Ione Wells
Political correspondent

I'm told by senior Conservatives that there are MPs talking about triggering by-elections if Boris Johnson is serious about standing to be leader again.

I've heard from MPs tempted to themselves, and gathering evidence of defections and resignations in the event of his return.

It looks like things could get messy very quickly for the party if he does decide to stand, as some of his allies want him to.

Mark Logan MP has become the first Tory to announce they're #standing - quite literally.

The MP for Bolton North East tweeted from hospital, where he is understood to be recovering following a hip operation.

Logan tweeted "I'm standing #standing" - alongside a picture of himself, standing.

Ankur Shah
BBC News

Liz Truss’s resignation is being talked about on China's tightly-censored social media platform Weibo, where the hashtag "Truss becomes Britain's shortest-serving prime minister" has been viewed over 32 million times already.

With the Communist Party’s congress taking place since Sunday, many other international events have been downplayed over the last week, however Truss’ resignation is being widely reported.

The highlighting of her "short and chaotic" premiership is consistent with the Chinese state’s criticism of what it terms “Western-style democracy”.

Chinese media have been widely reporting what one newspaper termed her "trust crisis" for days now. Outlets breaking the news today have stressed the brevity of her term.

The Shanghai-based site Guancha also highlighted that it ended after she "turned the British economy upside-down", with the abandoning of her proposed 45% tax rate "seen as a humiliating climbdown".

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

I’ve been speaking to a couple of former government ministers who resigned from Boris Johnson’s government today.

A lot of them are gobsmacked that people are now touting Johnson’s name again as a contender for leader.

One asked if people had forgotten that he faces an investigation and could get kicked out of the Commons, and resigned after a series of mass resignations.

Another said the party had gone “mad” and was talking to itself if it thought he could come back, arguing that while he won a general election mandate in 2019, that was pre-Covid, pre-partygate and before it emerged that he knew about sexual misconduct allegations regarding the former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.

Some of them are hopeful their former colleague Rishi Sunak may return.

Though one puts it bluntly to me when discussing the task at hand for whoever does decide to throw their hat in the ring and volunteer to lead the party right now: “Who would want to go through that? I’d rather drink bleach.”

Image source, PA Media

Labour has a manifesto ready to go for when there’s a general election and a return of Boris Johnson would “add insult to injury for the public”, Sir Keir Starmer has told the the BBC Newscast podcast.

The leader of the opposition said: “There’s a manifesto that is going to be ready whenever an election is called.”

He added: “I’ve had a team working on that. I’ve had a team working on general election preparedness. We’ve moved our teams onto a general election footing."

Asked whether he wouldn’t mind facing Boris Johnson again, Sir Keir said: “No. I share the view that he was unfit for office.”

“So if they're going to go from this experiment, this chaos, this economic damage, [and] wind back three months to a man who was deemed to be unfit for office, I think that only adds insult to injury for the public [who will be] knocking on the door saying, ‘Hang on, why can’t we have a say on this?'"

• Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds or watch it tonight on BBC One and iPlayer.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for Boris Johnson to be barred from standing in the Conservative Leadership election and returning to Number 10.

Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper MP said:

Image source, Getty Images

Shortly after Liz Truss announced she was stepping down as PM, reports surfaced in the Times and Daily Telegraph that her predecessor was thinking of making a comeback.

We've reported on those suggestions a little earlier, but here's what a handful of Boris Johnson's biggest political allies are saying.

This morning former culture secretary Nadine Dorries said there was only "one person" who had been "elected by the British public with a manifesto and a mandate until January ‘25". The well-known Johnson loyalist also tweeted to say "MPs must demand [the] return of Boris Johnson - if not it has to be leadership election or a GE [general election]".

James Duddridge, the current minister of state for international trade and a former parliamentary private secretary of Johnson's, was more direct. "I hope you enjoyed your holiday boss," he tweets. "Time to come back. Few issues at the office that need addressing." He also included a new hashtag that's doing the rounds: #bringbackboris.

Another Johnson loyalist, Michael Fabricant, says the former PM "may not be the first choice of MPs... but he most certainly is amongst the membership". Without him, calls for a general election will grow, he warns.

Fellow Conservatives Paul Bristow and Brendan Clarke-Smith have been sharing the same message. Johnson "would be a fine choice" for the top job, Bristow tells Sky News, before adding he doesn't know if the former leader "even wants it".

Image source, .

We've yet to hear officially who might stand to succeed Liz Truss - she only announced she was resigning as PM a few hours ago.

But bookmakers are already giving us their insights as to who may have the best chance to take over at 10 Downing Street.

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak and Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt - who both did well in the recent leadership contest - are currently out in front. But former PM Boris Johnson has quickly risen to third place.

Ione Wells
Political correspondent

So far a couple of Tory MPs whose names had been rumoured as "in the mix" have ruled themselves out of running to be the next Tory leader - including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

We are still yet to formally hear from any candidates that they are definitely running.

But MPs are increasingly starting to form into camps, with several publicly saying they would back either Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt.

