Liz Truss will have to resign, Tory MPs admit

I have taken soundings of many Tory MPs, and of those whose business is to know the minds of Tory MPs. All think Liz Truss will have to resign, that she has failed so comprehensively in these opening weeks that there is no route to redemption.

Their conversations are largely about how long till she goes, how long the process to find a successor would need to be and who that successor should be.

They say there are two, or possibly three, credible candidates: Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and (if he wants it) Ben Wallace.

Those two or three could agree among themselves that the runner-up in the MPs ballot would drop out, and not insist on a members ballot. So the whole competition could be done and dusted in a week.

So when will it all happen? When will the PM resign?

“These things always take a bit longer than you think they should.” said an MP who knows more about the machinations around these things than most.

He may be right. But if it is as clear as it seems to be that the party cannot conceive of Ms Truss leading them into the next election, then in practice her resignation may come much faster than anyone thinks.

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