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The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo
UK Government In Chaos As Liz Truss Resigns As PM; Ukraine Appeals For International Help With Power Infrastructure. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired October 20, 2022 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:20]
ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: A very warm welcome back, everyone. I'm Isa Soares live from what's known as the mother of all parliaments.
UK politics, once again, in disarray. It is right now 10:00 and it's in disarray because the prior British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned just
44 days after taking office. We begin, really, at the end. The end of the shortest term ever served by a British prime minister.
Liz Truss, out of the job after just 44 days, leaving the UK's leadership in a store state of chaos. In a statement, which was also noted for its
brevity, Ms. Truss said, she was resigning because she could not deliver the mandate on which she was elected.
Now, the race is now on to find a replacement to the conservative party, and we could see a new leader as early as possibly next Friday. Possible
contenders include former transfer, you've got on your screen there, Rishi Sunak, the leader of the commons, Penny Mordaunt, or even this man, you may
know him, Boris Johnson. Remember him?
Well, sources say he's mulling over what would be a truly jaw-dropping political comeback, having only himself resigned in this summer.
While the opposition is calling for immediate general election, but the conservative party is under no obligation to call one, despite Ms. Truss's
resignation.
Bianca Nobilo has more on where the government stands now and what could come next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Devastating resignation, and fierce criticism. On Thursday afternoon, British Prime Minister Liz
Truss gave into the reality.
LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I recognize, though, given the situation I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the
conservative party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liz Truss is elected as the leader of the Conservative Unionist Party.
NOBILO: It was just his 45th day in office. There was no time for a honeymoon period. Queen Elizabeth died on her second day. She would have
been the shortest serving prime minister in British history.
Parliamentary rules mean the conservatives are still in charge. Its MPs can choose the new prime minister.
REPORTER: The public must be looking at this thinking what on earth is going on? This is a government party and they are not running the country.
GRAHAM BRADY, UK CONSERVATIVE MP: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think we're deeply conscious of the imperative of the national interest of resolving
this clearly and quickly.
NOBILO: The opposition labor party says enough is enough.
SIR KEIR STARMER, LEADER OF UK LABOUR PARTY: And the public are paying with higher prices, with higher mortgages. So, we can't have a resolving
door of chaos, we can't have another experiment at the top of the Tory Party, but there is an alternative and that's a stable labor government.
NOBILO: Economic issues are at the heart of her downfall.
TRUSS: I have a bold plan to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform.
NOBILO: When she took office last month, her government announced big energy subsidies, but also massive tax cuts for the rich and lifting a cap
on bank bonuses.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I wasn't the only one that thought it was a mistake.
NOBILO: Markets, those traditional Tory allies also disapproved. The pound tanked. The Bank of England tried to prop up the economy and it got worse.
She fired her chancellor in charge of the economy, U-turned on promise after promise. On Wednesday, her home secretary left, too, excoriating
Truss as pretending not to have made mistakes.
Wednesday night, MPs were allegedly physically manhandled in parliament in an effort to win the vote. One Tory MP called it an absolute disgrace.
CHARLES WALKER, UK CONSERVATIVE MP: I've had enough. I've had enough of talentless people pushing their tick in the right box not because it's in
the national interest but because of their own personal interest.
NOBILO: The coming days will determine this country's future for years to come. Tory MPs openly say Truss has destroyed their party's reputation for
fiscal responsibility. Finding a consensus candidate will be no easy task for conservatives and with some mps asking for support for the return of
Boris Johnson, the rifts are wider than ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: I'm joined now by Labour MP, Steve Reese.
Steve, thank you very much for being here this evening. What a 24 hours, week, it has been. I know you said unprecedented a few time since we've
been out here a few times. What did you make, though, with what you've witnessed in the last 48 hours?
STEVE REED, BRITISH LABOUR MP: I think unprecedented does capture it. We've not seen anything like this, not just recent British political
history, I don't think we've seen anything like this. And, you know, how are -- described it as a revolving door of chaos.
