By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Conservative MPs in Nottinghamshire are calling for “stable” governance upon the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss after 44 days in office, and Labour MPs say “good riddance”.
Ms Truss had met with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, just hours before she announced she would be stepping down because she was unable to deliver the mandate her peers elected her on.
The announcement of a mini-budget, unveiled by her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on September 23, prompted economic turmoil due to a spate of unfunded tax cuts.
A resulting £65bn rescue package was announced by the Bank of England in a bid to stabilise pension funds, with the pound crashing against the dollar.
The chancellor was soon sacked and replaced by Jeremy Hunt, who almost immediately reversed almost all mini-budget decisions.
And the final nail in the coffin seemingly came upon the resignation of Home Secretary Suella Braverman and a chaotic vote on fracking, which prompted Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards (Con) to send in a letter of no-confidence because trust between the PM and the party “no longer existed”.
MPs and councillors across Nottinghamshire are voicing their opinions.
Responding to questions on his constituency Facebook group, Mansfield MP Ben Bradley (Con), who is also the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “I didn’t call on Boris to go, I didn’t back either of the final options of candidates, I haven’t sought to drag down this Prime Minister, I’m cracking on trying to get key local priorities heard and key projects delivered.
“I wish I had more power over it, that would be simpler, but as I have said, I have played no part in the actions that created this chaos, none of it was my preferred choice.
“I am just one of 350-odd MPs with a voice in this, so I cannot ‘fix’ it either.
“I just want a stable, Conservative approach that allows us to deliver for people.”
Voicing her thoughts on Conservative Home, Ruth Edwards said that, in the Commons on October 19, MPs were coaxed into voting with the Government to oppose a ban on fracking, going against the party’s 2019 manifesto, otherwise their whip would be removed.
It was then revealed it was not a confidence vote and chaos in the Commons ensued.
She said: “The Prime Minister has shown breath-taking economic and political incompetence during her short tenure in office.
“It is not responsible for the party to allow her to remain in power. Not when her actions can have such detrimental consequences for our constituents.”
Brendan Clarke-Smith (Con), MP for Bassetlaw, called for the return of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Newark MP Robert Jenrick pledged support for former contender Rishi Sunak.
Tom Randall (Con) for Gedling and Darren Henry (Con) for Broxtowe remained tight-lipped.
Clifton West Cllr Andrew Rule (Con) said the last few weeks had been “a distraction.”
He said: “The Party now need to quickly select a new Leader to unite the party and get back to the business of governing the country, progressing the Levelling Up agenda and devolution deal for Nottingham and the wider East Midlands region.”
Labour MPs in Nottingham said “good riddance” to Ms Truss.
Nottingham North’s Alex Norris (Lab) and Nottingham South’s Lilian Greenwood (Lab) spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service to share their thoughts.
Mr Norris, the shadow levelling up minister, said: “Liz Truss’s legacy is increased mortgage bills for Nottingham people.
“We don’t need yet another Conservative Prime Minister, we need an election and a new government.”
Lilian Greenwood called for an election, echoing a statement from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
She added: “Liz Truss may have resigned, but my constituents in Nottingham South deserve so much better than the Tory chaos she’s leaving behind.
“We’ve had 12 years of Tory failure, starving our local services, communities and schools of funding, pushing our NHS to breaking point, and creating a cost-of-living crisis.
“Now, they have crashed the economy so badly that people face paying an extra £500 a month on their mortgages – on top of sky-high prices and record levels of taxation.
“Many of my constituents have been in touch, desperately worried about how they will cope this winter.
“The damage to our country will take years to fix.”
Nadia Whittome (Lab), who represents Nottingham East, posted on Twitter: “Liz Truss is gone. Good riddance.
“Liz Truss will go down in history as one who crashed the economy during an already devastating cost of living crisis, by giving handouts to the rich.
“Everyone who put her in power is responsible for this.”
