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British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday after just 44 days in office.

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday, bringing to a close a brief 44-day tenure mired by “mini-budget” chaos, economic turmoil and weeks of political infighting.

Speaking outside Downing Street, Truss said she had delivered her resignation to King Charles after meeting with Graham Brady, the leader of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee, earlier Thursday.

“Given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” she said in a brief speech Thursday afternoon.

The prime minister’s departure follows days of high level resignations, and a growing number of Conservative members of parliament (MPs) publicly calling for Truss’ resignation.

Truss said she will remain in place as caretaker prime minister until a successor is named, with a leadership contest expected to take place over the next week.

Here are the main contenders for the top job:

Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak, Britain’s former finance minister and Truss’ main opponent in this year’s Conservative Party leadership race, is now seen as a favorite to replace her.

Despite losing to Truss in the final round of voting by Tory members, he was the top choice among party MPs and is considered a safe pair of fiscal hands. Indeed, after being berated by Truss during the race as a voice of Treasury orthodoxy, his critique of the PM’s “unfunded tax cuts” appears to have been vindicated.

Britain’s former finance minister Rishi Sunak was Liz Truss’s main opponent in this year’s Conservative leadership race.

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The 42-year-old, who is credited with steering the U.K. economy through the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, is seen by supporters as well-placed to lead the country through its worsening cost-of-living crisis. However, some have questioned his ability to reunite the splintered Conservative Party, having played a key role in Boris Johnson’s ousting, and being implicated in controversy over his wife’s tax status.

As such, some Conservative backbenchers have proposed that a more politically palatable option would be for Sunak to form a joint ticket with fellow leadership contender Penny Mordaunt, with the pair thought to garner enough support together to secure MP backing without the need for a lengthy members’ vote.

Penny Mordaunt

Former Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt surged to prominence during the summer’s leadership race, before finishing in third place to Truss and Sunak.

Broadly seen as a consensus candidate, Mordaunt was second to Sunak in MP voting until the final round of the race, and has since maintained links with Tory MPs in her current role as leader of the House of Commons.

Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt is seen as a consensus candidate who could unite a splintered Conservative Party.

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The 49-year-old also escaped largely unscathed from the controversy surrounding Johnson’s departure, and has since demonstrated her leadership prowess in the chaotic early weeks of Truss’ premiership.

On Monday, she spoke to the House of Commons on behalf of Truss regarding the sacking of former Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng. But she has also distanced herself from Truss economically, criticizing the PM’s stance on key policies such as welfare benefits.

Boris Johnson

Former prime minister Boris Johnson has been called on by some Tory MPs to return to office, just three months after being ousted.

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Johnson previously enjoyed high levels of popularity until losing credibility in the final months of his premiership amid political scandal around Covid-19 rule-breaking and his links to disgraced MP Chris Pincher.

The 58-year-old has not spoken recently on plans for a second leadership bid, but in his parting speech he alluded to a future return to office with the words: “Hasta la vista, baby” or “see you later.”

Ben Wallace

Jeremy Hunt

Britain’s new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, brought in to replace Kwasi Kwarteng, is considered the most powerful figure in government after he came in to overhaul Truss’ economic plan and calm chaotic markets.

The 55-year-old is seen as a stable option, having previously held several senior government positions, including foreign secretary, health secretary and culture secretary. However, he has previously fallen short in a series of leadership bids, and on Thursday reportedly extracted himself from future runs.

On Monday, Hunt hinted that he would not run, telling Sky News: “I rule it out, Mrs Hunt rules it out, three Hunt children rule it out.”

Could there be a General Election?

The Conservative Party will be keen to avoid a calling a General Election ahead of the 2025 deadline, with the latest opinion polls suggesting that the Tories would suffer a landslide defeat.

However, if Conservative MPs can’t reach a consensus vote on a future leader, it is possible that the U.K. would go to the polls.

Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer on Thursday renewed calls for an immediate General Election, saying the government was too mired in “political squabbles” to lead the country.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon echoed those calls, calling an election a “democratic imperative.”

