Status: 10/14/2022 03:46 am
British Prime Minister Truss has only been in office for a little over a month – and has already drawn a lot of criticism from within her own party. According to the Times newspaper, leading Tories are now discussing their replacement.
The resistance within the party against British Prime Minister Liz Truss is apparently increasing: According to a report in the Times, after just over a month in office, leading Tories are discussing replacing the prime minister. The London newspaper writes, citing high-ranking party members, that there are considerations of nominating a joint candidate.
A pact between ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak and Tory politician Penny Mordaunt is also possible. Both had failed in the internal competition for party leadership because of Truss. A “council of elders” made up of dozens of former cabinet members is ready to ask Truss to give up.
Much criticism and severe market turbulence
The prime minister has also been facing harsh criticism from within her own ranks for weeks. The reason for this is Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng’s budget, which was only financed with debt and which triggered severe market turbulence. After protests from leading Tories, Truss and Kwarteng reversed the abolition of the top tax rate.
Now another turnaround is likely: As the newspaper “Guardian” wrote, Truss and Kwarteng do not want to withdraw the significant increase in corporate tax planned for April. The Prime Minister had repeatedly stressed that the increase from 19 to 25 percent decided by her predecessor Boris Johnson would be canceled.
The markets reacted positively, but Truss seems to be getting nowhere with voters. In a survey by the opinion research institute Yougov for the “Times”, 50 percent were in favor of putting Truss out the door, only nine percent supported the head of government.