Liz Truss resignation reaction: what politicians have said so far - including Keir Starmer and Nicola Sturgeon

Liz Truss has announced her resignation, making her term as Prime Minister the shortest in British political history.

It’s been a disaster from start to finish for the Conservative politician, and both her allies and rivals have been commenting on the news that her time in office is now over. Here’s how politicians have been reacting to the news so far...

Keir Starmer: ‘We need a general election – now’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for an immediate general election in the wake of Liz Truss’s resignation.

The Labour leader said: “The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern. After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos. In the last few years, the Tories have set record-high taxation, trashed our institutions and created a cost-of-living crisis. Now, they have crashed the economy so badly that people are facing £500 a month extra on their mortgages. The damage they have done will take years to fix.

“Each one of these crises was made in Downing Street but paid for by the British public. Each one has left our country weaker and worse off.

“The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people. They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish.

“The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future. They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future. We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.”

Nicola Sturgeon: ‘It’s beyond hyperbole’

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a general election is a “democratic imperative” after the resignation of the PM. “There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately,” the First Minister wrote on Twitter.

“It’s beyond hyperbole – & parody. Reality tho is that ordinary people are paying the price. The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now. A general election is now a democratic imperative.”

She then followed this up with a dig at the Tories, after it was pointed out by a journalist that Truss had failed to have a formal meeting with the First Minister during her 44 days in office: “If she doesn’t mind, I’ll now just wait for whoever will become the 5th PM (so far) during my time as FM”

Ed Davey: ‘We don’t need another Conservative Prime Minister’

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also called for a general election. “We don’t need another Conservative Prime Minister lurching from crisis to crisis,” he tweeted. “We need a General Election now and the Conservatives out of power.”

Penny Mordaunt: ‘Keep calm and carry on’

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said she would “keep calm and carry on” and encouraged others to do the same, following the news.

Asked in the Commons about Truss’s resignation and the state of the government, Mordaunt said: “I am going to keep calm and carry on – and I would suggest everyone else do the same.”

Emily Thornberry: ‘They can’t patch this up’

Labour’s Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said: “We should have a general election – it is the only thing that we should have. They can’t patch this up, they have caused a crisis.

“This crisis was made in Downing Street, working people are paying the price and we need a government that people can trust.

“The only way we’re going to get any order or sense is to have a Labour government. We should have a general election, let the people choose.”

Douglas Ross: ‘We must now move forward quickly’

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross tweeted: “I wish Liz Truss and her family well. She has made a tough choice but it is the right decision. We must now move forward quickly and the new Leader and Prime Minister will have to restore stability for the good of the country.”

Mark Drakeford: ‘A complete and utter failure’

The First Minister of Wales, said: “This has been a complete and utter failure of government, with everyone in this country now having to pay the price.

“The complete lack of leadership is preventing decisions and actions from being taken to deal with the many challenges we are facing and help people over what is going to be a very difficult winter.

“Unfortunately, the deep and intractable divisions within the government means that any successor put forward will face the same set of challenges. A general election is now the only way to end this paralysis.”