Liz Truss quits as British PM after 45 days; Rishi Sunak now frontrunner

TIL Desk/World/London/Embattled British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday resigned as the Conservative Party leader saying she can no longer deliver the mandate she was elected on last month, ending her humiliating tenure at 10 Downing Street on her 45th day in the job following an open revolt against her chaotic leadership.

The 47-year-old outgoing prime minister will stay in charge until her successor is elected by the governing Tory party, with a speeded-up leadership election to be completed by next week. Her former leadership rival, Rishi Sunak, is seen as a possible frontrunner in that race but a consensus within a divided Tory party remains elusive, with the Opposition Labour Party renewing calls for an immediate general election.

Ousted premier Boris Johnson is said to be considering another go in a race that is unlikely to have a clear choice, with former contenders Penny Mordaunt and Suella Braverman and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace among the names circulating. “I recognise though that given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” Truss said in a brief statement outside 10 Downing Street.