[17:05:02]
That's absolutely right. We are about to get our third prime minister in the same year without an election. Incidentally, we've had four chancellor
of the exchequer in just four months. Liz Truss came in just barely six weeks ago, launched a kamikaze budget that committed itself to 60 billion
pounds of commitments that she could not tell anybody how she was going to fund. That caused a run on the pound. That had mortgage rates escalating.
And now, the real victims in all this are the British people. They are the victims of a government that hasn't got a clue what it's doing, and they're
paying through the nose with mortgage increases for their home, rent increases, prices escalating in the shops. And actually, growth, which is
something Liz Truss was talking about, economic growth, the conservatives have been in 12 years. It's not just under trust that there's been a
problem. Within that time, they failed to grow the British economy. Our economy today is growing the slowest of all the 20 major economies, apart
from Russia, which is subject to major international sanctions.
Now, if this party had a clue how to get this economy growing, they would've come up with it by now.
SOARES: And, of course, labor party has been calling for elections, something that we heard, of course, today from Keir Starmer. But it doesn't
mean you are going to get them. It doesn't seem like you will get them because, of course, the conservative party would not want to lose, because
according to latest polls we've seen, if there was to be a general election -- Labour would win the general election, is that correct?
REED: We don't know. In terms of polling, it looks that way. But, you know, you should never take any vote for granted.
But I think the need for an election that was overwhelming. When you're on your third prime minister, you know, two of them would've been elected by
the British people, there are no longer following the manifesto that they were elected on in 2019. Liz Truss, under the conservative government,
they're still in power now. They treated the British public like lab rats with an economic experiment that has never worked anyway in the world
before, and the consequence's misery for British households.
Now, our politics, this parliament here, should not be the play thing of whoever gets their turn at being at the top of the conservative party. This
is a democracy. We are accountable to the British people. They did not vote for this chaos and I think the only way out of the volatility that we are
in now is to go to the electorate, ask them if they would like the stability from the labor government can bring. That will be our way
forwards.
SOARES: And when we hear, Steve, top of potentially Boris Johnson making a comeback, I mean, your eyes just opened up. I mean, how do you feel about
that? What does that tell you?
REED: It's like you would get out of the parallel universe and back into the real one. There are no more depths of surrealist to be plumped. It was
only a few weeks ago that Boris Johnson was kicked out because he had such a distant relationship with the truth. He was breaking the law that he said
they expected British people to follow during the pandemic.
He was breaking the code of conduct to cover up pretty severe rule breaking by his friends and colleagues in parliament. The last straw was that he was
excusing alleged sexual assaults by one of his mps. Now, somebody like that is not fit for office. And actually, dozens of conservative mps were in
wrote public letters that say that he was unfit for office.
As he tries to come back, those letters are waiting to be read out on news channels across the country, because those problems with Boris Johnson
remain.
SOARES: Just give our viewers around the world a sense of what you are hearing from constituents, from people up and down the country, what they
are facing? It's a cost of living crisis, surging inflation, just give the viewers a sense of what is happening right now.
REED: I do and advice every Friday, which is in south London, we have open door, people come in and talk to me. People are terrified about energy
bills escalating above what they can afford, how they can put food on the table, how they can heat their homes through the winter.
People, young couples who are about to buy, you know, the dream of homeownership, that's been snatched away because mortgages are just
escalating way above what they can afford. People have already got homes are going to see their mortgages increase way up to 500 pounds a month.
Now, for many people, that tips them into debt. In other cases, it will be destitution.
So, we will see increases in poverty, people having to go to food banks, and people simply not being able to make ends meet. This, still the fifth
richest country on earth all because of a crisis made in Downing Street. Seems to be totally unfair that people are going about their ordinary lives
simply are being made the victims of all of this.
SOARES: Well, I've met one lady who is working five jobs and still could not pay her bills. Could not pay her --
REED: That's the story of this crisis.
SOARES: Steve, really appreciate you coming on, thank you.
REED: Thank you so much.
