Althouse: "Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain said on Thursday that she would resign... Her departure after only six weeks in office — the shortest tenure ever for a British prime minister..."

October 20, 2022

"Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain said on Thursday that she would resign... Her departure after only six weeks in office — the shortest tenure ever for a British prime minister..."

"... was a rapid fall from power that throws her Conservative Party into further disarray, following the messy departure of Boris Johnson over the summer.... Ms. Truss’s political viability became tenuous after her proposals for broad unfunded tax cuts roiled markets and sent the pound’s value plunging.... [It was] one of the most dramatic reversals in modern British political history, and a humiliating repudiation of Ms. Truss’s leadership.... 'I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected.'"

The NYT reports.

71 comments:

Joe Smith said...: The party is not very conservative...; 10/20/22, 9:05 AM
Readering said...: I have still not read a good explanation for how the final collapse yesterday was precipitated by the Home Secretary sending an official document to someone via personal email.; 10/20/22, 9:06 AM
Temujin said...: The Tories are a mess. So is Labour.
It's so similar to the US.; 10/20/22, 9:10 AM
Temujin said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/20/22, 9:10 AM
DanTheMan said...: "Unfunded tax cuts"? Did you mean "Unfunded government spending"?; 10/20/22, 9:12 AM
Achilles said...: Britain is F'd. Europe is F'd.

There is a long list of things that have happened that led to the current state of all countries in Europe. The media is not talking about the numerous massive riots taking place.

150 companies that are mostly over a century old in Germany just declared insolvency. There are massive layoffs.

France is back to the yellow vest days.

Norway is making absolute shit tons of money selling Europe Russian oil and gas.

Much of eastern Europe including Hungary and Turkey are buying Russian oil and gas and telling western europe to f off.

The crash of the Euro is absolutely epic.

As a crypto investor I have been watching this train wreck for almost a year in detail. This is not going to be the first politician to resign.

Many who don't resign are going to be chased through the streets soon. There is going to be people dying of cold and famine all over europe this winter and their economy is going to utterly implode.; 10/20/22, 9:13 AM
Achilles said...: The fall of Europe has one simple explanation: Environmental Climate Policy.

Thousands of people are going to die this winter.

Just as the Climate Change Cult wants.; 10/20/22, 9:15 AM
Owen said...: Per Hannah Arendt, the way this goes is:
(1) Incompetence of Establishment --> failed legitimacy
(2) Failed legitimacy --> widespread cynicism, despair and unrest
(3) Widespread etc --> revolution; 10/20/22, 9:21 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I thought markets loved tax cuts. I must be missing something… or a lot. Economics is as nebulous as Wokeism.; 10/20/22, 9:24 AM
Mark said...: So, the revolt blew up in the face of the Never-Boris faction.; 10/20/22, 9:25 AM
hawkeyedjb said...: When you repudiate your own Strongly Held Position because somebody criticized it, you have exposed yourself as an unprincipled weakling. There was no point in her continuing.

It isn't clear that the Tory party has anything to offer but unprincipled weaklings.; 10/20/22, 9:28 AM
Big Mike said...: Liz Truss always struck me as a policy wonk. Some of these people actually have good political instincts, but most don’t. That’s why you normally find them working as advisors to people who do have good political instincts. If she’d had good political instincts she would have anticipated the reaction and been ready for it.

Having proposed the policy she needed to stick to her plans. Letting yourself get bullied out of your signature policy at the very outset is always going to be a mistake, regardless of whether the policy is right or the policy is wrong.; 10/20/22, 9:29 AM
Readering said...: And the Telegraph reports that Boris Johnson, now getting tan, rested and ready in the West Undies, will run for the leadership job.; 10/20/22, 9:30 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I read she cut taxes and that made the markets go nuts. You don't cut taxes in Europe, folks. You jack them up - forever.; 10/20/22, 9:32 AM
Beasts of England said...: Maybe she can get a gig with CNN+.; 10/20/22, 9:39 AM
MadisonMan said...: Truss'll be most famous for being the last PM that QEII had an audience with.; 10/20/22, 9:43 AM
Darkisland said...: She "works" for King Chuck and serves at his pleasure. Yeah, I know we are never supposed to mention it and are supposed to pretend that the PM is elected by the party with the most MPs.

