Announcing her resignation from the lectern outside Downing Street Thursday, just 45 days into the job, Prime Minister Liz Truss said she could not deliver the mandate on which she was elected. This makes her the shortest-serving United Kingdom's prime minister.
Truss' announcement kickstarts a contest to find the next Tory leader and PM -- which should produce a result by next Friday.
Former PM Boris Johnson is reportedly expected to stand. He is currently on holiday in the Caribbean. Newly appointed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was quick to rule himself out of the race. The runner-up in the last Tory leadership race, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, is likely to run for the job again.
The exact rules for the contest have not yet been revealed. Earlier, 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady said party members around the country will have their say on who becomes the next party leader when they get a chance to choose between two finalists chosen by Tory members of parliament by Friday.
Opposition Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer says Truss has left a mess which is "doing huge damage to our economy and to the reputation of our country." He adds, "we can't have another experiment at the top of the Tory Party," saying that Labor would offer a stable government.
In a statement on social media, United States president Joe Biden said|: "I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine. We will continue our close cooperation with the U.K. government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face."
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova welcomed the departure of Liz Truss as prime minister, saying that "Britain has never known such a disgrace of a prime minister," and that Truss "would be remembered for her catastrophic illiteracy."
WATCH Liz Truss remarks at No. 10