---
title: "Liz Truss Becomes UK Prime Minister"
year: 2022
country: "United Kingdom"
canonical: "https://recap.at/2022/liz-truss-pm"
slug: "liz-truss-pm"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "2022-01-01"
---

# Liz Truss Becomes UK Prime Minister

> Liz Truss became Britain's shortest-serving Prime Minister, lasting just 49 days in September 2022 before resignations and economic turmoil forced her out.

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.

## Summary

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.

## Key facts

- **Time in office**: 50 days (September 6 – October 20, 2022)
- **Premierships shorter than Truss**: 0 (shortest on record)
- **Cabinet resignations**: 62 in final week
- **Pound drop after mini-budget**: 5% against dollar in 1 day (September 23)
- **Years as Conservative MP before PM**: 9 (entered Parliament 2010)
- **Previous roles held**: Secretary of State for Environment, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- **Successor**: Rishi Sunak (Prime Minister from October 25, 2022)

## Timeline

- **2022-09-06** - 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.
- **2022-09-23** - 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.
- **2022-10-03** - Kwarteng ousted as Chancellor
  Kwasi Kwarteng resigns after just 38 days, replaced by Jeremy Hunt, who immediately reverses most fiscal measures.
- **2022-10-14** - Truss U-turns on social care policy
  Facing backbench revolt, Truss abandons her flagship social care plan, further eroding authority among Conservative MPs.
- **2022-10-19** - 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.
- **2022-10-20** - 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.

## Impact

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.

## Sources

- [Liz Truss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/2022/liz-truss-pm