UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns after failed budget and market turmoil
Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation at 10 Downing Street on October 20, 2022 in London, England.
Leon Neal | Getty Images
LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday following a failed tax-cutting budget that rocked financial markets and which led to a revolt within her own Conservative Party.
Truss was in office for just 44 days, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. For 10 days of her premiership government business was paused following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
She said in a statement outside Downing Street, “We set out a vision for a low-tax, high-growth economy that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.”
“I recognize though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to announce that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”
The party is now due to complete a leadership election within the next week, much faster than this summer’s two-month period. Graham Brady, the Conservative politician who is in charge of leadership votes and reshuffles, told reporters he was now looking at how the vote could include Conservative MPs and the wider party members.
Her resignation came after a meeting with Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee — the group of Conservative MPs without ministerial positions who can submit letters of no confidence in the prime minister. Just before the meeting, a Downing Street spokesperson told reporters Truss wanted to stay in office.
During the hour the meeting lasted, the number of MPs publicly calling for Truss to step down reached 17. The number who had written letters to Brady expressing no confidence in the prime minister was reported to be more than 100 by Thursday.
The pound was up 1% on the day against the dollar at 3:00 p.m., trading at $1.1214. It remains at the level it was on Sept. 22, before Truss’ market-moving budget. The yields on 30-year, 10-year and five-year gilts (U.K. sovereign bonds) were all lower after Truss’ brief speech.
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Opposition parties Labour, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats called for an immediate general election on Thursday afternoon. Labour leader Keir Starmer said, “The Conservative Party has shown it no longer has a mandate to govern.”
Controversial ‘mini-budget’
On Sept. 23, Truss’ finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced a so-called mini-budget which began a turbulent period for U.K. bond markets which balked at the debt-funded tax cuts he put forward. Most of the policies were reversed three weeks later by the second finance minister, Jeremy Hunt.
Truss beat Rishi Sunak to become leader of the Conservative Party following the resignation of Boris Johnson on July 7. Sunak is now one of the favorites to succeed Truss, along with Hunt, another leadership contender Penny Mordaunt, Defense Minister Ben Wallace and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The resignation leaves the status of the Conservatives’ expected budget update on Oct. 31 uncertain, but Truss said the leadership handover would “ensure we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans.”
In her statement, Truss suggested the legacies of her brief tenure were supporting households with energy bills and cutting the rate of national insurance, a general taxation in Britain. The cut was one of very few measures of the “mini budget” to remain; while the energy support package, which was initially set to run for two years, was cut to six months.
She also said the U.K. had “continued to stand with Ukraine and to protect our own security.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said in response to the news: “The United States and the United Kingdom are strong Allies and enduring friends — and that fact will never change.”
“I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine … We will continue our close cooperation with the U.K. government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face.”
Regaining trust
Paul Dales, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics, said the new PM would need to do more to regain the trust of financial markets.
“In just a few weeks fiscal policy has swung from being ultra loose, to less loose to outright tight,” he said in a note.
“Overall, the resignation of Truss is a step that needed to happen for the UK government to move further along the path towards restoring credibility in the eyes of the financial markets. But more needs to be done and the new Prime Minister and their Chancellor have a big task to navigate the economy through the cost of living crisis, cost of borrowing crisis and the cost of credibility crisis.”
Think tank Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a report on the U.K. Thursday: “A drawn-out recession lies ahead, now that overseas investors have lost faith in policymakers, forcing the [Monetary Policy Committee] to hike Bank Rate quickly and the government to tighten fiscal policy.”
The U.K. economy was already weakening before the “calamitous” mini-budget, the authors wrote. Looking forward, the nation faces a likely pullback in consumer spending, squeeze in households’ disposable incomes, lower employment, and higher interest rates “snuffing out” recovery in business investment, Pantheon added.
Chinese carmaker XPeng is getting perilously close to bringing its AeroHT consumer eVTOL concept to market, thanks to a $250 million Series B round that’s set to accelerate the company’s modular “flying car” production plans.
XPeng subsidiary AeroHT had its first successful proof of concept test flight ahead of the brand’s annual 1024 back in 2023, where the company unveiled a pair of flying car designs. The X3 is an actual flying “car” that can drive, park, and take off on its own, and a second, modular eVTOL that folds up into the back of an electric van called the Land Aircraft Carrier.
That vehicle pair, shown at CES in January, was set to begin production this year, with the eVTOL component set to begin production in 2026 – and that’s looking a lot more likely thanks to the new infusion of capital!