SOARES: Well, among those calling for another general election is the leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, of course, the leader that
we're just talking about, Keir Starmer. He says, the British people have so much more better than this revolving door of chaos, as we heard Steve say
there.
[17:10:04]
Scotland's leader, Nicola Sturgeon, says this: there are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately. It's beyond hyperbole and parity.
A general election is now democratic imperative.
And former prime minister, Theresa May, who led Britain from 2016 to 2019, says, Liz Truss made the right decision, but members of parliament must now
be prepared to compromise, to provide competent government, she says.
The former leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, tells CNN the government should step aside and let the British people decide. Have a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY CORBYN, FORMER BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: They put forward an economic plan that collapse. They put forward another one which they then
self collapsed. It's time that there was an opportunity for the people of this country to make a decision on their own future. And an economic plan
that dealt with the stress, the mental health crisis, the poverty, and the low levels of wages of so many people in this country.
And it's time that politics got beyond Westminster, to the people of this country as a whole. The best way of doing that is a general election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, CNN's Bianca Nobilo is here at the house of parliament with me and our business editor at large, Richard Quest, joins me now from his
assignment in Istanbul.
Bianca, to you first. Richard, feel free to chip in, which I'm sure you will anyway. But, Bianca, I mean, just explain to our viewers really not
how we got here, because we really explained that already. But what the next steps are. Because it normally takes much longer, right? To pick the
candidate.
NOBILO: It does, so this is a truncated process. It's going to take a week and no longer. It could take less than that. So, MPs will have until Monday
to declare themselves as a candidate who wants to be prime minister, get the support of his many MPs as they can, and then they will be a ballot,
and only candidates that go over 100 MPs support can proceed. So, there could be a maximum of three people.
Then whatever permutation that takes, unless it's one person, that will go to the conservative party membership. There will be an online ballot and
then the victor in that will be declared the newly directed conservative party and new prime minister.
SOARES: And what we need right now, Richard, I'm guessing, is something that you have been hearing from your guests on "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS". It's
credibility, as well as stability.
Who would that person be, do you think? Who would be the best candidate? There's talk, as you heard on my previous guest, on Boris Johnson perhaps
making a comeback, Richard.
RICAHRD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Yeah, well, I don't think that's going to happen, judging by the other people I've been talking to. I
think it might be wishful thinking by some hoping to make it into a self fulfilling prophecy.
You talk about credibility and stability, I would put them near the way around. There needs to be stability first, because the credibility will
only come back with time. Certainly in terms of the market, the stability of policy, it sounds sort of tedious to put it this way, but the
overturning of competent policy in the last few weeks has been so enormous that we are having to really talk in terms that we never dropped we would
have to. The hyperbole of what we've all been saying on air.
We just never dreamt of it, so stability first, get in place somebody who knows what they are doing, and can bring at least the majority together.
Remember, there are not lemmings totally if they can feel it. They're not going to go over the cliff. And then you can get credibility back.
But to just briefly, so the point that Isa, that Bianca was making, it's an indication of desperation how they've had to change the rules.
SOARES: Yeah and, I mean, on that point, the one that Richard was making, was stability versus credibility. From your contacts, Bianca, who is
perhaps the likely candidate? Who's the candidate they may rally behind? Because it's such a divided party right now.
NOBILO: Absolutely and I apologize if I repeat anything, because I'm having some audio issues. In terms of the candidate that's the front runner
for those reasons, it's hard to say. Rishi Sunak was the MP's favorite, that's because he was tested, to some extent, as chancellor during the
pandemic. He was somebody that the party felt like was a safe pair of hands, would behave on the international stage, wasn't particularly gaffe-
prone, was a slick operator. Too slick for some in the membership in the country at large that did not sit that well with them.
Penny Mordaunt as well has given a strong performance as leader of the House of Commons. And I think one of those two could be a highly likely
person to have a strong performance on Monday. But as we were discussing, the key will be not just who can garner the most amount of MPs support, but
who has the least enemies? Rishi Sunak was the MP's favorite, but the Boris Johnson camp felt very angry and acrimonious towards him because of his
responsibility and precipitating the downfall of Boris Johnson.
