“A General Election is now the only way to end this paralysis,” says Wales’ first minister

A General Election is now the only way to end this paralysis, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said today.

His comments come following the resignation this afternoon of Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The news came via statement in Downing Street via a short speech at a podium by the PM a few minutes ago, where the PM confirmed she would be a caretaker PM until a leadership election is “completed within a week”.

PM Truss won 57.4% of ballots from Conservative party members in a leadership contest, making her the new leader and confirmed by the Queen on 6 September.

Her brief premiership has been dominated by the cost of living crisis, and a now infamous ‘mini budget’ on the 23rd of September which relied heavily on government borrowing – and was effectively scrapped.

A short election process between Conservative MPs and members will now take place to elected a new prime minister within the next week – with Rishi Sunak and Penny Mourdant the current front runners to replace Liz Truss.

Responding to the prime minister’s announcement, First Minister Mark Drakeford said a General Election is the only way forward.

He said: “This has been a complete and utter failure of government with everyone in this country now having to pay the price.

“The complete lack of leadership is preventing decisions and actions from being taken to deal with the many challenges we are facing and help people over what is going to be a very difficult winter.

“Unfortunately, the deep and intractable divisions within the government means that any successor put forward will face the same set of challenges.

“A General Election is now the only way to end this paralysis.”

Opposition parties have today moved to call for a general election.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS and Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts MP said: “This chaotic circus is proof once and for all that Westminster will never work for Wales. Only Plaid Cymru can offer the communities of Wales a better future.

“Another Prime Minister gone, but there is still no recognition that it’s not the individuals in Downing Street that’s the problem, but the fundamental contradictions within the Tory party as a whole.

“Brexit lies created a vacuum of accountability in Westminster – and allowed talentless zealots to seize the reins of power without an inkling how to use them. People in Wales are looking aghast at the chaos after being lectured for years that we need Westminster to survive.

“We urgently need a General Election so that the people of Wales can reject this Westminster chaos at the ballot box. There is a duty now on Welsh Conservative MPs to recognise that their government’s time is up. Unless they do so, this disgraceful chaos will drag on indefinitely.”

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds stated: “Liz Truss was right to resign, but lets be clear, the problem isn’t just her or any individual Minister – the entire Conservative Party is dysfunctional from top to bottom and is unfit to lead the country.

“Since 2015, the Conservatives have lurched from extreme to extreme, causing economic vandalism on a massive scale. We owe it to the households, individuals and businesses up and down Wales and the rest of the UK who have been hit hard by this crisis, to take firm action now.

“We do not need another Conservative Prime Minister lurching from crisis to crisis, we need a general election, we need the Conservatives out of power and we need real change.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats are prepared to fight a general election and play our role in removing the Conservative Party from power.”