Sir Keir Starmer has called for an immediate general election after Liz Truss announced her resignation as prime minister.
The Labour leader said the Conservative Party has “shown it no longer has a mandate to govern”, adding that British people “deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos”.
“The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people,” Sir Keir said in a statement.
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“They do not have a mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish.”
“The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future.
“They must have the chance to compare the Tories’ chaos with Labour’s plans to sort out their mess, grow the economy for working people and rebuild the country for a fairer, greener future.
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“We must have a chance at a fresh start. We need a general election – now.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey echoed the call for the public to go to the polls.
“We don’t need another Conservative prime minister lurching from crisis to crisis,” he said on social media.
“We need a general election now and the Conservatives out of power.”
As did First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, who said: “A general election is now the only way to end this paralysis.”
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Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price and Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts agreed, adding: “We urgently need a general election so that the people of Wales can reject this Westminster chaos at the ballot box.”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the events in Westminster as an “utter shambles”.
“There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately. It’s beyond hyperbole and parody,” Ms Sturgeon said.
“Reality though is that ordinary people are paying the price. The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now.
“A general election is now a democratic imperative.”
Read more: Who would replace Truss as PM?
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Conservatives in the Senedd, said Ms Truss had done the “right thing” in standing down.
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Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, agreed that Ms Truss had made “the right decision”.
“We must now move forward quickly and the new Leader and Prime Minister will have to restore stability for the good of the country,” he said in a post on social media.
While Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt told MPs she would “keep calm and carry on” and encouraged others to do the same.
Asked in the chamber about Liz Truss’s resignation and the state of the government, Ms Mordaunt – who is considered a potential successor to the PM – said: “I am going to keep calm and carry on – and I would suggest everyone else do the same.”
Ms Truss resigned as prime minister earlier today just 44 days after taking over from Boris Johnson.
Acknowledging that she “cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected”, she added: “I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.”
Ms Truss will remain as PM until her successor has been chosen.