But Chuck has the ultimate responsibility to accept her as PM and to accept her resignation.

What, if anything, did he have to do with her leaving?

I put "works" in quotes because the British PM does not exist legally or officially. It is a relatively recent innovation in British history. 1770s, I think.; 10/20/22, 9:47 AM
Narr said...: Liz, we hardly knew ye.; 10/20/22, 9:48 AM
Lurker21 said...: So this will be known as the year of (at least) 3 PMs and (at least 4) Chancellors. The UK may already have had years like that.

Since the the 1920s the Tories have been the "natural party of government," but after 10 or 15 years in power they usually self-destruct. Governments are like people in that way: all the toxins and viruses and bad genes that we've carried around for years finally overcome the weakened immune system as we age. So there are often scandals and traumatic events before the organism succumbs. "Partygate," though, wasn't a match for Profumo-Keeler in the Sixties. Nor is Brexit a match for WWII, or Boris for Thatcher.; 10/20/22, 9:49 AM
deepelemblues said...: The Party was extremely stupid and arrogant to stab Boris in the back over picayune BS simply used as an excuse becauze they disliked him personally. Now he is their only hope of not getting drubbed at the polls, whenever they might be. Certainly sooner than 2025.

Boris should come back, Keir Starmer stands no chance of beating him and Labour in general is run by tired old socialists with tired old ideas that would cripple the UK. Boris should get his pound of flesh from the Tories for saving their party, though.; 10/20/22, 9:49 AM
CJinPA said...: She was hoping to be the next Margaret Thatcher. Missed it by that much.; 10/20/22, 9:55 AM
gahrie said...: The party is not very conservative...

Not by US standards. Truss is pretty lame. Dame Thatcher faced even worse opposition when she became Prime Minister and stood firm.

The best course for the UK right now is to start pumping oil and to cut taxes and regulations, which to be fair Truss tried to do.

Russell Brand needs to run for Parliament.; 10/20/22, 9:55 AM
Aggie said...: No predictions of who is next? More conservative? Less? In any case, it would appear the age of Free Money is coming to a close.....; 10/20/22, 9:56 AM
Anthony said...: "Unfunded" tax cuts.

Uh-huh.; 10/20/22, 10:00 AM
TrespassersW said...: That one phrase, "unfunded tax cuts," pushes my buttons. It reveals that the writer's view of the relationship between government and citizen is ack-basswards.; 10/20/22, 10:00 AM
TreeJoe said...: I have not followed this closely, but one article I read blamed her proposal to reduce taxes leading to "experts" stating that such a move would dramatically fan the flames of inflation and ruin Britain further.

Yet again, I was left scratching my head. Why would lower taxes, leading to increased money in the hands of individuals and companies who are struggling to afford things under enormous inflation in Britain, be dramatically worse than giving that money to government who then hands it out to be spent....mostly in Britain. The theory is basically that people having money rather than having it taken from them leads to more inflation and that government taxation reduces inflation.; 10/20/22, 10:02 AM
Yancey Ward said...: What you are witnessing is a coup. Brexit is in the process of being undone.; 10/20/22, 10:03 AM
Robert Cosgrove said...: Notwithstanding the optimistic initial comparisons to Margaret Thatcher, in this case, it turns out that the lady was for turning.; 10/20/22, 10:08 AM
RMc said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/20/22, 10:08 AM
RMc said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/20/22, 10:08 AM
RMc said...: Can't Truss it.; 10/20/22, 10:08 AM
rcocean said...: what a tin ear, even for a Tory. Why didn't she lead with doing something the average UK voter wanted? Like restricting immigration or speeding up Brexit. Or easing the sanctions on Ukraine and lowering energy prices.

Instead her number one priority was CUTTING TAXES for the RICH. Amazing! This while the UK is running is running massive deficeits.