[17:15:03]
So, all those things are to be considered and actually, the election of Theresa May is another example as a person who seems -- like the shoe in at
the beginning. Not necessarily the person who wins. Like they say, so, all of this factors will be in play. But the fact that it's such a short
contest makes it more unpredictable and gives a lot less time for plotting and these sort of permutations to happen.
SOARES: Richard, I can hear you chuckling behind. I think -- did you want to add something? I want to get your thoughts really from the people you
have been speaking to -- go ahead, go ahead --
QUEST: It's a laughingstock, it's a misery, a disaster but this is one it gets really interesting because every Tory MP knows that this is a last
chance to get right. So even if they load and detest the person, if they don't coalesce around a candidate and don't shove that candidate in and
follow them, the best election I can remember that is even similar to this was Kim Campbell, a Tory in Canada in the early 1990s, where the party went
from government to obliteration and a handful of MPs.
If the Tories in Britain don't get this right, they are looking at electoral annihilation.
NOBILO: Richard Quest there for us in Istanbul.
Bianca, thank you very much, here with me.
Now Londoners are reacting to Liz Truss's resignation but not exactly surprise. Some say that they're done with a whole lot in parliament and are
calling for a total change of leadership. That is next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, I think a lot of people, the public will want a general election. I think it's very fair since there has been six,
now seven prime ministers in four years, and there are conservative. I did there's time for a big change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they need to look at the whole process because this is -- I don't know how many, three or four PM's in the last three
years or even less than that. So something is not right. The people of England don't deserve that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It might be useful if we go to elections, that is just the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, still to come tonight, the world reacts to Liz Truss's resignation. We'll give you the latest reactions from global leaders, as
well as commentators.
Plus, Ukraine pleading for international support as Russia targets critical power plants. We had the latest on the war. That is just ahead.
You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:20:47]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. We have been bringing you special coverage on the British Houses of Parliament following the resignation of Prime
Minister Liz Truss.
As it weathers its own internal crisis, the UK is imposing sanctions on Iran for providing deadly drones to Russia to use in its war on Ukraine.
The UK joins the EU, whose members also agreed on sanctions on Thursday. Iran denies giving weapons to Russia, but the U.S. says not only is Iran
providing drones, Iranians are on the ground in Crimea to assist the Russian forces using them.
Well, Russia has been bombarding Ukraine would intense area of sorts on Monday, targeting civilian as well as energy infrastructure. President
Zelenskyy says Moscow is using a tax to create a new refugee crisis for Europe. Ukrainian officials are urging allies descend generators as well as
other help, as they implement emergency blackouts right across the country.
Well, meanwhile, Russia is struggling to hold its frontlines in the Kherson region. Ukraine is not letting up the pressure.
Our Fred Pleitgen brings us the latest on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Ukrainian forces pressed their counter offensive in the country's south,
Russia is resorting to what appeared to be increasingly desperate measures in the areas they control in the Kherson region. Thousands of people
waiting to be evacuated by boat. The puppet authorities installed by Moscow claiming they've already taken some 15,000 out of Kherson City.
Why did you decide to evacuate, the reporter asked. I've a small child to take care of, you see, the woman answers.
Russia says it's ferrying these people to safety. The Ukrainians say these are little more than deportations.
Russia has imposed martial law in this and other areas of Ukraine, controlled by its forces.
The Russians say they are increasing the intensity of their mobilization effort. Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting soldiers outside of
Moscow and himself firing a sniper rifle.
Putin's continued aerial assault on Ukraine's energy infrastructure is starting to take a toll. Ukraine's authorities announcing the need for
partial blackouts in most of the country, as intense strikes on power plants continue using cheap kamikaze drones which Kyiv says Iran has
provided to the Russian army.
The spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry rejecting the allegations.
MARIA ZAKHAROVA, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN (through translator): This is nothing more than a collection of unsubstantiated inferences and
farfetched assumptions that Britain and France are trying to build into a structure. And every time, it all collapses in front of everyone.
