# Canonical recap data for Liz Truss Becomes UK Prime Minister (2022)
# Source: https://recap.at/2022/liz-truss-pm
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: liz-truss-pm
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/2022/liz-truss-pm"
title: Liz Truss Becomes UK Prime Minister
aliases:
- Truss ministry
- 49 days
- shortest premiership
- September 2022 government
subtitle: Liz Truss became Britain's shortest-serving Prime Minister, lasting just 49 days in September 2022 before resignations and economic turmoil forced her out.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 2022-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 2022
decade: 2020
country:
name: United Kingdom
slug: united-kingdom
summaryShort: 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 Parlia
summaryLong: 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.
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Official_portrait_of_Liz_Truss_%283x4_cropped_b%29.jpg/1280px-Official_portrait_of_Liz_Truss_%283x4_cropped_b%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Liz Truss"
importance: 58
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Time in office
  value: 50 days (September 6 – October 20, 2022)
- label: Premierships shorter than Truss
  value: 0 (shortest on record)
- label: Cabinet resignations
  value: 62 in final week
- label: Pound drop after mini-budget
  value: 5% against dollar in 1 day (September 23)
- label: Years as Conservative MP before PM
  value: 9 (entered Parliament 2010)
- label: Previous roles held
  value: Secretary of State for Environment, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- label: Successor
  value: Rishi Sunak (Prime Minister from October 25, 2022)
timeline:
- date: 2022-09-06
  title: Liz Truss sworn in as Prime Minister
  description: Truss succeeds Boris Johnson after his resignation. At 47 years old, she becomes the UK's third female prime minister.
- date: 2022-09-23
  title: Mini-budget triggers market turmoil
  description: 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.
- date: 2022-10-03
  title: Kwarteng ousted as Chancellor
  description: Kwasi Kwarteng resigns after just 38 days, replaced by Jeremy Hunt, who immediately reverses most fiscal measures.
- date: 2022-10-14
  title: Truss U-turns on social care policy
  description: Facing backbench revolt, Truss abandons her flagship social care plan, further eroding authority among Conservative MPs.
- date: 2022-10-19
  title: Mass cabinet resignations begin
  description: Within hours, 62 ministers and MPs resign from government roles, including Suella Braverman (Home Secretary) and others citing lack of confidence.
- date: 2022-10-20
  title: Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister
  description: Truss announces resignation after 49 days, becoming the shortest-serving UK prime minister ever. Rishi Sunak takes over five days later on October 25.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss"
  title: Liz Truss
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: 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.
categories:
- election
metaDescription: Liz Truss became UK PM for 50 days in 2022, the shortest tenure in British history before resigning amid economic crisis.
wikidataQid: Q272201
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- parliamentary_crisis
- government_collapse
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- governance
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: emergent
intentionality: spontaneous
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: death
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20220707185530/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss"
  capturedAt: 2022-07-07
  label: Liz Truss
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss"
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Official_portrait_of_Liz_Truss_%283x4_cropped_b%29.jpg/1280px-Official_portrait_of_Liz_Truss_%283x4_cropped_b%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Official_portrait_of_Liz_Truss_%283x4_cropped_b%29.jpg/800px-Official_portrait_of_Liz_Truss_%283x4_cropped_b%29.jpg"
  caption: Liz Truss
  credit: Wikipedia · "Liz Truss"
  width: 330
  height: 441
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Secretary_Blinken_Meets_with_UK_Foreign_Secretary_Truss_%2851738298638%29.jpg/1280px-Secretary_Blinken_Meets_with_UK_Foreign_Secretary_Truss_%2851738298638%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Secretary_Blinken_Meets_with_UK_Foreign_Secretary_Truss_%2851738298638%29.jpg/800px-Secretary_Blinken_Meets_with_UK_Foreign_Secretary_Truss_%2851738298638%29.jpg"
  caption: Secretary Blinken Meets with UK Foreign Secretary Truss (51738298638)
  credit: U.S. Department of State from United States
  width: 3041
  height: 3041
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Armen_Sarkissian_attends_the_2021_United_Nations_Climate_Change_Conference_%2817%29.jpg/1280px-Armen_Sarkissian_attends_the_2021_United_Nations_Climate_Change_Conference_%2817%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Armen_Sarkissian_attends_the_2021_United_Nations_Climate_Change_Conference_%2817%29.jpg/800px-Armen_Sarkissian_attends_the_2021_United_Nations_Climate_Change_Conference_%2817%29.jpg"
  caption: Armen Sarkissian attends the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (17)
  credit: President of the Republic of Armenia
  width: 1600
  height: 1200
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/PM_Liz_Truss_announces_Grant_Shapps_as_Home_Secretary_%2852440276323%29.jpg/1280px-PM_Liz_Truss_announces_Grant_Shapps_as_Home_Secretary_%2852440276323%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/PM_Liz_Truss_announces_Grant_Shapps_as_Home_Secretary_%2852440276323%29.jpg/800px-PM_Liz_Truss_announces_Grant_Shapps_as_Home_Secretary_%2852440276323%29.jpg"
  caption: PM Liz Truss announces Grant Shapps as Home Secretary (52440276323)
  credit: Number 10
  width: 7914
  height: 5279