And what was up with clownish over-the-top diversity in her cabinet? Hey, we don't have any white native born Englishmen - woo hoo! The UK is still 90% white and nominally christian. Who was that supposed to impress?

Amazing how these establishment Tories and Republicans are so much alike. Talk to Mitch, or Mittens, or Paul Ryan and their number one priorites are: Cutting taxes for the Rich, "Reforming" social security and medicare, and more aid to the Ukraine. IOW, nothing that the average Republican cares about!; 10/20/22, 10:16 AM
Narr said...: Readering isn't the only one who wonders what the supposed trigger was.

If you understand UK politics you probably also understand why, some years ago, the world financial system was on the brink of collapse because 15 million Greeks had borrowed too much money.; 10/20/22, 10:20 AM
Original Mike said...: I'd hadn't even gotten around to forming an opinion.; 10/20/22, 10:22 AM
CJinPA said...: The English turn up their noses on the American political process, but the way they pick and remove leaders seems odd sometimes.

I'm still not sure why Boris Johnson was forced out. Having a cocktail party without masks? Some other kerfuffle?; 10/20/22, 10:24 AM
Lars Porsena said...: The most powerful force in the universe is the bond market. Never fight the bond market.; 10/20/22, 10:36 AM
Michael K said...: The Swamp reached across the Atlantic and got her.; 10/20/22, 10:39 AM
Misinforminimalism said...: Only 6 weeks in office but she managed to span the reigns of more monarchs than her 14 predecessors.; 10/20/22, 11:01 AM
Tom T. said...: For U.S. conservatives, this is a bit like watching a Democratic primary.; 10/20/22, 11:08 AM
Rabel said...: It would be grossly unfair to relate the unprecedented collapse of the latest British government with the well publicized fact that it was the first without a white man in the inner circle.

Grossly unfair but highly amusing.; 10/20/22, 11:15 AM
tim in vermont said...: The document that the Home Secretary sent involved a proposal for reductions in immigration, which is probably the real reason for the long knives to come out.; 10/20/22, 11:27 AM
narciso said...: She pushed to restore fracking you must freeze and eat bugs thats what herr schwab demands; 10/20/22, 11:28 AM
Mattman26 said...: I blame King Charles.

Kidding. But it makes about as much sense as blaming it on Truss' tax proposals. The world is a bit topsy-turvy right now, as the Times might have noticed.; 10/20/22, 11:29 AM
n.n said...: Environmental Climate Policy.

Thousands of people are going to die this winter.

Just as the Climate Change Cult wants.

To serve baby... granny.; 10/20/22, 11:35 AM
Andrew said...: From Reagan and Thatcher to Biden and Truss. What a monumental decline.

If you've never watched Truss's cheese and apples speech, it's a real hoot. Here's an excerpt.

https://youtu.be/UFNRUuBARM4; 10/20/22, 11:36 AM
Darkisland said...: One of the things the news has been covering up is the MASSIVE protests all across Europe

Pictures here

https://notthebee.com/article/so-has-the-media-told-you-about-the-massive-protests-over-energy-bills-happening-in-europe-right-now; 10/20/22, 11:53 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: The Corrupt Globalists brought the world to its knees with the Chi Com Lab Virus.

they got rid of Orange man bad. The rest of the global economic collapse was merely collateral damage.; 10/20/22, 12:09 PM
wendybar said...: I wish this delusional, mean, threatening Old Man would do the same. It is getting embarrassing. You would THINK the Progressive Propaganda machine would get sick and tired of him treating them like fools. But they keep on protecting this fool. https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2022/10/20/read-it-man-biden-tells-reporter-there-should-be-restrictions-on-abortion-then-bizarrely-berates-him-over-roe-v-wade-watch/; 10/20/22, 12:15 PM
Whiskeybum said...: Ms. Truss resigned as PM, stating 'I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected.

Ha! If that criterion was observed by US politicians, we would be experiencing mass resignations in the Congress, White House, etc.; 10/20/22, 12:43 PM
Kate said...: My Brit friends shared horrified memes of the pound equaling the dollar in value. That was probably the last straw. The pound must always be the stronger currency; it's a national requirement.; 10/20/22, 1:12 PM
Achilles said...: Hunter Biden's tax payer funded Hooker said...