According to an Opinium poll released over the weekend, if a general Election were called now, Labour would secure 411 seats to the Conservative’s 137, marking a sizeable defeat not seen since 1997.

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Former DOT official says NYC’s 15 MPH e-bike speed limit will risk lives

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Former DOT official says NYC's 15 MPH e-bike speed limit will risk lives

If Mayor Adams gets his way, New York City will institute a new speed limit on electric bicycles, reducing the cap to just 15 mph (24.1 km/h) from the previous e-bike speed limit of 25 mph (40 km/h). It’s a move that is ostensibly meant to protect New Yorkers, but which experts have said will actually result in risking more lives.

It’s a prime example of doing more harm than good, says Michael Replogle, the former policy director for NYC’s Department of Transportation and an internationally recognized expert in the field of sustainable transportation.

The issue is that the reduced speed limit means that slower e-bikes will constantly come into conflict with higher speed traffic, routinely being passed by multi-ton cars and SUVs.

Despite the 25 mph (40 km/h) city-wide speed limit for cars in NYC, the de facto speed limit is really 35 mph (56 km/h), which is the speed at which traffic cameras begin to record infractions and issue citations.

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Previously, electric bicycles were permitted to travel at speeds up to 25 mph, helping them more closely match the speed of vehicular traffic and thus reduce the conflict rate between vulnerable cyclists and dangerously large and heavy vehicles. “I can tell you it feels much safer as a cyclist if you’re going close to the speed of the traffic than if you’re going half the speed of traffic,” Replogle explained.

“I strongly oppose the proposed rule to limit e-bikes to a 15 mph speed limit. It is an ill-considered idea to improve safety which will be counterproductive,” Replogle continued, according to NYC Streetsblog. “It is also likely to put New Yorkers at risk of a criminal record or entrapment in President Trump’s immigration dragnet.”

A large portion of the e-bike riders in NYC are immigrants who work as food delivery riders or bike couriers who are depended upon by thousands of New Yorkers every day.

“It’s a war on bikes, it’s a war on immigrants, and it undermines traffic safety,” Replogle added. “I think it’s Adams basically trying to mount a populist assault on cycling.”

Despite e-bike accidents being cited as the supposed reason for the city’s reduced bike speed limit, cars account for virtually all of NYC’s traffic-related injuries and deaths.

Electrek’s Take

I know this might come as a shock, but the experts here are correct and the politicians are wrong.

Reducing e-bike speed limits won’t make things safer; it’s just more likely to get people killed due to increased car crashes with cyclists.

This whole issue came about because a few pearl-clutching New Yorkers with money and power saw an e-bike whizz past them closer than they were comfortable with, and wanted it to stop. This has nothing to do with protecting people’s lives. If that were the primary goal, then they’d limit cars to 15 mph, not e-bikes. Only one of the two is a highly effective killing machine, and I’ll give you a hint – it’s not the one that weighs as much as a small child.

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Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit

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Electrek FSGP 2025: New teams, new cars, same solar spirit

The sun has set on a frantic day of scrutineering at this year’s Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), as teams scramble to qualify for a spot on the starting line tomorrow morning. Electrek FSGP 2025 is shaping up to be one of the event’s most attended ever, thanks to a strong showing of first-time and returning schools. But that also means new and unproven vehicles on the track.

Today, I walked through a couple of bays and talked with a few of the teams able to spare a minute; almost all of them were debuting completely new cars that were years in the making. Building a solar car is no easy feat. It’s not just the engineering and technical know-how that’s often a hurdle for them; it’s more often monetary. However, one of the things that makes this event so special is the camaraderie and collaboration that happen behind the scenes.

Northwestern University is back with a completely new car this season, its eighth since the team’s original inception in 1997 during the GM Sunrayce days. Its motor controller, which is responsible for managing the flow of power from the batteries to the motor, was given to them by the Stanford team. Stanford had extras and could spare one for Northwestern, which needed a replacement. It doesn’t stop there. Two members of the Northwestern team (Shannon and Fiona) told me four other teams helped them with a serious tire replacement around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, saving them from missing important parts of scrutineering.

