Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss lost her seat in Thursday’s general election as the center-right Conservative Party faced a crushing defeat at the polls after 14 years of governing Britain.
Truss, who had held the member of Parliament for South West Norfolk since 2010, came second to Terry Jermy, the candidate of the center-left Labour Party, by a margin of 630 votes.
Truss had won 69% of the vote in her constituency in the last general election.
In an interview with the BBC following the announcement of the result, Truss said the Conservatives “did not do enough to take on the legacy we’d been left.”
Asked if she intends to stay in conservative politics, Truss did not offer a direct answer.
“I’ve got a lot to think about,” she told the BBC’s Ros Atkins. “It’s been a very, very hectic few weeks.”
Truss was elected by Tory members to succeed Boris Johnson after he resigned as prime minister in July 2022. She lasted just 45 days as British leader after her botched economic plan spooked the markets, prompting her resignation.
Truss was among several prominent Tory members who lost their seats Thursday, including Penny Mordaunt, the former leader of the House of Commons; Grant Shapps, the former defense secretary; and Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former cabinet minister.
Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took responsibility for the devastating result as he announced he would step down as Conservative leader once a successor has been selected.
“To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success I’m sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved,” he said. “It pains me to think how many good colleagues who contributed so much to their communities and our country will now no longer sit in the House of Commons.”
As of early Friday, the Conservatives had lost at least 246 of the seats they’d held in the House of Commons as Labour won Thursday’s elections in a landslide, with leader Keir Starmer becoming the country’s new prime minister.
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