The Corrupt Globalists brought the world to its knees with the Chi Com Lab Virus.

they got rid of Orange man bad. The rest of the global economic collapse was merely collateral damage.

That isn't the main thing that is causing the current problems in Europe. The current problems in Europe are a result of the Climate Change agenda and Greens shutting down nuclear and gas energy in Europe combined with the US Federal Reserve ruthlessly destroying all other currencies.

Japan is giving up the Yen completely. The Euro has been completely destroyed and after this Winter will probably not even be used.

The goal here is to install a Central Bank Digital Currency system like what China uses.

They are doing this because decentralized crypto currencies are about to eliminate the fed's power over our currency.; 10/20/22, 1:43 PM
Achilles said...: Kate said...

My Brit friends shared horrified memes of the pound equaling the dollar in value.

The Pound is doing better than everyone else too.

There are countries like Japan that are just openly abandoning their currencies.

If the people around the world knew what was really happening Jerome Powell would be hunted down.; 10/20/22, 1:51 PM
daskol said...: Achilles (and anyone else interested in hard money gold/crypto buggery and game theoretic geopolitical analysis)—if you’re unfamiliar w/Yom Luong who runs the goats, guns and gold podcast and a patreon investment/analysis community has a very interesting thesis on the factionalism among global elites. He’s made some predictions beginning w/the Powell reappointment fight and moves he’s made since, last year w/final switch over to SOFR from LIBOR and the Fed upping the interest on its reverse repo lending, including Powell’s savaging of the Eurodollar market and the euro itself. Thought provoking stuff. He sees two main factions here: the Davos minions epitomized by Obama and the current DC regime vs. the NY Fed, basically Jamie Dimon, Goldma and Citi (bofa and BNY Mellon are Davos), w/the NY boys having more or less won the day here as seen by powell’s continuing brutal hikes and even squish Fed officials saying the right stuff. Within the UK Davos backs Rishi Sunak and used the run on gilts to cut Truss’ balls off.; 10/20/22, 2:00 PM
daskol said...: The run on Credit Suisse was a warning to the Swiss, per this take.; 10/20/22, 2:01 PM
daskol said...: While insane climate policy plays a huge role and is a means to for elites to control the collapse so as to maintain their control, European sovereign debt and massively insolvent, nationalized banks (but I repeat myself) since 2008 made eurozone a ticking time bomb with collapse of the euro inevitable.; 10/20/22, 2:03 PM
daskol said...: In the eurocommie version of a single CBDC, there is no longer a role for commercial banking or really the dollar—Davos needed the US to continue its insane money printing to ensure the $ went down along w/euro. Dimon and co. have contrary interests which so happen align for now w/US national interests (and counter the DC regime’s interests), so it’s good old Wall St vampire squid to the rescue…wild stuff.; 10/20/22, 2:06 PM
Mark said...: Telegraph reports that Boris Johnson, now getting tan, rested and ready in the West Undies, will run for the leadership job

He shouldn't "run" for the job. He should insist that they ask for him, that they beg him (even if his supporters manufacture the look that the people are urging him to return), while he at first acts resistant, then relents "against his will."; 10/20/22, 2:08 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: Obviously the UK is not ready for a female PM.; 10/20/22, 2:22 PM
Peter Spieker said...: Lurker21 said...
So this will be known as the year of (at least) 3 PMs and (at least 4) Chancellors. The UK may already have had years like that.

If we can believe Wikipedia, in 1834-35 Melbourne was PM for 122 days, followed by a Duke of Wellington caretaker government of 23 days, followed by Robert Peel for 120 days. That’s Italy in the 1970’s level turmoil.

I’m not sure why people are saying Tuss had the shortest tenure as PM if the Wellington figure is accurate. Seems like someone is wrong, or maybe “caretaker” governments don’t count for some reason.; 10/20/22, 3:31 PM
Joe Smith said...: "The Corrupt Globalists brought the world to its knees with the Chi Com Lab Virus."

