Frustrated Britons have little sympathy for Truss

LONDON — The swift departure of Britain’s second prime minister in just six weeks left many Britons who had already stared down a year of economic and political turmoil in a state of frustration and bewilderment Thursday — even if the news came as little surprise.

As reports of the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss flashed across screens and cellphones and blared over radios, people across the political divide were united in concern over what the future holds.

“We are in an economic crisis, a political crisis, a food crisis — an everything crisis,” said Cristian Cretu, a gas engineer on a break from work. “Whoever is going to replace her, I don’t think they will make a difference.”

Others were dumbfounded at her sudden departure.

“Are you serious?” said Michael Debas, an Uber driver, as he learned of Truss’ resignation over the radio. “This is just crazy. What’s going on in this country?” he said as he began to count Britain’s recent prime ministers on his fingers.

Truss, whose financial plan sent economic markets into a tailspin and pushed up borrowing costs, said Thursday that she would remain party leader and prime minister until the appointment of a successor. It was not yet clear who would replace her. Her abrupt resignation threatens to only compound the country’s myriad crises, leaving people fearful at a time when households and businesses are grappling with galloping inflation and a slowing economy.

“It’s the economy, stupid!” said Clyde Godden, 65, a butcher in South London, recalling the phrase that captured the U.S. economic malaise of the early 1990s.

“The tax cut was the end for me, it was just so insulting,” said Godden, a longtime Conservative supporter, referring to an attempt by Truss and her former chancellor of the Exchequer to cut taxes for top earners.

Godden said he had now turned his back on the party. “Who even wants to do it?” he said sarcastically when asked who might take over.

“I don’t know much about politics, but I know it’s a mess,” added his stepson, Jacob.

As Diana Godwin, 61, worked at her vegetable stand in Brixton, in South London, she said she was “not surprised at all” by the resignation.

“But who wants to throw their hat into the ring now?” she added.

“When they lose the next election, that one will have to be sacked, too,” she said of the governing Conservatives and whoever becomes Britain’s next leader.

With the government in chaos, Britons are wondering what the instability at the top of the government could portend for a country battling double-digit inflation and widening economic malaise.

“It feels like the economy could collapse at any moment,” Edward Brusnahan, 53, said. He was in the middle of trying to refinance his apartment so that he could move away from the city. But with the mortgage market disrupted by Truss’ budget and rates rising sharply, it was no easy task.

He said that political leaders had “no vision” to address the nation’s mounting problems and that Britain seemed to be regressing back to the painful economic times of the 1970s.

“We’re lurching from crisis to crisis,” he said. Nevertheless, he called Truss’ decision to quit “the right decision,” saying, “Hopefully they’ll make a better choice this time.”

In poorer parts of London, where the pain of rising costs has been more pronounced, there was anger, frustration and exhaustion with the chaos in Britain’s government and the worsening economic news.

Ghifftie Bonsu, 47, who was opening her wig shop along with her young son, said she had become numb to Britain’s multiplying crises. Customers have dwindled as prices march ever upward, and she worries about the business’s future.

“I don’t even know where to start,” Bonsu said of the political turmoil. “They should pick people who are ready and can do the job.”

That sense of government incompetence has also bled into an all-consuming worry about how bad Britain’s economic crisis could get. On Wednesday, it was announced that consumer prices had risen by 10.1% in September from a year earlier, propelled by food prices that soared 14.5% in September.

“Everything — the cost of living — is too much,” said James Hill, 32, who was fixing an elevator Thursday morning. With two young children, Hill said he was working as much overtime as he could, which meant less time with his family.

Customers at a clothing stall owned by Sevin Singh, 39, have all but dried up amid Britain’s cost-of-living crisis, and he said he worries about the future of the 20-year-old family business.

“The government doesn’t have control anymore. Every day something changes,” said Singh, as he busied himself on a rainy Thursday morning tending to his collection of women’s turbans and dashiki dresses. Of Truss, he said, “She was just not good enough for the job, and we urgently need someone who is.”

Christopher Egege, who had spent the past few months abroad, returned to London and was stunned at how far prices for everything from eggs to sauces and other foodstuffs had been marked up. If things did not improve, Egege said he would consider moving back overseas in a few months.

Egege said he believed that Rishi Sunak, Britain’s former chancellor of the Exchequer — whom Truss had beaten in the last leadership contest — should have become prime minister.

“I don’t understand why they voted for her,” he said referring to Truss. “Is it down to racism?” (Sunak’s parents are of Indian heritage.)

Among the few people who expressed some sympathy for Truss was Fay Ferguson, an architect, who had left a morning meeting to find that the political landscape of the country had shifted. Although she said Truss was not the right person to lead Britain, Ferguson said she felt sympathy for her given the circumstances.

“It’s a tough gig being prime minister, but she probably didn’t have much support,” she said.

Others were less forgiving. “If I do badly at my job, I will get fired,” said Vid Jerasa, 26, a project coordinator who was getting air on Thursday when he heard about the resignation. “No more making excuses.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.