The United Kingdom has been through rough times in the last few years. From Brexit to the recent death of the Queen, the British people have been witnessing the disappearance of many constants in their reality. Now, the country is facing a political turmoil, an economic crisis, and a widespread public discontent about the direction the country is going to. Regularly changing Prime Ministers does not help to solve these problems.
As the results of the 2016 referendum to leave the EU became clear, David Cameron, the incumbent PM, announced his resignation. He was the one to propose the referendum and was confident that the people would vote to remain in the EU, but he miscalculated the odds and became a victim of his own victory (Boffey, 2019). He was then succeeded by Theresa May, the second female PM of the UK after Margaret Thatcher.
The most difficult task that awaited Theresa May was the drafting of a withdrawal agreement which would finalise the Brexit. In order to strengthen her hand and to secure a larger majority, she called for snap elections that resulted her party to lose the overall majority, retaining, however, the control of the government. When she failed to get the parliamentary consent for her withdrawal agreement for three consecutive times, she resigned (Langfitt, 2022). His successor, Boris Johnson, was a fierce supporter for the “leave campaign” during the Brexit referendum.
Brexit was the main cause of resignation of the last two PMs. This seemingly difficult task, however, was not much of a problem for Mr. Johnson who completed the withdrawal of the UK from the EU within the first year he took the office. In the meantime, his party scored the highest percentage of votes in 40 years (UK Parliament , 2020). What brought him down was the social gatherings and even parties during lockdowns when the entire population was stuck at home. Moreover, his government’s late response to the pandemic resulted in UK having the highest death toll in Europe (Worldometer, 2022) (Reuters, 2021). His resignation triggered a race for the Conservative leadership, which consequently meant premiership.
Among the candidates, two appeared to stand a chance: Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. The in-party elections resulted in the victory of Ms. Truss, making her the third female PM of the UK. Her mandate was characterised by an assertive economic plan that included unrequited tax cuts after a pandemic which had already brought an immense burden on the public finances of the country (IFS, 2021). The financial markets that were already vulnerable due to the Ukrainian conflict, deemed this plan to be unfeasible (Langfitt, 2022). She first fired her Chancellor of the Exchequer and then resigned only after 44 days in office, and Mr. Sunak took her place being the only bid for the office of the Prime Minister.
Ms. Truss has been the 8th consecutive Prime Minister to resign, a sequence started by Margaret Thatcher in 1990. The reasons for resignation in the last few years are fairly different compared to the previous holders of the same office. However, it cannot be coincidence that the country has seen this many PMs in such a short time. According to many, the main reason for this repeated failure has been Brexit (Langfitt, 2022). In the second place, also the flawed system of government has contributed to the turmoil which allows the PMs to freely appoint anyone to important roles of the government without parliamentary oversight (Langfitt, 2022). Lastly, the electoral system of the country might have been a major cause either. In the UK, it is not the parliamentarians who vote for their leaders but all the members of the party. This means that the next PM is decided by a group of people who, in the case of the Conservative party, are usually more conservative than the rest of the British population. These people tend to be less informed and less critical as an electorate (Langfitt, 2022). All these reasons, together with the personal incompetence of the recent holders of this office, brought political turmoil to a nation that needs stability more than ever to overcome the present difficulties.
Bibliography
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IFS. (2021, 06 04). How did COVID affect government revenues, spending, borrowing and debt? https://ifs.org.uk/taxlab/taxlab-key-questions/how-did-covid-affect-government-revenues-spending-borrowing-and-debt
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Langfitt, F. (2022, 10 22). The U.K. will have 5 prime ministers in just 6 years. What's gone wrong? https://www.npr.org/2022/10/20/1130184234/liz-truss-prime-minister-resigns-uk-turmoil
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