PLEITGEN: But on Russian TV, this military expert and defense ministry adviser seemed to admit the origin of the drones, not realizing his mic was
hot, he tells the host --
RUSLAN PUKHOV, RUSSIAN MILITARY ANALYST (through translator): Let's not shake the boat too much. We all know that they are Iranian. But the
authorities did not admit that.
PLEITGEN: But the Russians are now admitting things are not going well on the battlefield. The top commander acknowledging his forces position in
Ukraine south is, quote, tense.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Well, Israel's prime minister is condemning attacks on Israeli soldiers by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, calling the settlers
dangerous criminals. The IDF says the soldiers tried to break up settlers who had upheld rocks at Palestinian vehicles that came under attack
themselves. Settlers in the nearby juncture also attack soldiers with pepper spray. Settler violence against Palestinians has been escalating in
the West Bank.
On Wednesday, Israeli and Palestinian activists helping Palestinians harvest all the settlers threw rocks and beat them with sticks, leaving six
people injured.
Let's take a look now at the other international headlines making impact today. The wife of a U.S. diplomat has pleaded guilty to the cause of a
death of a British teenager by careless driving. Harry Dunn was killed in 2019 when Anne Sacoolas was driving on the wrong side of the road. Sacoolas
faces up to five years in prison, but she remains in the U.S.
[17:25:05]
So, any sentence would likely be unenforceable.
A new poll shows Brazil's presidential race is getting tighter. Leftist candidate Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva is still in the lead with 49 percent,
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has gained a percentage point. He is now at 45 percent. The runoff is happening on October 30th.
Now, the Chinese city of Shenzhen is imposing a citywide lockdown until Sunday. The city is a major manufacturing hub for Apple iPhones and is home
to more than 12 million people. This comes after dozens of COVID-19 cases were found.
Deadly riots are tearing to the north African nation of Chad after the government postponed elections for two years. Protesters reportedly stormed
the ruling party headquarters and set it alight. Human rights groups say soldiers opened fire on protesters. The prime minister says there's at
least 50 people who have been killed and hundreds injured.
And still to come right here on the show tonight, French President Emmanuel Macron wishes the UK erupted return to political stability, after Liz
Truss's resignation. We'll have all the reaction from the EU leaders.
And then later, a magazine cover comparing the UK to Italy has angered Italians. We'll hear the response next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolute disgrace. You know, it makes you wonder if you should vote conservative again. I am delighted to hear that she is
finally gone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've got mixed feelings, really. I think she has been hounded out and she's not the first one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact is, Liz Truss, I think she has made so many mistakes and so many nuance. I think we need somebody who is strong in
politics who can take this country by the scruff of the neck and get it going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:30:06]
ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: A variety of opinions there. Well, British Prime Minister Liz Truss has promised to ride out the storm. Well, that did not
last very long, did it? Instead, her leadership crashed and burned.
Truss announced her resignation on Thursday, six weeks after taking the job, saying she could not deliver the mandate on which he was elected. It
froze the Conservative Party back to turmoil and given British voters a bit of a whiplash, as you saw there, even though they did not directly elect
her in the first place.
Well, Liz Truss will be famous for having Britain's shortest run as prime minister by far.
Here's a brief look at her rocky tenure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Liz Truss resigned after just 45 days as Britain's prime minister. The shortest tenure in history, in
which markets have tanked, cost of sort and poll numbers slumped for a governing party in utter disarray.
LIZ TRUSS, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I want to be honest. This is difficult.
FOSTER: Trust was made leader following Boris Johnson's departure, chosen by less than a tenth of 1 percent of the UK electorate, a slither of the
conservative party base or right-wing, older and whiter than the average voter.
TRUSS: I have a bold plan to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform.
FOSTER: Any prospect of a honeymoon period was short lived. Queen Elizabeth died on Truss' second day in office. Alongside former finance
minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, Truss's championed ring wing economic policy, announcing tax cuts for the rich and no cap to bankers bonuses.
