Liz Truss awoke on Thursday to headlines declaring her premiership, less than 50 days old, was hanging by a thread. She had lost her home secretary the day before and there was confusion and chaos over a vote on a binding motion tabled by Labour on fracking. Things had become so heated there were allegations of MPs being manhandled through voting lobbies and several MPs went public saying it was time for Truss to go.
By lunchtime, party officials were in Downing Street. As Peter Walker tells Michael Safi, just after 1.30pm, she came out of No 10 and announced her resignation.
Columnist Sonia Sodha explains how the Tories will go about replacing Truss as leader and the complicated route to a possible early election.
Photograph: Tejas Sandhu/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock
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