UNITED KINGDOM: Suella Braverman, the UK’s hardline interior minister, resigned on Wednesday with a broadside at Liz Truss before her lawmakers openly argued in parliament, heaping further uncertainty on Prime Minister Truss’ chances of surviving after her right-wing economic plan collapsed.
Suella Braverman became the second senior minister to resign from Truss’ Cabinet in just two weeks, just five days after Truss fired her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng.
She resigns due to a “technical” violation of government regulations, leaving behind a chaotic day for Truss in Parliament.
Several hours after she announced her resignation, lawmakers got into a fight in the open because they weren’t sure whether a vote on fracking was a vote of confidence in her administration.
Although two MPs from Truss’s Conservative party claimed they had not witnessed any such behaviour, opposition lawmakers alleged that Truss’s politicians were being bullied into supporting the administration.
Charles Walker said he was “livid” at the “talentless people” who had installed Truss in power merely out of a desire for employment.
In a video that some other conservative legislators posted in accord, he said, “I think it is a disaster and a shame.”
Since Sept. 23, when she unveiled a “mini-budget”—an economic plan of significant unfunded tax cuts that sent shockwaves through financial markets—Truss, who has been in office for just over six weeks, has been fighting for her political survival.
A few lawmakers have publicly asked for her resignation, and others have suggested potential candidates.
Following the events in parliament, there were allegations that the deputy and the person in charge of maintaining discipline in the Conservative party had resigned.
When asked on television if the rumours were true, business minister Jacob Rees-Mogg responded, “I’m not quite clear on what the issue is.”
Braverman, who confirmed her resignation, said that she had violated the law by sending a parliamentary colleague an official document from her email account.
She continued, though, that she had grave reservations about the government and that expecting things to go better was not a practical strategy.
In a letter sent to the prime minister, she wrote, “I have made a mistake. I accept responsibility. I resign.”
Grant Shapps, a former minister, was named as a replacement by Truss, who recently claimed that Truss was fighting an uphill struggle to survive.
Shortly after Shapps arrived at the Home Office to begin his new position, the Commons, where MPs were voting on fracking, descended into chaos.
Media reports stated that Truss and Braverman may have argued over immigration. Braverman, who recently claimed to have dreamed of seeing asylum seekers sent to Rwanda, has argued for taking a strict stance on immigration levels.
Scenes in parliament devolved into turmoil after a move to turn a vote on fracking into a confidence vote because Conservative legislators weren’t sure if they had to support the government’s position.
Although the government’s proposal was approved by a vote of 326 to 230 and the main opposition Labour Party’s resolution was lost, some members expressed their displeasure with the government’s tactics—or lack thereof.
Despite some of them being absent due to illness or other obligations, voting results revealed that tens of Conservative MPs abstained from the vote.
For the first time since Hunt largely abandoned her tax-cutting plan, Truss had to face a boisterous prime minister’s questions session in parliament just hours ago. She fought her way out.
When Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour party, questioned the prime minister in the Commons, “What’s the sense of a prime minister whose promises don’t even last a week?” She replied, “I am a fighter and not a quitter.”
In front of booing opposition legislators in parliament, Truss said, “I have been quite clear that I am sorry and that I have made mistakes.” I’m ready to make the difficult choices, she continued.
Additionally, she made an effort to pacify lawmakers by revealing her spending intentions. She declared, after several days of doubt, that she would raise state pension payments by inflation.
Also Read: United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss Apologizes for Any Errors