AeroHT at CES 2025
Xpeng Aeroht raised $150 million in Series B1 funding last August, before launching its Series B2 funding round. The most recent announcement that the company has secured an additional $100 million in its Series B2 funding round brings the total amount raised to more than $750 million, with a $1B pre-revenue valuation.
CNEVPost reports that company aims to establish itself as a commercial pioneer in urban air mobility ahead of a potential IPO – and may get there sooner than later, thanks to several hundred pre-orders at the $280,000 projected price.
Electrek’s Take
Scooter Doll said it best, writing, “this footage (of the AeroHT test flight) is as scary and concerning as it is exciting and awe-inspiring.” Which is to say that these things are real, they seem like they’re getting built, and they seem like they’ll sell well enough to convince at least one or two remaining boomers that the flying car they’ve been promised their whole lives is – finally! – coming to market.
Here’s hoping.
SOURCE: Xpeng, via CNEVPost; gallery photos by the author.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Flooring manufacturer Beauflor USA just turned on the biggest rooftop solar system by capacity in metro Atlanta — and it’s now powering part of its Georgia factory.
The new 1,040 kW system in Cartersville officially beats metro Atlanta’s previous rooftop solar record of 1,034 kW. The new array produces enough energy to power more than 100 homes. The system is expected to cover about 10% of Beauflor’s electricity needs and cut its carbon emissions by about 920 metric tons annually.
“This solar installation represents our commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices while making sound business decisions,” said Emile Coopman, continuous improvement manager at Beauflor. He added that the system is designed with room to grow: “This is the first step toward more renewable energy.”
The company partnered with Cherry Street Energy to install the nearly 2,000-panel system, which was completed in less than four months. Cherry Street invested $1.8 million into the project and is covering all construction and maintenance costs through a 30-year energy procurement agreement. Beauflor will buy solar power directly from Cherry Street, allowing it to avoid upfront capital costs while still lowering its energy bills.
“As Georgia’s manufacturers ramp up production amid rising costs for grid energy, sophisticated operators seek ways to quickly and sustainably address their energy needs,” said Cherry Street CEO Michael Chanin. “On-site solar with no capital expense delivers just that: reliable, affordable electricity.”
Chanin added that the system’s power output is especially impressive: “The previous record-holder for metro Atlanta’s largest rooftop solar required over 4,000 panels. We’re using less than 2,000 to reliably generate even more power.”
Read more: This is New Jersey’s largest high-rise residential rooftop solar array
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc. and Square Inc., listens during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, on Friday, June 4, 2021.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Block shares jumped more than 10% in extended trading on Friday, as the fintech company gets set to join the S&P 500, replacing Hess.
It’s the second change to the benchmark this week, after S&P Global announced on Monday that ad-tech firm The Trade Desk would be added to the S&P 500. Trade Desk is taking the place of software maker Ansys, which was acquired by Synopsys in a deal that closed Thursday.
Hess’ departure comes just after Chevron completed its $54 billion purchase of the oil producer, prevailing against Exxon Mobil in a legal dispute over offshore oil assets in the South American nation of Guyana.
Block will officially join the S&P 500 before the opening of trading on July 23, according to a statement from S&P. Stocks often rally when they’re added to a major index, as fund managers need to rebalance their portfolios to reflect the changes.
Most alterations to the S&P 500 take place during the index’s quarterly rebalancing. However, in the case of the closing of an acquisition, a company can be removed from the index and replaced off schedule. Last week monitoring software company Datadog took Juniper Networks’ place in the S&P 500 as part of the index’s quarterly change.
Block’s addition brings further tech heft to an index that’s been steadily moving in that direction in recent years, reflecting the market cap gains of companies across the sector. Block, which gained popularity as Square due to the rapid growth of the company’s payment terminals, has expanded into crypto, lending and other financial services.
Founded by Jack Dorsey in 2009, Square changed its name to Block in 2021 to emphasize its focus on blockchain technologies.
Block shares are down 14% this year, underperforming the broader U.S. market. The Nasdaq is up more than 8%, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%. Still, with a market cap of about $45 billion, Block is valued well above the median company in the index.
In May, Block reported first-quarter results that missed Wall Street expectations on Thursday and issued a disappointing outlook, leading to a plunge in the stock price. Block’s forecast for the second quarter and full year reflected challenging economic conditions that followed sweeping tariff announcements by President Donald Trump.
“We recognize we are operating in a more dynamic macro environment, so we have reflected a more cautious stance on the macro outlook into our guidance for the rest of the year,” the company wrote in its quarterly report.
The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the close of regular trading on Aug. 7.
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