The Corrupt Globalists brought the world to its knees with the weaponized Chi Com Lab Virus.

Fixed it...; 10/20/22, 3:49 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: Lurker21 said...
"So this will be known as the year of (at least) 3 PMs and (at least 4) Chancellors."

And (at least) two sovereigns.; 10/20/22, 4:30 PM
Readering said...: Reported that candidates will require 100 MP nominations to stand. This would exclude underdogs like Truss, who started out with low numbers last time. And probably Johnson.; 10/20/22, 4:48 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I have still not read a good explanation for how the final collapse yesterday was precipitated by the Home Secretary sending an official document to someone via personal email."

Because many investors on the stock exchanges are hyper-vigilant to circumstances that could cause their investments to lose value, or would retard or freeze continuing growth of value on those investments. Some or most major traders are hyper-vigilant probably to a state of near-superstition, such that any omens of problems ahead--such as an email simply proposing a worrisome action by the government or changes in corporate or bank policies--propel them into panic mode and they act accordingly. Which can cause a steep drop or collapse.; 10/20/22, 4:51 PM
Robert Cook said...: "From Reagan and Thatcher to Biden and Truss. What a monumental decline."

Well, when you get bad heads of state like Reagan and Thatcher who are perceived as entities to emulate, the quality of governance following them will inevitably continue to decline, thus...to real cruds like Trump and Biden in the US and Johnson and Truss in the UK.; 10/20/22, 4:58 PM
Narayanan said...: Readering said...
... the West Undies, ...
=========
do they still sell knickers to Boris?; 10/20/22, 5:12 PM
boatbuilder said...: If Ronald Reagan had decided to listen to David Stockman, his presidency would have been about as successful as Liz Truss' tenure.; 10/20/22, 6:35 PM
Gusty Winds said...: Aborted in six weeks...at least in wasn't in the eighth month when her tenure as Prime Minister might have been viable.; 10/20/22, 6:38 PM
Achilles said...: daskol said...

In the eurocommie version of a single CBDC, there is no longer a role for commercial banking or really the dollar—Davos needed the US to continue its insane money printing to ensure the $ went down along w/euro. Dimon and co. have contrary interests which so happen align for now w/US national interests (and counter the DC regime’s interests), so it’s good old Wall St vampire squid to the rescue…wild stuff.

The whole thing seems nuts to most.

At first when my brother and I started telling people what was going on behind the scenes even in the crypto space people began calling us things. Especially the "technical" traders really are kinda the flat worms of the trading world.

Now we have people spying on our wallets on some of the dexes.

People have more or less decided that Powell isn't stupid and he is doing all of this on purpose.

It is really crazy to watch certain technologies being adopted by the current powers that be. Blackrock is particularly active behind the scenes in the crypto space.

Another interesting thing going on at this level is the BRICS nations are buying up and importing precious metals right now and trying to build an alternative financial system to SWIFT and the concurrent actions of the Chase/Big 5 bank faction using paper gold to manipulate the price of gold to counter this.

They are also finding huge gold reserves in Africa and other places around the world. One wonders if they always knew about these and hid them until now.; 10/20/22, 8:25 PM
Lurker21 said...: It would be grossly unfair to relate the unprecedented collapse of the latest British government with the well publicized fact that it was the first without a white man in the inner circle.

Things move quickly now. Truss's Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, only lasted 38 days and was replaced by Jeremy Hunt. The refusal of Hunt, Old White Guy, to go along with Liz's plans had a lot to do with her resignation.

Liz Truss, like Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May could sort of claim middle class origins in spite of an Oxbridge degree. Hunt, like Cameron and Johnson is public (i.e. private) school and Oxford. He's also quite rich, and apparently globalist.; 10/20/22, 8:40 PM
daskol said...: Fed/NY banks needs to keep price of gold low and indeed are using futures to do it, while BRICS are paying premiums for physical gold as they are demonetizing it—at some point the current commodities exchanges will lose control over gold prices. It’s a weird war.; 10/21/22, 6:48 AM
daskol said...: Re-monetizing gold…; 10/21/22, 11:59 AM