This is also an exciting year for the West Virginia team, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a solar car team, making them one of the oldest teams on the track. With age comes wisdom though: WV is competing again this year with its single-occupant vehicle, Sunseeker. The team ran into issues after last year’s American Solar Challenge (ASC) cross-country event when the vehicle’s control arm, an important part of the suspension that connects the wheels to the chassis, broke. They tell me this year they’re back with a completely redesigned control arm made of both aluminum and steel. Thank you, Hayley, John, and Izzy, for taking the time to talk.

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We’re also seeing new builds this year from the University of Florida, the University of Puerto Rico, NC State, and UC Irvine. Believe it or not, the latter team has never competed in an American Solar Challenge/Formula Sun Grand Prix. This is their first year. UC Irvine doesn’t expect to be on the starting line tomorrow but hopes to be on the track soon after.

On the other hand, we have tried-and-proven cars like my personal favorite, Polytechnique Montréal’s Esteban, which undergoes minor improvements each year. I talked a little bit with this team today, and they told me the car’s motor was dropped, disassembled, and cleaned in preparation for the event. Polytechnique Montréal has passed scrutineering and will appear on the starting line tomorrow.

Polytechnique Montréal

Teams that haven’t wrapped up scrutineering in the last three days can still complete it, though doing so will eat into time on track.

Last year, École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS) and Polytechnique Montreal took first place in the Single-Occupant Vehicle (SOV) and Multi-Occupant Vehicle (MOV) classes, respectively. There’s something in the water in Canada.

You can learn more about the different classes and the specific rules here.

I’ll continue to post more updates as the event continues!

2025 Electrek FSGP schedule

The 2025 Electrek FSGP will again be held at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which, interestingly enough, General Motors occasionally uses for Corvette testing and development. A bit of a full-circle moment being so close to the company that started it all.

The event is open to the public and FREE to attend. Come see the solar car race up close!

Racing starts on July 3 from 10am to 6pm CT and continues through July 5 from 9am to 5pm CT.

July 2 (Wednesday)

  • 9am–7pm: Scrutineering
  • 10am–8pm: Altair Challenge

July 3 (Thursday)

  • 10am–12pm: Altair Challenge
  • 10am–6pm: Hot Track
  • 6pm–8pm: Evening Charging

July 4 (Friday)

  • 7am–9am: Morning Charging
  • 9am–5pm: Hot Track
  • 5pm–8pm: Evening Charging

July 5 (Saturday)

  • 7pm: Awards Ceremony
  • 7am–9am: Morning Charging
  • 9am–5pm: Hot Track

2025 Electrek FSGP teams

Purdue

Kentucky

Florida

Berkeley

UT Austin

Iowa State

RIT

Northwestern

Michigan State

Stanford

Illinois State

Washington

Virginia Tech

Illinois

Waterloo

British Columbia

Missouri S&T

Georgia Tech

Poly Montreal

SIUE

Calgary

Rutgers

Toronto

Florida Poly

Virginia

UC Irvine

Western Ontario

NC State

McMaster

Montana State

UOP

Western Michigan

Puerto Rico

App State

If you’re interested in joining us in sponsoring these events, please get in touch here!

Featured image via Cora Kennedy for Electrek FSGP/ASC.

Note: The Formula Sun Grand Prix is not in any way associated or affiliated with the Formula 1 companies, FORMULA 1 racing, or the FIA Formula One World Championship.

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

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Troubling times for Tesla, Nissan, and Dodge – plus some fun yellow stuff!

Tesla’s Q2 results are in, and they are way, way down from Q2 of 2024. At the same time, Nissan seems to be in serious trouble and the first-ever all-electric Dodge muscle car is getting recalled because its dumb engine noises are the wrong kind of dumb engine noises. All this and more on today’s deeply troubled episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got an awesome article from Micah Toll about a hitherto unexplored genre of electric lawn equipment, a $440 million mining equipment deal, and a list of incompetent, corrupt, and stupid politicians who voted away their constituents’ futures to line their pockets.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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