Perceived unfairness fueling public fury, as the UK began grappling with a cost of living crisis.
The pound plummeted against the dollar, and the Bank of England was forced to step in to shore up market confidence.
Thirty-eight days into office, Truss sack Kwarteng. Without her friend and ideological ally, the prime minister appeared defeated, labeled a lame
duck, unable to unite her party, let alone the country.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt came in as the new chancellor.
JEREMY HUNT, BRITISH FINANCE MINISTER: Firstly, we will reverse almost all the tax measures announced in the growth plan three weeks ago.
FOSTER: Truss had already you turned on cutting the top rate tax and cutting corporation tax, her credibility was now in tatters.
KEIR STARMER, LABOUR PARTY LEADER: Two-year energy freeze, gone. Tax free shopping, gone. Economic credibility, gone.
TRUSS: Now, I recognize we have made mistakes, I am sorry for those mistakes.
LORD ROBERT HAYWARD, CONSERVATIVE PEER AND POLLING GURU: Probably one of the biggest errors that Liz Truss made was at the point when she became
prime minister, the only people she appointed were her supporters. It was a cabinet of extreme loyalists.
FOSTER: Truss' premiership was brief and chaotic. A former anti- monarchists turned true blue Tory, a remainder to Brexiter, her spell as prime minister played by inconsistency and instability, a victim and
architect of deep political misfortune.
TRUSS: I am resigning as leader of the conservative party.
FOSTER: Max Foster, CNN, Westminster, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Well, leaders of the European Union have called for -- soon after an energy crisis meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin highlighted to countries deep political and economic relations with the UK and urged a quick appointment of a new
leader. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEAL MARTIN, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: I think what's important for Britain's nearest neighbor, we have significant economic relationship and
many other relationships between the kingdom. I think stability is very important and we'd like to see the UK system within its capacity in a
position to have a successor and accept responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: The Irish prime minister there was sitting with France -- over the UK will find stability amid challenging and unprecedented times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): France as a nation and a people who are of the British people, which is above all for
stability in the context that we know, which is a context of war, of energy tension and bigger crisis. It is important that the UK quickly regains
political stability. This is all I want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte sent a sympathetic message to trust. He told journalists that he and Truss had a very good
relationship and agreed on several issues, and added that he found Truss' situation, quote, annoying, for her personally. He then noted that Liz
Truss's successor would be the fifth prime minister that he would work with during his term.
[17:35:06]
Well, only days after he criticizes Liz Truss's economic plan, the U.S. President Joe Biden thank the outgoing prime minister for her partnership
on the, quote, range of issues, including holding Russia accountable for its war on Ukraine. He also said to a close relationship between the U.S.
and Britain will, quote, never change. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She was a good partner on Russia and Ukraine. And the British are going to solve their problems. She
was a good partner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's bring in White House reporter, Kevin Liptak, in Washington.
Kevin, it's important to point out that President Biden has been somewhat critical before of Liz Truss's unfunded tax cuts, hasn't he?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, it has not just been President Biden, there were a number of members in his administration as
well, including the commerce secretary, the treasury secretary, one of his top White House economists who have all sort of felt open and willing to
criticize Liz Truss in public, which is highly unusual. You really don't hear that very often coming from American officials, coming from the
administration, when it comes to domestic plants put up by some other foreign leaders.
And, certainly, White House officials have been watching over the last several weeks with a sort of dumbfounded-ness, watching Liz Truss sort of
lay out these plans to not be able to pass them. Certainly, they were not necessarily surprised when she resigned this morning. The writing had
really been on the wall. President Biden really only got to meet her one- time face to face. That was on the sidelines of the United Nations last month.
At the time, White House officials told me that it was a candid meeting. They did not seem to have any outward animosity. The big topic that they
discussed at the time was this question over Brexit and the question over the Northern Ireland particle.
