London
CNN
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Liz Truss was fighting to save her post as British Prime Minister on Thursday after several of her own lawmakers called on her to step down, exasperated by a chaotic parliamentary vote and the resignation of his interior secretary.
Truss was meeting the chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Tories, Graham Brady, Downing Street said on Thursday, according to PA Media. The group decides whether or not to call a vote of no confidence in the prime minister.
Truss’ government had earlier been told it had ’12 hours’ to ‘turn around’ by Tory lawmaker Simon Hoare, after a vote on a controversial fracking ban for shale gas was descended into chaos.
Lawmakers reported that Truss aides roughed up MPs in the voting hall to force them to vote against the ban. The government initially framed the vote as a motion of confidence in the Truss government, but confusion remains over whether that was the case. A Downing Street spokesman said Thursday that Tory lawmakers who did not take part in Wednesday night’s vote will face disciplinary action, PA Media said.
Speaker of the UK House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle has launched an investigation into allegations of intimidation and harassment during the vote, PA reported.
The chaos came hours after Suella Braverman, Truss’ home secretary, dramatically resigned just seven weeks after taking office with a blistering attack on the Prime Minister’s leadership.
“The business of government depends on people accepting responsibility for their mistakes. Pretending we didn’t make mistakes, acting like everyone can’t see we made them, and hoping things will magically happen is not serious politics,” Braverman wrote in a critique of Truss’ many U-turns on taxes. and public spending.
“I have concerns about the direction of this government,” Braverman said. “Not only have we broken key commitments that were promised to our constituents, but I have serious concerns about this government’s commitment to honoring the commitments in the manifesto.”
Truss, who sacked his finance minister last week after a disastrous and since abandoned financial plan caused market turmoil, now has to focus on the weekend without his own MPs moving to oust him .
Backbench Crispin Blunt told BBC Radio 4 on Thursday that Truss’ position was “completely untenable”, adding that she had shown a “lack of self-knowledge” in the process.
“And if she doesn’t understand that, I’d be amazed,” Blunt said. “But one of the qualities she showed was a lack of self-knowledge in this whole process because it should have been clear that she didn’t have the ability to lead our party and I don’t think that she should have put herself for the leadership in the first place.
At least two conservative lawmakers have confirmed they have submitted letters of censure, although many more have done so privately. “I had high hopes for Liz Truss but after what happened last night her position has become untenable and I have submitted a letter to Sir Graham Brady,” Sheryll Murray wrote on Twitter Thursday, after his colleague William Wragg publicly stated his letter.
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” Charles Walker added to the BBC on Wednesday. “As a 17-year-old Tory MP who has never been a cabinet minister, who goes about it loyally most of the time, I think this is a shambles and a disgrace. I think it’s absolutely appalling.”
Truss will face a vote of confidence if the influential 1922 committee of backbenchers changes its rules to allow one so soon after the leadership vote, but former prime ministers were forced to resign before facing the humiliation of a successful ballot to oust them.
Earlier this year, Truss’ predecessor Boris Johnson narrowly survived a vote of confidence in his leadership. But he resigned weeks later when dozens of ministers and cabinet members resigned, citing a lack of trust in his government.
Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labor Party which enjoys a huge lead in the opinion polls, reiterated his calls for a snap general election on Thursday. “Britain cannot afford Tory chaos,” he wrote on Twitter. “My Labor government will provide the necessary stability and leadership. For our economy. For growth. For workers. General election now.
A vote does not need to be called until January 2025 at the latest, but the prospect of Britain seeing its third prime minister since the last ballot in 2019 would put pressure on Truss’ successor to ask to the public a new mandate.