Hundreds of thousands back Independent’s petition for general election after Truss quits

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [View online]( October 21, 2022 [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [Dramatic departure of Liz Truss fuels demands for early general election]( Liz Truss’s resignation to make way for the third prime minister in just eight weeks has led to a surge in demand for a general election. Within hours of her announcement, signatures on The Independent’s campaign for an immediate poll passed a quarter of a million and leading figures joined the call to give the public a say in deciding the next government. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the public “deserve a proper say on the country’s future”, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey issued a call for Conservative MPs to “do their patriotic duty, put the country first and give the people a say”. And Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The interests of the Tory party should concern no one right now. A general election is now a democratic imperative.”   2 / [Candidates to replace Liz Truss will need support of 100 MPs to join Tory race]( High threshold – it was 20 nominations last time – could keep Boris Johnson out of contest 3 / [Kevin Spacey did not molest actor Anthony Rapp, jury finds]( Spacey flatly denied the claims he molested a then 14-year-old Rapp at his Manhattan apartment in the 1980s 4 / [US citizen pleads guilty to causing death of British teenager by careless driving]( Harry Dunn’s family have fought for years to bring Anne Sacoolas to court as she had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf following fatal crash 5 / [Dead baby had ‘extraordinary’ discoloured patches on skin, Lucy Letby trial told]( The newborn twin died at the Countess of Chester Hospital just over 24 hours after his premature birth     The Big Question What did Liz Truss do wrong? Here we go again. The year of two monarchs and[three prime ministers.]( The year when the British constitution was tested to the limit yet again. The year when the Tory party finally ran out of talent and ideas. But 2022 has more excitement in store. What did [Liz Truss]( do wrong? Most of all, she got her economic policy wrong, which was largely down to a fundamental misunderstanding about how markets work, and how fragile Britain’s economy actually is. She and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were incredibly arrogant. Those were unforced errors. She couldn’t recover from them. More broadly, Truss herself was, I’m sorry to say, too vain to see that she didn’t possess the skill set that would have made her a competent – let alone inspiring – leader. She was just as wooden, intellectually dull, weak and incompetent as feared, and indeed as was perfectly apparent during the leadership campaign. [For the full story click here >](   Watch/ [Who could replace Liz Truss as prime minister?](   NUMBER OF THE DAY £115,000 – [Liz Truss]( will be able to claim up to £115,000 from the [taxpayer]( per annum despite having the shortest tenure of any British [prime minister]( in history.   QUOTE OF THE DAY “What I saw last night in parliament was not OK. It is not for me to say what individuals can tolerate or if they perceive themselves as harassed or bullied. So I won’t. What I can say is what I will or won’t tolerate.” – Labour MP Jess Phillips on the scenes at Westminster on Wednesday night as a vote on a debate on fracking became a confidence vote in the government       Other stories you might like   [Chess grandmaster Hans Niemann sues rival Magnus Carlsen and others for $100m over cheating allegations](   [James Corden tells reporter it’s ‘beneath him’ to care about Balthazar row](   [Cost of living crunch forcing shoppers to ditch green products](       Articles available exclusively to subscribers John Rentoul, The Independent [- What are the likely terms of the deal to replace Liz Truss?](   Other newsletters you might like [The Race Report] The Race Report Fortnightly, 7am (UK time) Written by Nadine White [Sign up]( [Inside Politics] Inside Politics Weekdays, 8am (UK time) Written by Matt Mathers [Sign up](   If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.