Of course, President Biden as taken a deep personal interest in that matter. He was very staunchly opposed to the way that Liz Truss was
proposing handling it. Of course, that issue had become totally obscured over the last few months by her own tax plan and economic plan. Now looking
forward, what White House officials say is that they really want some stability in Downing Street, particularly when it comes to the issue of
Russia holding Russia accountable, supporting Ukraine, and you heard the public statements on the president today that he had worked with Liz Truss
on that issue, and that he hopes to work well with the next prime minister.
There is concern, of course, that the western alliance remains united on this issue, particularly within the G7. Of course, you have a prime
minister coming into office in Italy who is more to the right. The White House really wants to maintain that united lock, as they try to isolate
Vladimir Putin.
Certainly, there is probably no question that the next prime minister will maintain some of the. But in order to do that, some stability would be
required, and that is what White House officials are looking for now.
SOARES: Yeah, stability, obviously in the UK, continuity but also important given like you outlined there, Kevin, the importance of unity,
when it comes to the war in Ukraine, the challenges, of course that the country and world faces right now.
Kevin Liptak there for us in Washington, D.C., thanks very much, Kevin. Good to see you.
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci has sarcastically congratulated Liz Truss for resigning after 44 days in
office. Scaramucci took to Twitter just after trust enough to resignation earlier today saying, Liz Truss lasted 4.1 Scaramuccis, as you can see
there. And that refers to his total of 11 days working in the Trump administration. That made him the shortest tenured communications director
in White House history.
And still to come tonight, London's mayor is calling for an urgent general election, saying the resignation of Liz Truss has made the UK a
laughingstock around the world. You will hear that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: We are a laughingstock. Our reputation is being diminished every minute that Liz Truss stayed in office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: That's the mayor of London, Said Khan, speaking to CNN's Christiane Amanpour about the global reaction to the recent tumultuous
tenure of Liz Truss.
The British prime minister resigned after only 44 days in office, plunging the government into chaos yet again. Mayor Khan says he is shocked by all
the turmoil and he is calling for an urgent general election. Of course, he is in the Labour, Labour camp, the opposition.
Let's bring in Mo Hussein. He's president of UK at Edelman Global Advisory. And he's a former 10 Downing Street chief press officer.
Mo, great to have you on the show.
Just makes sense to our viewers around the world, of what we have seen in the last 48 hours or so. What a total mess.
MO HUSSEIN, PRESIDENT, UK AT EDELMAN GLOBAL ADVISORY: Well, there's been a lot of upheaval and turmoil. I spent ten years working in Westminster, four
years at Downing Street, and I can't remember a single few days like this, where the writing was really on the wall. The prime minister had lost the
confidence of her MPs, and it was not just one group of MPs, just the usual suspects who never voted for her or did not like her.
It were people who were from her wing of the party, libertarian right-wing party who believed her when she said she was going to do things
differently, challenge the orthodoxy, willing to be a popular, and then she did not actually deliver on any things that she had promised in her
campaign.
Confidence was falling away, and then you have senior resignations, -- you move off all lead seeds for the house of commons, where you had a vote
which is a confidence vote for the prime minister. It all was leading to this moment, I am afraid for a few days now.
SOARES: And the straw that broke the camel's back, was at the new budget or the seesaw behind me here yesterday?
HUSSEIN: I think the mini-budget was the fifth in the main factor because it was everything that had been promised. It had not been the through, had
not been tested with the right people, no consideration given in terms of how markets might react. All government change their minds, do a U-turn on
one thing or another, but this was a really large scale -- everything in the mini-budget. If your entire economic platform is gone, and it looks and
sounds very similar to the platform that you spent a whole summer attacking, which is arrivals platform. Rishi Sunak did warn that this would
happen, then we'll questions remain if you believe in that direction your government is taking, and whether you can lead the government and country
in the direction you don't really agree with.
So, I think it all started there, and then every day, further u turns, further loss of a number 10. I think added to the sense of general turmoil
and disarray.
[17:45:04]
SOARES: Yeah, for many now, would say even the lack of credibility right now. So, there's a lot of work to do for the conservative party. As we look
though, Mo, who could be the new prime minister, we might know as early as next week, of course. Who do you think would be the most likely candidate
here? Who do you think the candidate that the party can rally behind if there is one candidate here?
