Political chaos reigns in UK

New Delhi: During the last four months, the British public has witnessed a lot, with change of three Prime Ministers, four Chancellors and a new monarch, it definitely is taking a toll on the political scene of the country.

Liz Truss resigned as the Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party on Thursday after reading out a statement outside 10, Downing Street. She said she was doing so because she could not deliver the mandate on which she was elected as the Tory leader, just 46 days before.

The stormy days

Truss, who assumed office on September 6, assured the electorate that her government will "ride out the storm" together and she will do everything to bring the living costs down by imposing a cap on energy prices for the next two years. The not so mini fiscal plan that was intended to boost UK growth, spooked the investors, and sent the pound to a record low against the dollar. Sterling's fall produced higher import prices, and concerns about skyrocketing borrowing costs. It also forced the Bank of England to take emergency measures, committing to buy 65 billion pounds in bonds to calm gilt markets after a sell-off which is due to end on October 14.

Truss's mini-budget was seen as overly aggressive, with her tax proposals and spending initiatives viewed as unsustainable, moreover these cuts were unfunded and affected the investors and market's confidence in the UK economy. Another blow was served when her Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigned on October 19, after backpedalling furiously on her statement calling Indians the biggest visa overstayers in the UK. But the failure of her fleeting leadership was really written by financial markets. Investors immediately protested her disastrous "growth plan" when it was revealed in September.

Now who?

Current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has refused to run but Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt are all seen as contenders. Though Rishi seems to a current favourite of the bookies, yet his policies seem to more in tune with the market forces and no sympathy could be expected from him to overhaul the crumbling social care, health and public housing sectors in Britain. Other names being floated are Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Braverman.

On the other hand the opposition Labour Party smelling blood has called for a general election. In a statement on Twitter on October 20, UK Labour Party's leader Keir Starmer said the British people deserve "so much better" than this "revolving door of chaos, each one of these crises was made in Downing Street but paid for by the British public. Each one has left our country weaker and worse off, the Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people."

To a certain extent Starmer seems right. But if we peep a little bit more deeply in history, then these chaos in the UK unfolded with the onset of the Brexit saga. The Conservatives seem to have taken the electorate for granted and in fact they have elected two Prime Ministers without going back to the public and both have been shown the door unceremoniously. And now they are ready to thrust a third unelected Prime Minister on the British public.