One group that will be interesting to watch are the more centrist One Nation Conservative MPs, many of whom did not like Liz Truss. There doesn’t yet seem to be a consensus around who some of them might back.

Some Tories are keen on Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch throwing their hat in the ring. I’m told Braverman hasn't decided, not ruling herself in or out yet.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

The prime minister was the author of her own demise.

She would still be PM had she not pushed ahead with the mini-budget, which caused her economic experiment - the entire basis of her leadership mandate - to fail in full view of the country and the world.

Her conference would have been about the generous energy guarantee help, and not the 45p tax. Last week would have been about the fall in gas prices across Europe perhaps and global inflation, not the corporation tax U-turn and Kwasi Kwarteng’s sacking.

Today probably would have been about the Russian use of missiles in the Black Sea.

And even then, she probably could have got much of the mini-budget through the Commons and past the markets with a more patient approach.

Her resignation though is about much more than a Number 10 exit. The question now is whether it will end the instability, or if what comes next might make it even worse.

Michael Race
Business Reporter, BBC News

The chancellor’s fiscal statement is still scheduled to go ahead on 31 October despite the resignation of Liz Truss, the Treasury says.

The date was set when Kwasi Kwarteng was chancellor, and Jeremy Hunt is still due to make that statement. He has, of course, since dismantled most of the economic policies in Truss and Kwarteng's so-called mini-budget.

However, The Times is reporting there are questions about whether it will instead be delayed given leadership contest., external

Economic analysts have warned Hunt faces "scary" decisions on spending after undoing swathes of his predecessor's tax cuts.

Hunt shelved almost all of tax changes and scaled back support for household energy bills, but experts believe there is still a black hole of up to £40bn in the public finances to fill.

Image source, Getty Images

Now that Liz Truss has resigned, Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dem are all calling for an immediate general election - but could there be one?

The next election isn't due until January 2025 - this is five years from the day the current Parliament first met, plus election campaign time.

Any decision to hold an earlier election usually rests with the prime minister.

Alternatively, a motion of no confidence in the prime minister in the House of Commons could force a general election.

To pass, the motion would just need one more MP voting in favour than against. If the government lost the vote, a general election would normally be called

However, for a no confidence motion to pass, Conservative MPs would need to vote down their own government, which many would be very unlikely to do.

Read more: When is the next general election and could it be called sooner?

We've been speaking to people in Winchester - which is one of the more marginal seats in the country. It's currently held by Conservative MP Steve Brine, who has a majority of 985.

Tim and Liz Bewsher tell us they think it's right that Liz Truss has resigned.

Tim describes it as "very good news", adding: "At last the Tories have seen sense and pushed her out."

Liz says she thought Truss was "absolutely appalling" and believes there should now be a general election.

Tim agrees saying, "You can't keep putting in another prime minister that Tories are electing among themselves."

Tory MPs must be prepared to compromise to ensure there is a "sensible, competent government", former PM Theresa May says.

She tweeted: "The prime minister is right to provide a roadmap for an orderly transition.

"MPs must now be prepared to compromise.

"It is our duty to provide sensible, competent government at this critical moment for our country."

May served as prime minister from 2016-2019 before she herself resigned following a revolt over her Brexit plans.

Liz Truss's favourability as prime minister plummeted to -70%, according to a YouGov poll.

The favourability rating measures the difference between the proportion of people saying they have a favourable opinion of her and those who have an unfavourable opinion.

The study spoke to 1,724 British adults between October 14 and 16 - that is, before the tumultuous events of this week.

Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has welcomed the departure of Liz Truss as prime minister, saying that "Britain has never known such a disgrace of a prime minister," and that Truss "would be remembered for her catastrophic illiteracy".

Zakharova was likely referring to a comment Truss made when she was the foreign secretary, in which she appeared to confuse two regions of Russia with Ukraine.

Ireland's finance minister Paschal Donohoe hopes the engagement between the EU and the British government on the Northern Ireland Protocol can continue in the wake of Liz Truss's resignation.

The Northern Ireland Protocol part of the Brexit deal, and it means goods lorries don't face checkpoints when they go from Northern Ireland - in the UK - to the Republic of Ireland in the EU.

It has been a source of tension since it came into force at the start of 2021.

Reacting to Truss's resignation, Donohoe told reporters in Dublin "resolution of this longstanding challenge will be a really positive signal amidst the many different difficulties that we're all dealing with".

• You can read more about the Northern Ireland protocol here.

Sir Ed Davey reiterates it is time for the Conservative Party to go and for an election to be called.

"I think there's a big movement in the country for a general election," the Liberal Democrat leader says.

He adds: "I can't believe Boris Johnson is considering putting himself forward. There's an inquiry into whether he misled parliament and the whole of the British people.

"It's quite outrageous if Tory MPs allow him back.

"Moving the deck chairs on the Titanic is not what this country needs."

Image source, PA Media

US President Joe Biden has put out a statement on the PM's resignation. It reads:

"The US and the UK are strong allies and enduring friends - and that fact will never change. I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine.

"We will continue our close cooperation with the UK government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face."