Newspaper headlines: 'Time up' as 'Truss clings on by sacking Kwarteng'
- Published
Images of a somewhat downcast Liz Truss appear on many of the front pages. The Daily Mail, external says the prime minister's first 38 days in office have proved some of the most shambolic in British political history - after what it describes as "another day of barely believable Tory chaos". The paper asks: "how much more can she - and the rest of us - take?"
"Government imploding", is the Daily Mirror's take - with a prediction that Ms Truss could be out of No Ten in days, external as MPs plot to oust her.
The Times quotes a source who says Kwasi Kwarteng, the former chancellor, believes that "the wagons are circling" for the PM. The paper also quotes a Whitehall source as saying that senior civil servants are now openly talking about her departure, adding: "They think she's had it."
In a comment piece, Quentin Letts says Ms Truss stuck to her script in a meagre, nine-minute press conference - then "skedaddled" after taking just four questions. And what was remarkable, he writes, was how "zoned-out" she remained during this "excruciating, probably ruinous sequence".
The Independent online also reports that Tory MPs believe Ms Truss could be removed within "days or weeks", external. It says Conservative grandees are expected to visit her imminently to say that crumbling support on the backbenches means "the game is up".
The Sun's headline is: "Lame duck Liz on the brink", external and the 'i' says her "disastrous" press conference has left Conservatives MPs aghast, external. However, the Daily Express says the "vultures are circling" but Ms Truss is "not for quitting", external.
A senior Tory who backed Ms Truss for the leadership tells the Financial Times that she will be gone within a fortnight, external. In its editorial, the paper says her government has got off to the worst start of any in Britain's post-war history and has been forced into another "devastating" U-turn. It warns Ms Truss faces a monumental struggle to convince her MPs she is capable of rehabilitating her own and her party's image, and of leading Britain forward. The paper concludes that if Tory MPs move against her quickly, that would be "welcome" - but the next leader of the country should then be settled by a general election.
"A day of chaos" is the Guardian's headline, external - and its editorial asserts that the PM's "terse" press conference, "devoid of contrition", served only to prove to MPs that she is incapable of improving.
However, the Daily Telegraph says the PM deserves to see the rest of her agenda through, external. It argues that although they fumbled the execution disastrously, Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng were right in their central analysis - and it's no time for Tory MPs to go wobbly.
The Daily Star continues its vegetable-based brand of political satire, external. Its front page pictures a lettuce alongside Liz Truss, with the question: "How long can Wet Lettuce Liz Romaine?" The paper has then gone one step further and set up a live stream online - so the public can monitor which lasts longer: a 60p Tesco lettuce or Ms Truss' time in office.