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 – Trisha Goddard clears up major misconception about her terminal cancer
- Trisha Goddard, diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, clarified that her cancer is localized to her right hip bone, countering assumptions that it has spread throughout her body.
- During her time on Celebrity Big Brother, she aimed to inspire others living with cancer, emphasising the importance of living fully despite the diagnosis.
Trisha Goddard clears up major misconception about her terminal cancer
Trisha Goddard made history by receiving cancer treatment inside the Celebrity Big Brother house (Picture: Vianney Le Caer/Shutterstock for Big Brother)Celebrity Big Brother star Trisha Goddard has addressed a huge misconception about her cancer.
The talk show hosting legend, 67, was the second star evicted from this year’s CBB, which was won by Corrie actor Jack P. Shepherd last night, while Danny Beard finished second.
Trisha was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 but was given the all-clear.
In 2022, however, her cancer returned as stage 4 breast cancer, or metastatic cancer, and the esteemed broadcaster confirmed it’s ‘not going away’.
However, she was determined to send a powerful message during her time in CBB, repeatedly telling viewers that you ‘can’t be so scared of dying that you become afraid of living.’
Trisha scheduled her cancer treatment around her stint in the ITV house, explaining before she went in that everything had been planned with precision to minimise disruptions to her care.
The talk show hosting legend was the second evictee (Picture: Sofi Adams/Shutterstock for Big Brother)Get personalised updates on CBB in your inbox
Now, after the final, she has given a detailed interview delving into the nature of her illness, keen to dispel one mistruth in particular.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Trisha explained that many people had reservations about her entering CBB.
‘I had messages like, “You should be spending your dying days with your family, not in the Big Brother House”, and the assumption is that the cancer has spread all over your body: liver, kidney; everywhere. But for a hell of a lot of people with metastatic cancer—me included—it’s not the case,’ she began.
‘It’s in my bone, specifically my right hip bone. And people have lived with cancer like this for five, 10, even 20 years.
‘By the end of this year, there will be 3.4million Brits living with cancer, a lot of them almost hiding away—and I wanted to show that you can still live a full and vigorous life.’
She added that many people who have cancer ‘are still working, muddling through’ because ‘they have to’.
Trisha’s breast cancer returned in 2022 (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock) She was determined to send a powerful message while in the house (Picture: Shutterstock for Big Brother)‘They don’t tell anyone about their diagnosis because they’re frightened of the reaction; scared, too, of losing their job. And lots of employers are not equipped to keep them in work. But how about saying, “What can we do to help you work?”’
Reflecting on her historic CBB signing, Trisha heaped praise on the production crew for how accommodating they were after liaising with her US medical team to make her appearance possible.
She was assigned her own bedroom away from the other housemates, allowing her to go to sleep when she wanted to, and she also had her own bathroom.
‘I thought I was going to get—ooh—a bed with a curtain, but amazingly they decided I should have my own bedroom, loo, and bathroom, which I genuinely wasn’t expecting. I was blown away by that. And they gave me my own low-fat food in a little fridge.’
Although Trisha admits she did ‘miss out’ on not being in the main bedroom, where all the action was.
‘You can’t be so scared of dying that you become afraid of living’ (Picture: ITV) Trisha has no plans to slow down now (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)‘I got a bit of FOMO.’
While inside the compound, she took several meds to manage the side effects of her chemo and continued with physical exercises to manage her balance issues.
The media personality has spoken incredibly highly of her time on the programme, having been visibly gutted to leave due to how much fun she was having.
She’s likened it to ‘being paid to go on holiday,’ saying that being in ‘captivity’ and shut off from the rest of the world allowed her a newfound ‘freedom’ from everyday life.
‘I was a child again, absolved of all grown-up duties, and who gets that in life?’
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
