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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63338171


Liz Truss resigns: Race kicks off to find her successor within a week
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Liz Truss speaks in Downing Street, watched by husband Hugh O'Leary, as
she resigns as Prime Minister
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Liz Truss resigns after 45 days in office, as her husband looks on
By Marie Jackson
BBC News
A fast-tracked contest to find the next Tory leader and prime minister
has begun after Liz Truss dramatically resigned as PM, barely six weeks
into the job.

Hopefuls need the backing of 100 MPs by Monday, with her successor
likely to be announced by Friday at the latest.

New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ruled himself out but Rishi Sunak and
Penny Mordaunt are seen as contenders.

Sources close to Boris Johnson neither confirm nor deny he will stand again.

A handful of the former prime minister's biggest political supporters
are pressing him to make a comeback.

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Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has been encouraging MP colleagues to nominate Mr Johnson, Conservative sources have told BBC News.

The Daily Telegraph quoted an ally of Mr Johnson as saying he could
offer an "olive branch" to Mr Sunak, his former chancellor whose
resignation contributed to his downfall.

But others are unconvinced. Tory MP John Baron said it would be
impossible to serve in a new Johnson government and suggested he would
become independent instead.

Mr Johnson, who is on holiday in the Caribbean, was forced to resign as Conservative leader in July following a string of scandals.

BBC political correspondent Ione Wells says some senior Conservatives
have said they would consider standing down and triggering a by-election
if Mr Johnson was re-elected.

However, she says Cabinet Office Minister Brendan Clarke Smith insists
that the former prime minister was a proven winner who could restore his party's fortunes.

Mr Smith said: "We're looking at someone with a mandate with the general electorate, the membership, he's a winner. He delivered an historic
80-seat majority. We need somebody who can unite the party, get us back
in the polls and who can be a winner and Boris Johnson ticks all of
those boxes."

Other names being touted as contenders, although not confirmed, include
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, International Trade Secretary Kemi
Badenoch, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Justice Secretary Brandon
Lewis and Suella Braverman, who resigned as home secretary on Wednesday.

Michael Gove and Tom Tugendhat, who stood in the last contest held over
the summer, have said they will sit this one out.


Media caption,
WATCH: Liz Truss's 45 days in office

At 13:35 BST on Thursday, after days of turmoil, chaos and rebellion,
Liz Truss delivered a brief resignation statement under grey skies
outside No 10, a lone figure with just her husband, Hugh O'Leary,
standing to one side.

She told the mass of waiting camera crews and reporters she could not
deliver the mandate on which she had been elected, and would resign.

In so doing, she will become the shortest-serving British prime minister
in history.

Opposition parties immediately insisted it was time for a general
election to decide who should be the next prime minister.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party was on an election
footing, with a manifesto at the ready.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, Scotland's First Minister Nicola
Sturgeon and Wales's First Minister Mark Drakeford all demanded the
electorate decide.

The next general election is not due to take place until at least 2024
and, at this stage, it looks unlikely that date will be brought forward.

Ms Truss, 47, has said she will stay on until her successor is chosen.
They will inherit a fractious party 12 years into office, with turmoil
at home and abroad.

Graphic showing bookmakers' odds for the new Tory leader and PM
Ms Truss's resignation comes after several weeks of political and
economic turbulence - and one day after she told MPs she was "a fighter,
not a quitter".

Her now-abandoned September mini-budget started the turmoil, sending
financial markets into a tailspin. In response, she sacked her
chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, and appointed Jeremy Hunt to the post hours
later to try to calm the markets.

On Wednesday, her home secretary, Suella Braverman, resigned and a
chaotic night with accusations of bullying during a vote in the House of Commons followed, sealing her fate.

Through Thursday morning, the number of MPs publicly calling for the
prime minister to go doubled and Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the
influential 1922 Committee - a group of backbench MPs - was summoned to
No 10 to give her an update.

Within the hour Ms Truss was joined by her deputy, Therese Coffey, and
party chairman Jake Berry as pressure on her to quit became insurmountable.

Graham Stuart, a government minister, said he had no idea the PM's
resignation was coming, despite being in her cabinet.

He later told BBC One's Question Time he sat in silence with colleagues
in the House of Commons tea room, watching her statement on TV.

"I feel disappointed, shocked, I backed Liz Truss," he said, and
apologised to the country for the "instability" caused.

On BBC Newsnight, long-time Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope
defended Ms Truss, calling those who ousted her "hyenas who are out for
blood and revenge".

He said: "The way in which she has been treated is a disgrace. I am
ashamed of my party for having behaved in that way."

CONTENDERS: Who could be the next prime minister?
ANALYSIS: The rise and fall of Liz Truss
PROFILED: The man who sees off Tory PMs
IN FULL: Liz Truss's resignation speech
It now falls to Sir Graham Brady of the 1922 Committee to organise the accelerated contest to find Ms Truss's successor - who could be chosen
by next Friday.

Under party rules, leadership hopefuls will need to secure the support
of 100 MPs to enter the contest.

There are 357 Conservative MPs so that means a maximum of three
candidates can stand.

Candidate nominations will close at 14:00 BST on Monday and the first
ballot of MPs will be held that day between 15:30 and 17:30.

A first ballot will be held among MPs and the person with the lowest
number of votes will be eliminated, if there are three candidates.

If a second ballot is needed, MPs will be able to signal who they prefer through an indicative vote.

And if both candidates opt to stay in the race, the final decision will
go to party members via an online vote.


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