Liz Truss UK's Prime Minister for only 44 days!

Liz Truss came to power promising a new economic and political era. It is 45 days since she became PM - the shortest premiership in British history.

Yet that period saw an historic economic gamble, an almost unthinkable number of U-turns and the junking of an entire political programme. It's been short. But not simple.

Over the summer, it all felt very different. As we travelled around the UK for hustings, it was clear Ms Truss was highly popular with Conservative members.

Her promises to slash tax and govern as a Conservative were exactly what they wanted to hear. She wasn't a flawless media performer, but she knew how to work a friendly crowd.

There were warnings from former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his supporters that her economic plans were risky and could backfire. Some said it would be electoral suicide. But they lost the argument in the Conservative Party.

With victory imminent, along with her close friend and political ally Kwasi Kwarteng, Ms Truss got to work on formulating a plan for power which would be radical and bold.

They decided they had to rip up the rules, which had been followed by previous Tory prime ministers. The economic "orthodoxy" was to go out the window. The pair prepared what aides called a "big bang" of measures - to hit the ground running.

"We are not going to be tinkering at the edges," a senior figure in Team Truss boasted.

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Turmoil has defined Ms Truss's time in office. But it has also helped define 2022. In less than one year, there have been four chancellors, and by next week there will have been three prime ministers.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63335671

Rishi Sunak is set to become new UK prime minister, replacing Liz Truss, the shortest-serving PM in British history.

Sunak on Monday clinched the race after his main opponent, Penny Mordaunt, failed to receive the backing of 100 Conservative MPs before 2pm BST.

As she withdrew from the contest, Mordaunt issued a statement on Twitter, expressing full support to Sunak and calling upon the Conservatives to rally behind the new PM. “We all owe it to the country, to each other and to Rishi to unite and work together for the good of the nation. There’s much work to be done,” she wrote.

Former UK PM Boris Johnson, who claimed to have enough support for a comeback to 10 Downing Street, announced he was pulling out of the leadership race on Sunday. “This would simply not be the right thing to do,” Johnson said in a statement.

www.rt.com/news/565233-uk-prime-minister-sunak