British PM Liz Truss resigns amid economic turmoil

Beleaguered British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on Thursday bringing the curtains down on her controversial reign following her tax-cutting plans caused a market meltdown during an already severe cost-of-living crisis.

In a desperate bid to weather the odds, Truss had ripped up the mini-budget that caused turmoil in financial markets and replaced Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor with Conservative leader Jeremy Hunt.

The rumblings in the ranks were out in the open after interior minister Suella Braverman resigned a day before triggering the second reshuffle this month.

Soon after her resignation in an address, Truss said, “I recognise that given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”

The estimated GBP 45 billion worth of tax cuts without a detailed funding plan to back them up spelled disaster for the UK economy when inflation was already surging.

Truss's departure comes a day after she claimed in Parliament that she is a fighter and not a quitter amid jeer from opposition MPs.

Meanwhile, Truss’s departure has brightened the chances of Rishi Sunak, who lost out to Truss, to replace her as the next prime minister though deep infighting in the ranks may tilt the scale in favour of anyone. Loyalists of ex-PM Boris Johnson are pitching for his comeback to restore the situation.

Truss’s troubles reflect how Johnson was booted out of the office and forced to quit in early July amid an open revolt by his party heavyweights.