Draft:Political History of the United Kingdom (2022-Present)

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Conservative Government, 2022-2024

Liz Truss (September – October 2022)

Main article: Premiership of Liz Truss
Truss announcing her resignation as Conservative leader

The premiership of Liz Truss began on 6 September 2022 following a leadership election. Queen Elizabeth II's invitation for Truss to form a government was one of her last acts as monarch before her death just two days later. This saw Charles III ascend to the throne and the funeral of the late monarch dominating Truss's first weeks in office.[1]

Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled a "mini-budget" on 23 September 2022 which proposed cutting various taxes against the backdrop of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The budget received significant backlash, with the price of the pound as well as Truss's approval rating to fall to record lows.[2][3] Kwarteng resigned, with Jeremy Hunt taking over as Chancellor, who reversed all proposals of the mini-budget within days; however this did not alleviate the political pressure on Truss. She announced her resignation on 20 October 2022, making her the shortest serving Prime Minister to date.[4] A leadership election was called to replace Truss within a week of her announcement.[5] A head of lettuce gained international notoriety for outlasting Truss during a livestream by the Daily Star.[6]

Rishi Sunak (2022–24)

Main article: Premiership of Rishi Sunak

The premiership of Rishi Sunak began on 25 October 2022 following a leadership election. Sunak is the first prime minister invited to form a government during the reign of King Charles III, as well as the first British Asian, first British Indian, first person of colour, and first Hindu prime minister.[7] He is also Britain’s wealthiest ever prime minister as a former hedge fund manager.[8] Sunak attended and spoke at the coronation of Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023.[9] Sunak has reshuffled his cabinet twice, the latter of which resulted in the return of the former prime minister David Cameron to government as Foreign Secretary. Under Sunak, the Conservative Party continued be generally unpopular according to polls and results of local elections.[10] Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Greens made huge gains at the expense of the Conservatives in the 2023 and 2024 local elections.[11][12] Sunak has called a general election for 4 July 2024.

Sunak continued to oversee the British government's response to the cost-of-living crisis and a rise in labour disputes. He and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt have continued the levelling up policy introduced during the Johnson premiership. In response to the continued rise of migrants arriving by small boats, Sunak proposed the Illegal Migration Act 2023.[13] Sunak supports Johnson's policy of lowering net migration, continuing the plan to have asylum seekers and illegal immigrants sent to Rwanda for processing.[14] After the plan was blocked by the UK's Court of Appeal in June 2023 due to concerns over international law and the possibility of refoulement, the government introduced the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.[15][16] Sunak authorized further foreign aid and weapons shipments to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of the country.[17] In February 2023, Sunak negotiated the Windsor Framework, an agreement with the European Union (EU) designed to address the issue of the movement of goods between the European single market and Northern Ireland in the current Northern Ireland Protocol.[18] The 2024 general election will be held on 4 July 2024.[19]



References

  1. ^ Landler, Mark (2022-09-12). "From Policy to Pageantry: Prime Minister Liz Truss's Dizzying First Week". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  2. ^ "Economic anarchy in the UK : Planet Money". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  3. ^ "Liz Truss's poll ratings plummet lower than Boris Johnson's before he was forced out". The Guardian. 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  4. ^ "The shortest serving Prime Ministers in history as Liz Truss sets new record". Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  5. ^ "Truss triggers Tory leadership contest - what happens next?". The Guardian. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Our lettuce outlasted Liz Truss, British paper declares, as PM quits". Reuters. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  7. ^ "Rishi Sunak vows to fix Liz Truss's mistakes in first speech as PM". BBC News. 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  8. ^ Adu, Aletha; correspondent, Aletha Adu Political (19 May 2023). "Rishi Sunak's family fortune falls by £200m in Sunday Times rich list". The Guardian.
  9. ^ "Here's Everyone Who Will—and Won't—Go to King Charles III's Coronation". Time. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  10. ^ Cunliffe, Rachel (2024-04-03). "Rishi Sunak's reverse Midas touch". New Statesman. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  11. ^ Bishop, Matt Clinch,Katrina (2024-05-03). "Britain's ruling Conservatives hit with another local defeat as general election nears". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-05-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Mason, Rowena (2024-05-03). "Conservatives crushed by 'worst local election result' in years". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  13. ^ "Rishi Sunak: Hurdles in the race to pass Illegal Migration Bill". BBC News. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  14. ^ Mason, Rowena (30 November 2023). "Rishi Sunak says he 'inherited' very high immigration from Boris Johnson". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Suella Braverman's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda ruled unlawful by Court of Appeal". The Independent. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  16. ^ "New Rwanda bill gives ministers power to disregard some human rights law". BBC News. 6 December 2023. Archived from the original on 6 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Ukraine war: Rishi Sunak visits President Zelensky in Kyiv as he pledges £50m in aid". BBC News. 19 November 2022. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  18. ^ McClafferty, Enda (2 October 2023). "Windsor Framework: New NI trade rules 'will work unbelievably well'". BBC News.
  19. ^ "Rishi Sunak announces 4 July vote in Downing Street statement". BBC News. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
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