# Liz Truss tries to lead the UK {and resigns as of 2022-10-20} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 5, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992 "2022-09-05T14:06:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 28
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/541 "2022-10-22T23:26:07Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Out of curiosity what would the process be if Truss either dropped dead or resigned with _immediate_ effect? Who would take over as acting Prime Minister while the Tories were choosing a new leader? They have a Deputy Prime Minister. Google says it’s currently Thérèse Coffey. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/542 "2022-10-23T00:34:10Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > We interrupt this thread with a musical interlude: I don’t know why this is so funny 😄 [In the end (Linkin park)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk6O2a8SrDU) is also awesome. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/543 "2022-10-23T00:50:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I watched that video about Jacob Rees-Mogg. Weirdly, he’s younger than me by a few years, but seems like someone from my father’s generation. He looks like an elongated Jeffrey Combs. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/544 "2022-10-23T02:16:46Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Who gets to decide when there is a vote of confidence? Do the minority parties in the Commons have any say? > > If it’s completely up to the prime minister, that seems like a pretty weak valve for democratic pressures. The thing is, if the Opposition is able to band together on a confidence matter and defeat the government, then they will keep doing so. That’s the strength of it. And the government can’t then get its budget passed, can’t pass any laws. The opposition may be able to take control of the legislative agenda and start passing their own bills. The political reality then is that there has to be an election, because the government is not able to govern. It never gets to that point, because the PM takes a trip to HM / the GovGen / etc and advises a dissolution and election. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/545 "2022-10-23T02:18:10Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’d call him Sir Roderick Spode, but it’s not funny. Well played, old chap! ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/546 "2022-10-23T13:10:24Z")
For your amusement, we have the name of some of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s children. We, however, refer to him as “The Haunted Pencil” in our house: - Peter Theodore Alphege - Thomas Wentworth Somerset Dunstan - Anselm Charles Fitzwilliam - Alfred Wulfric Leyson Pius - Sixtus Dominic Boniface Christopher ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/547 "2022-10-23T13:13:47Z")
Wow. Those names are so _unusual_ that I had to Google to see if you were kidding. (Spoiler: you were not.) And in doing so I found this description of him, “the honourable member for the early 20th century.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/548 "2022-10-23T13:48:42Z")
Somebody is missing from this lineup… [![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vScEA2sYeBs/TtVVZrvOFCI/AAAAAAAAKQU/F_9L8DewFMk/s400/Upper%2BClass%2BTwit%2Bof%2Bthe%2Byear.png) ](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vScEA2sYeBs/TtVVZrvOFCI/AAAAAAAAKQU/F_9L8DewFMk/s400/Upper%2BClass%2BTwit%2Bof%2Bthe%2Byear.png) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/549 "2022-10-23T16:23:59Z")
And the irony of it is that, while there’s money in the family, he’s not quite as upper-crust as he affects. His father was a journalist (all right, editor of The Times), his grandfather came from a line of country lawyers but married a wealthy American, which funded life as country gentry. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/550 "2022-10-23T16:32:37Z")
Thanks for sharing that. I was going to if no one else had. That seems to be the exact sensibility JR-M seems to inspire. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/551 "2022-10-23T16:40:56Z")
Mary Anne charlotte Emma is the one missing on the list. As their sixth child is named six…they do love Latin. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/552 "2022-10-23T16:46:52Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > Mary Anne charlotte Emma But… that’s … _normal !!_ (Unless that lowercase “c” is deliberate ?) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/553 "2022-10-23T19:45:30Z")
She’s just a girl. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/554 "2022-10-23T20:43:46Z")
Everyone’s favorite mop-top isn’t an option anymore: ['Not the right time': Johnson pulls out of leadership race - Sunak could be PM as early as today | Politics News | Sky News](https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-pulls-out-of-conservative-leadership-race-12728576) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/555 "2022-10-23T20:45:59Z")
So probably Rishi Sunak will win? ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/556 "2022-10-23T21:00:46Z")
That definitely seems like the most likely outcome now. ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/557 "2022-10-23T21:30:54Z")
Not if enough of the Boris backers go to Mordor - sorry, Mord_aunt_. Then it’s anyone’s guess who the Tory membership at large would vote for… OB ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/558 "2022-10-23T21:35:29Z")
> [@Oswald\_Bastable](#): > > Not if enough of the Boris backers go to Mordor - sorry, Mord_aunt_. This assumes Boris actually had the backers he says he did (which is kind of belied by his desperation in asking both Sunak and Mordaunt to step aside). But even if it’s _all_ of the 60 who’d publicly declared for him, she’d still be quite shy of the threshold. 60+27 \< 102. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/559 "2022-10-23T21:57:01Z")
Shit there go my hopes for further name-calling, hair-pulling and fisticuffs. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/560 "2022-10-23T22:48:25Z")
I think we can surmise, based on the way he clung on like a lamprey the last time he was in power, that if Boris was anywhere within spitting distance of 100 backers, he would be oozing along the corridors of Parliament this second, making un-keepable promises and declaring premature victory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992.md?page=29)