Liz Truss was fighting to save her job as Britain’s prime minister on Thursday after more of her MPs called for her to quit, angered by a crazy parliamentary vote and the resignation of her home secretary.
Truss met with the chairman of the Conservative 1922 Committee, Graham Brady, Downing Street said on Thursday, according to PA Media. The group decides whether to request a vote of no confidence in the prime minister.
The Truss government was earlier told it had “12 hours” to “turn the ship around” by Conservative lawmaker Simon Hoare after a vote to ban controversial shale gas fracking ended in chaos.
Lawmakers said Truss aides lured lawmakers into the voter lobby to force them to vote against the ban. The government initially presented the vote as a vote of confidence in the Truss government, but confusion remains over whether it was. A Downing Street spokesman said Thursday that Tory lawmakers who did not take part in Wednesday afternoon’s vote would face disciplinary action, PA Media reported.
The Speaker of the UK House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, has launched an investigation into allegations of intimidation and harassment during the vote, PA reported.
The chaos came hours after Suella Braverman, Truss’ home secretary, resigned just seven weeks into the job in a scathing attack on the prime minister’s leadership.
“The business of government is based on people accepting responsibility for their mistakes. Pretending we haven’t made mistakes, carrying on as if everyone can’t see we’ve made them, and hoping things turn out right is not serious politics,” Braverman wrote in a critique of Truss’ numerous tax reversals . and public spending.
“I have concerns about the direction of this administration,” Braverman said. “Not only have we broken key commitments we made to our constituents, I have serious concerns about this government’s commitment to delivering on its manifesto commitments.”
Truss, who sacked her finance minister just last week after a disastrous and since-abandoned economic plan sent markets reeling, must now focus on getting to the weekend without her MPs moving to oust her.
Backbencher Crispin Blunt told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday that Truss’s position was “totally untenable”, adding that she had shown a “lack of self-awareness” in the process.
“And if he doesn’t understand that, then I’ll be surprised,” Blunt said. “But one of the qualities she’s shown is her lack of self-awareness throughout this whole process, because it should have been clear that she didn’t have the ability to lead our party, and I don’t think she should have put herself forward for leadership in the first place.”
At least two Conservative MPs have confirmed they have submitted letters of censure, although many others are believed to have done so privately. “I had high hopes for Liz Truss but after what happened last night her position has become untenable and I have submitted a letter to Sir Graham Brady,” Sheryll Murray tweeted on Thursday, following her colleague William Wragg who she publicly stated her letter.
“This is an absolute disgrace,” Charles Walker added to the BBC on Wednesday. “As a Tory MP for 17 years who has never been a minister, who has faithfully carried on most of the time, I think it’s a waste and a shame. I think it’s absolutely disgusting.”
Truss will face a vote of confidence if the influential Commission of 1922 supporters changes its rules to allow one so soon after the leadership vote, but previous prime ministers have been forced to resign before facing the humiliation of a successful vote to oust them .
Earlier this year, Truss’ predecessor, Boris Johnson, narrowly survived a vote of confidence in his leadership. However, he resigned weeks later when dozens of ministers and cabinet members quit, citing a lack of confidence in his government.
Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labor Party who enjoys a huge lead in the polls, repeated his calls for an early general election on Thursday. “Britain can’t stand Tory chaos,” he tweeted. “My Labor Government will provide the stability and leadership they need. For our economy. For development. For workers. General election now.”
A vote does not need to be held until January 2025 at the latest, but the prospect of Britain seeing its third prime minister since the last vote in 2019 would put pressure on Mr Truss’ successor to ask the public for a new term.
