, an incumbent Tory PM cannot face a confidence vote within their first year on the job. But there is speculation that this rule could be changed.
After that 12-month period, to trigger a contest vote, 15 per cent of Tory MPs would have to submit letters of no confidence to 1922 Committee chair, Sir Graham Brady. If at least 50 per cent of MPs then vote no-confidence in their leader, a leadership election begins.
Tory MPs who want to be in the race for the top job will then seek nominations from their colleagues. There will be a series of ballots which will see all the candidates whittled down to just two. The rank and file of the Conservative party will then choose the winner.
Boris Johnson won the general election in 2019 and although he was ousted and replaced with Truss there is no requirement for the Conservative party to call a general election.
Some MPs are understood to want to avoid putting the vote back to the ordinary members of the party. The Telegraph says some MPs want the parliamentary party to choose Truss’s successor, though others warn that this would require a complicated rule change.
This aligns with newspaper reports that say the Tories want to put Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt in office on a “golden ticket” type deal.
READ – Can Liz Truss save her job?
What happens if Liz Truss resigns today?
If Liz Truss resigns as Conservative leader and Prime Minister today, a leadership contest would begin.
Those wanting to get into No 10 would begin trying to get support for their campaign.
However, it is possible that the Tory parliamentary party could rally around a single candidate for the leadership. This would perhaps be seen as a better option as it will avoid time-wasting.
If Truss does not resign and attempts to cling on to power against the will of MPs and peers, the 1922 Committee could and would likely change the rules to allow an early challenge to her (changing the 12-month rule). This would likely see her removal from both leadership of the party and as prime minister.
Can we have a general election?
Labour and Liberal Democrats are amongst those calling for an early general election. But the government is not legally obliged to hold another general election before January 2025 – surely to the delight of Conservatives as the latest opinion polls suggest the Tories would lose most of their seats.
LIVE BLOG- PM RESIGNS
Cliff Notes – Hugh Grant reveals ‘creepy’ airport incident that saw his children questioned
- Hugh Grant expressed his frustration over an immigration officer at Heathrow Airport who questioned his children about their parents, describing the interaction as "intrusive, insulting and creepy."
- While some fans sympathised with Grant, others defended the officer’s actions as standard procedure for child safeguarding, especially when children travel with adults who may not share their last name.
- Grant, who has five children, has previously shared his enjoyment of fatherhood, despite starting his family later in life at the age of 52.
Hugh Grant reveals ‘creepy’ airport incident that saw his children questioned
Hugh Grant called out ‘creepy’ questions towards his kids (Picture: Sergio R Moreno/GTRES/REX/Shutterstock)Hugh Grant shared an ‘invasive’ interaction while at Heathrow Airport, where his children were questioned when travelling together.
The Bridget Jones legend shares his three youngest children with his wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein, as well as two older kids with ex Tinglan Hong.
It’s unclear which of his five children were with Hugh, 64, and questioned in the ‘insulting’ interaction.
He keeps his children — Tabitha, 13, Felix, 11, John, 12, Lulu, eight, and Blue, six — largely out of the public eye but spends a lot of time with his family.
On X, the Notting Hill star wrote: ‘Just came through Heathrow with wife and children. We all have the same last name (Grant) on our passports.
‘Immigration officer engages my children in chit chat then whispers to them “Are these your Mum and Dad?” Intrusive, insulting and creepy.’
He was at Heathrow when an immigration officer ‘whispered’ to his children (Picture: X)While the incident took place at Heathrow Airport, the immigration officers are employed by the Home Office rather than by the airport directly.
Fans were shocked that the officer may not have recognised the esteemed actor, with Caz writing: ‘It’s Hugh Grant. He’s hardly kidnapping kids in between movie roles!’
While some sympathised with Hugh’s frustration at the questioning, many defended the border force officer for ‘just doing their job’.
‘It’s for child safeguarding reasons,’ replied IdealMelody. ‘Be thankful the officer was doing their job correctly.’
LeilaKtan said: ‘Child trafficking is a HUGE problem and standard safeguarding is to be welcomed tbh.’
He shares three children with Anna Elisabet Eberstein as well as two older kids with Tinglan Hong (Picture: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images)‘It’s standard. Happened to me too. Don’t get your knickers in a twist,’ came one sharp response from InnovativeEcho.
‘Just keeping children safe—nothing to be paranoid about, it happens to most parents traveling with children,’ added WebsterEllen.
Usually, these questions are asked when children are travelling with one parent or have a different last name to the adult they are with.
Official government guidance states: ‘If you are travelling with a child (under 18) and are not the child’s parent, or may appear not to be the parent (for example, if you have a different family name), we may ask you a few questions to establish your relationship with the child.
He is a doting dad after having his kids ‘much too old’ (Picture: David Fisher/Shutterstock)‘We will always do this as quickly as possible and in a way which is sensitive to the interests of the child and the adult involved.’
Hugh has been open about how much he enjoys being a father, even joining his kids at concerts like BlackPink and Taylor Swift.
While on the SmartLess podcast, Hugh was asked about his children and shared: ‘I had them much too old in life. You know I started when I was 52.’
‘I think I was a dried-up, middle-aged, golf-addicted Englishman,’ he added. ‘Then I had children and suddenly I had heart and I had more layers, or something.’
Metro has reached out to Hugh’s reps for comment.
