In short
Liz Truss became UK Prime Minister on September 6, 2022, following Boris Johnson's resignation, but lasted just 50 days in office before stepping down on October 20 amid economic turmoil and mass resignations from her government. Her tenure was the shortest in British history, upended by a mini-budget that triggered a pound collapse and forced the Bank of England to intervene in gilt markets.
How it unfolded.
The five-minute version
What actually happened.
Mary Elizabeth Truss is a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down amid a government crisis, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. The member of Parliament (MP) for South West Norfolk from 2010 to 2024, Truss held various Cabinet positions under three prime ministers – David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson – lastly as foreign secretary from 2021 to 2022.
Year by year.
Across 44 days, 6 pivotal moments.
Timeline
How it actually unfolded.
Liz Truss sworn in as Prime Minister
Truss succeeds Boris Johnson after his resignation. At 47 years old, she becomes the UK's third female prime minister.
Mini-budget triggers market turmoil
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveils £45 billion in unfunded tax cuts. The pound drops 5% in one day; gilt yields spike. Bank of England announces emergency bond purchases.
Kwarteng ousted as Chancellor
Kwasi Kwarteng resigns after just 38 days, replaced by Jeremy Hunt, who immediately reverses most fiscal measures.
Truss U-turns on social care policy
Facing backbench revolt, Truss abandons her flagship social care plan, further eroding authority among Conservative MPs.
Mass cabinet resignations begin
Within hours, 62 ministers and MPs resign from government roles, including Suella Braverman (Home Secretary) and others citing lack of confidence.
Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister
Truss announces resignation after 49 days, becoming the shortest-serving UK prime minister ever. Rishi Sunak takes over five days later on October 25.
The numbers.
5 numbers that anchor the scale.
By the numbers
The countable parts.
Time in office
0 days (September 6 – October 20, 2022)
Premierships shorter than Truss
0 (shortest on record)
Cabinet resignations
0 in final week
Pound drop after mini-budget
0% against dollar in 1 day (September 23)
Years as Conservative MP before PM
0 (entered Parliament 2010)
The visual record.
The chain begins -
The chain of consequence.
Impact
What followed.
Truss's brief premiership exposed the instability of Britain's parliamentary system and the limits of radical fiscal policy during an energy crisis. Her collapse accelerated economic uncertainty and handed control to Rishi Sunak, setting the stage for Labour's landslide election victory less than a year later.
Captured in time.
Captured before it changed
The web as it looked, the day it happened.
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Sources & citations.
Sources
Where this came from.
Every claim on this page traces to a public, license-clean source. We don't asterisk well.
Wikipedia
1 source- 1.Liz Truss
en.wikipedia.org