Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss Resigns after Six Weeks
2022-10-21
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday after only six weeks in office.
2Truss was brought down by economic policy that shook financial markets and divided her Conservative Party.
3A party leadership election will be completed within the next week to replace Truss.
4She will be the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain's history.
5The earlier record-holder, George Canning, died in office after 119 days in 1827.
6Truss said, "I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected."
7She said, "I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party."
8Conservative lawmakers have increasingly called on Truss to step down after she was forced to drop most of her economic policy.
9The program announced on September 23 sent the British pound lower, creating disorder in the financial markets.
10"It's time for the prime minister to go," said lawmaker Miriam Cates.
11Another, Steve Double, said of Truss: "She isn't up to the job, sadly."
12And legislator Ruth Edwards said, "it is not responsible for the party to allow her to remain in power."
13Just a day earlier Truss had promised to stay in power, saying she was "a fighter and not a quitter."
14Truss apologized and admitted she had made mistakes during her six weeks in office.
15But she said that by changing the program she had "taken responsibility and made the right decisions in the interest of the country's economic stability."
16But Truss could not hold on after a senior minister quit her government and a vote in the House of Commons turned chaotic.
17Truss was elected leader of the Conservatives and became Prime Minister following the resignation of Boris Johnson.
18Party lawmakers said her most likely replacement could be former finance minister Rishi Sunak, or Penny Mordaunt, who came third in the race to become the next prime minister six weeks ago.
19A national election does not have to be held until 2024.
20But opposition leader Keir Starmer of the Labor Party said, "Britain cannot afford the chaos of the Conservatives anymore. We need a general election now."
21I'm Caty Weaver.
1British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday after only six weeks in office. 2Truss was brought down by economic policy that shook financial markets and divided her Conservative Party. 3A party leadership election will be completed within the next week to replace Truss. She will be the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain's history. The earlier record-holder, George Canning, died in office after 119 days in 1827. 4Truss said, "I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected." She said, "I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party." 5Conservative lawmakers have increasingly called on Truss to step down after she was forced to drop most of her economic policy. The program announced on September 23 sent the British pound lower, creating disorder in the financial markets. 6"It's time for the prime minister to go," said lawmaker Miriam Cates. Another, Steve Double, said of Truss: "She isn't up to the job, sadly." And legislator Ruth Edwards said, "it is not responsible for the party to allow her to remain in power." 7Just a day earlier Truss had promised to stay in power, saying she was "a fighter and not a quitter." Truss apologized and admitted she had made mistakes during her six weeks in office. But she said that by changing the program she had "taken responsibility and made the right decisions in the interest of the country's economic stability." 8But Truss could not hold on after a senior minister quit her government and a vote in the House of Commons turned chaotic. 9Truss was elected leader of the Conservatives and became Prime Minister following the resignation of Boris Johnson. Party lawmakers said her most likely replacement could be former finance minister Rishi Sunak, or Penny Mordaunt, who came third in the race to become the next prime minister six weeks ago. 10A national election does not have to be held until 2024. But opposition leader Keir Starmer of the Labor Party said, "Britain cannot afford the chaos of the Conservatives anymore. We need a general election now." 11I'm Caty Weaver. 12Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English from Associated Press and Reuters sources. 13________________________________________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15mandate -n. the power to act that voters give to elected leaders 16allow -v. to permit something to happen 17chaotic -adj. in a state of complete disorder