DEVELOPING STORY: Liz Truss today fired the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, in a desperate attempt to avoid becoming the shortest serving Prime Minister in British history. That record has been unbroken since 1827 when Conservative Prime Minister, George Canning, died just 118 days after he was elected. Truss has only been in office for 38 days and it is unlikely the country can survive another 80 days under the most incompetent leader in recent times.

Truss summoned Kwarteng from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Fall meetings in Washington, DC, where he was presumably mending fences and restoring confidence in the British government after The Fund issued a rare and public criticism of Kwarteng's mini-budget on 23 September 2022, which set off the chain of events leading up to today's sacking. Read the ONGOLO article Tories going for broke as the pound sterling tanks

Rumours started swirling in the morning that Kwarteng was going to be hung out to dry. The Times Political Editor, Steven Swinford, tweeted at 11:28 BST: "I'm told that Kwasi Kwarteng is being sacked as Chancellor as Liz Truss prepares to reverse the mini-Budget. Not clear who will be replacing him. Events moving very, very quickly this morning. No. 10 not commenting". Side note: we recommend following this Twitter handle as the next few weeks will be interesting.

Kwarteng tweeted his resignation letter at 13:03 BST today without comment. The letter said:

"You have asked me to stand aside as your Chancellor. I have accepted"

Kwasi Kwarteng. 14 October 2022.

Truss appeared at a news conference this afternoon which lasted all of eight minutes, where she made a dramatic U-turn on the proposals set out in the mini-budget and appointed Jeremy Hunt as the new Chancellor. It is unclear why Hunt, who was once a serious contender for PM, would join a sinking ship. Truss only took four questions during the press conference, including why the Chancellor was taking the fall for the policies that Truss had campaigned on. She made no apology, took no responsibility, repeatedly said she is "decisive" when she is anything but, and continued to blame Putin and the War on Ukraine for the problems that the country faces. All traits of a weak leader.

To say British politics is in crisis is an understatement. The ramifications of the quick succession of Tory Prime Ministers and Chancellors (we have had four in 2022 alone!) are significant. Calls for Scottish independence will only grow louder with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who last week said she "detested the Tories", among those calling for Truss to resign, saying she is "out of her depth". Within the Conservative party, Truss' U-Turn means she is no longer able to deliver the promises she made when she was elected party leader. False advertising! She has lost all credibility and needs to go.

If Belgium could survive nine-months without a government in 2020, then so too can the United Kingdom. We, the people, need a break from politicians. Let the technocrats get on with the job. MPs should focus on constituency matters, which is what they were elected to do. And let Larry the Cat keep Downing Street rat-free until sense and sensibility is restored to British politics.