Liz Truss has announced that she is stepping down after 45 days as prime minister, leading charity sector bodies to call for stability from the government.
A Conservative leadership election will be completed within the next week, Truss has said, and she will remain as prime minister until a successor has been chosen.
On her resignation, Truss said: “I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability” adding “I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.”
Charity sector bodies said the lack of stability meant that the cost-of-living crisis was not being focused on adequately, and called for a government which would focus on the needs of the most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, leader of the opposition Keir Starmer as well as leaders of the Lib Dems, Green Party and SNP have all called for a general election.
ACEVO: ‘Legitimacy to hold a political mandate severely compromised’
ACEVO chief executive Jane Ide said: “We are now on to our third prime minister of 2022 with yet more disruption to come. Whoever Conservative MPs now elect as the next in a long line of leaders will have their legitimacy to hold a political mandate severely compromised, and it’s not difficult to imagine a general election will come soon.
“The chancellor’s call for stability made just a few days ago is a far cry from the reality of the political turmoil we’re living through.”
Ide said that among this “chaos and instability” in Westminster, communities find themselves in “increasingly desperate straits, through no fault of their own, with the issues and matters affecting them and their livelihoods ignored”.
She added: “Our country needs and deserves a government in place that will focus on the needs affecting the most disadvantaged and on the urgent public policy issues to deal with the cost-of-living crisis and tackling the ever-growing deep-rooted inequalities in our communities that hamper growth and stability.”
NPC: ‘Another week of indecision is the last thing we need’
Theo Clay, NPC's policy manager, said: “The ongoing drama may create a lot of excitement among pundits, but for everyone suffering from the cost-of-living crisis, and for the charities working hard to support them, another week of indecision is the last thing we need.
“There are many crises going unchecked: the cost-of-living, the climate crisis, a looming recession, and the persistent inequalities that levelling up was meant to address.
“These crises have not gone away, and they are only getting worse. The next prime minister will need to act fast, and charities must be at the heart of decision-making for solutions to be effective.”
NCVO: 'Charities are struggling to meet skyrocketing demand for help'
Sarah Vibert, chief executive at NCVO, said: “In recent weeks, we have repeatedly called for political stability. We are experiencing a vacuum of leadership in the face of urgent and multiple crises.
“People are already going without food and heating, and charities are struggling to meet skyrocketing demand for help. We need a government that will prioritise the needs of people and communities across the country.
We need a government that will prioritise the needs of people and communities across the country.”
Children's Society: ‘So much unnecessary damage inflicted in such a short time’
Mark Russell, chief executive of the Children's Society, said: “It has been beyond belief to see so much unnecessary damage inflicted in such a short time under this failed premiership. Across the country, families and children have been let down by the lack of any targeted support for those hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis.”
Russell said the government must show that they understand the urgency of what needs to be done and meet its call for benefits to be kept in line with inflation.
“It cannot be right to push hundreds of thousands more children into poverty which is precisely what will happen if they fail to stick to their words and honour this critical commitment. It is clearly unacceptable that children could be left cold and hungry.”
Leonard Cheshire: ‘Uprate benefits inline with inflation’
Dear future Prime Minister - uprate benefits inline with inflation.
— Leonard Cheshire (@LeonardCheshire) October 20, 2022
That is all. For now. pic.twitter.com/eKHXQW2ZCv
Related Articles
