New Forest MPs Sir Desmond Swayne and Julian Lewis respond to resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss
LIZ Truss has become the shortest-serving Prime Minister after resigning following a calamitous few weeks.
The A&T has asked all three local MPs – New Forest West's Sir Desmond Swayne, New Forest East's Julian Lewis and Christchurch's Sir Chris Chope – for a response and whether a general election should be held.
Sir Desmond responded, saying: "I need to reflect and realign to the metaphysical plane over the weekend."
Dr Lewis said: "“In this fast-moving and unstable situation, the best outcome would be for a new leader to emerge, by consensus, around whom the party can unite.
"That will require some candidates to put the national interest ahead of personal ambition, something not easy to achieve.
"An immediate general election would be skewed by the present political crisis. Instead, the next leader must have a chance to show what she – or he – can do in the last couple of years of this Parliament.”
Truss was under pressure from almost her first day in office, 44 days ago, after a disastrous uncosted mini-budget which sent the pound plummeting and interest rates soaring.
Three weeks later she sacked Chancellor and close friend Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with centrist Jeremy Hunt.
Letters of no-confidence began piling up in the 1922 Committee chairman Graham Brady's in tray.
Yesterday, Suella Braverman sensationally resigned, becoming the shortest-serving Home Secretary since the war.
The exact reason for her departure was unclear. Her letter to Ms Truss pointed to a breach of the rules after she accessed confidential emails from a personal phone but sources suggested there had been a blazing 90-minute row between the pair over student visas.
In her resignation letter she made thinly veiled digs at Ms Truss, criticising the direction of the government especially on issues relating to immigration and Channel crossings.
Former transport secretary Grant Shapps replaced her. Less than two weeks ago he'd warned Truss's days were numbered unless she got a grip on the economic situation.
Then, in a farcical vote last night Tory MPs were first told they had to vote against Labour's motion to ban fracking, then that they didn't and then that they did again.
The Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip resigned and then unresigned, the latter allegedly saying: "I am f****** furious and I don't give a f*** anymore."
Other MPs were reportedly manhandled through the lobby, some in tears. Jacob Rees-Mogg and Thérèse Coffey denied they were involved.
But in the chaos not even Ms Truss voted. She'd reportedly chased after Chief Whip Wendy Morton, losing her security guards and her position in the queue in the process.
In the aftermath, backbencher of 17 years Charles Walker said: “This is an absolute disgrace. As a Tory MP of 17 years who’s never been a minister, who’s got on with it loyally most of the time, I think it’s a shambles and a disgrace. I think it is utterly appalling. I’m livid.”
The government actually won the vote by 230 votes to 326.
At lunch time today, Mr Brady was seen entering Downing Street, viewed by many as a sign Ms Truss's remarkable tenure was coming to an end.
Speaking to Sky outside Downing Street, Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke said she had voted for Ms Truss but was "disappointed" and needed the PM to "set out her priorities", especially regarding issues like small boat crossings.
After the meeting with Mr Brady, which Ms Coffey and Tory chairman Jake Berry also attended, it was announced a press conference would take place at 1.30pm.
She is by some distance the shortest-serving PM, ahead of George Canning who remained in power for just 119 days before his death from tuberculosis in August 1827.
