Can a Prime Minister be fired? How Liz Truss could be forced to resign

Liz Truss is struggling with the lowest approval ratings a UK primer minister has ever had (Daniel Leal/PA)

Despite having been the Prime Minister for just six weeks, Liz Truss is facing calls from inside her own party to step down, following financial turmoil further triggered by the mini-budget.

Ms Truss has faced scrutiny from Tory MPs Crispin Blunt, Andrew Bridgen, and Jamie Wallis, who have all publicly stated they believe she should resign, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described her as a “threat”.

The Daily Mail reported that Tory MPs will attempt to oust the PM this week, with more than 100 already planning to submit letters of no confidence.

But aside from losing a general election or resigning, how can a prime minister be forced to leave?

A prime minister can be fired through a vote of confidence among Conservative lawmakers. But party rules state that the leader is safe from a formal challenge during their first year in office, meaning a vote couldn’t be held until 2023.

However, if there was sufficient pressure from within the Conservative party, the 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers could change the rules and enable a confidence vote to take place earlier.

For this to happen, 15 percent of the Conservative Party’s 355 MPs would need to write a letter to the Chairman of the 1922 committee requesting a confidence vote.

A vote of no confidence could also be put forward by opposition parties. If enough Tory MPs side with the opposition and the government loses, the prime minister would be expected to either resign or request a dissolution of parliament, triggering an election.

If Ms Truss loses a vote of confidence (or if she steps down) from Conservative legislators in her leadership, the 1922 Committee is in charge of the procedure for choosing a new head of state.

It occurred earlier this year, when a specific number of candidates needed to qualify for the ballot and were subsequently reduced by lawmaker ballots to a final two –Ms Truss and Rishi Sunak.

It was a lengthy process, so some have suggested the Committee should employ a different method such as supporting a unity candidate by making the nominations hurdle so high that only one candidate could be on the ballot.

However, others have warned that this way of replacing Ms Truss would be undemocratic.