HUSSEIN: Well, the slight challenge is that there is not just one candidate. There is a lot of behind it scenes action happening tonight,
over the weekend, trying to get MPs to get behind one person. Rishi Sunak seems to be the obvious front runner. He came close the last time around.
He's very popular amongst the MPs.
Crucially, the things he fought about are unfortunately happening. It seems that he does understand the process and what needs happen. But the issue
for him is that he is not universally popular. The people who supported Boris Johnson blamed him and his, in their view, disloyalty, for dethroning
of Johnson.
So, he will still be a divisive figure. I think the real impetus in the party though is for mps to decide themselves without having to go back to
membership. Members were the ones who chose Liz Truss, often members not in the same space as MPs. That could complicate the issue and it could make it
take longer as well. I don't think anybody in the current context once a long, drawn out process at all.
SOARES: Yeah. You would have thought by the number of times that we have been through this for the differences aside, Mo, and think really of the
country but party.
Let me ask you this, one person that we have mentioned quite a few times this evening, is a possibility of return of Boris Johnson. What is the
likelihood of that happening?
HUSSEIN: Well, I think that there are kites being flown, and he is testing the water to see if he would get the number, 100 MPs not to support any
candidate. This is very high. This is designed to make sure the campaigns are credible and have a chance of succeeding. It's been speculated for a
while, and I think sometimes it's quite easy for MPs to look through roasted classes, because he did win significant majority in 2019. He was
the mayor in London, which is a labor city. But there was a scandal towards the end of his time as prime minister, 50 plus ministers resigned because
they cannot work with him anymore, or they wanted him to go, and he lost two big bi-elections for the conservative party.
He is also facing an investigation by parliamentary -- that he willingly misled parliament or not. So, I think there is a lot of baggage that comes
abortions in. Whilst it may be easy to go back and think of all the positives and say, well, he can win my seat again, which is what you do as
an MP, you do need to think about how the public will perceive the and all the negatives as well. So, unless he thinks he can get 100, he may not
actually go through with it.
SOARES: I don't think that a lot of back it is ever stopped him though, but who knows? We might be pleasantly surprise. We shall see. Mo Hussein,
the president of Edelman Global Advisor Group, thanks very much, Mo. Really appreciate you staying up to talk to us.
And still to come tonight, a party and a story about shelf life, how a lettuce outlasted British Prime Minister Liz Truss. Let us, explain, that's
next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:51:16]
SOARES: Liz Truss's term as prime minister has been the briefest and arguably the most chaotic in British history. Her resignation triggers a
new leadership contest that will elect the country's fifth prime minister in six years.
All the turmoil prompted a renowned weekly magazine to compare the UK to another country that has gone through public loss in political years. Take
a look at this week's cover of "The Economist". You can see a spaghetti and pizza, that's Liz Truss, it says welcome to Britaly.
Many italians are furious, calling it arrogant and offensive. Not just Italians, I might add. I was one of them who found it quite offensive. The
Italian ambassador to the UK says it plays on stereotypes, he wrote to "The Economist". Although spaghetti and pizza are the most sought after food in
the world, for you next cover, we suggest you pick a change from our aerospace, biotech or automotive or pharmaceutical sectors.
I spoke earlier with the Milan correspondent for "The Financial Times", Silvia Sciorilli Borelli, who told me the comparison just go so far. Have a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVIA SCIORILLI BORELLI, MILAN CORRESPONDENT, FINANCIAL TIMES: So, there is a parallel there, right. I don't think that cover necessarily reflects
the content of the article but, of course, there is a very strong parallel between what Britain is going through right now and Italian politics. The
only difference, I think is that for Italy, it's structural and has been embedded in the system. And Italians have found a way to make it work.
As for Britain, they created for themselves, and they're having a very hard time managing the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, one of our Italian producers, I can tell you, spitting feathers over that front page and quite rightly so.
As political casting off the government, one British tabloid turned to humor to capture the mood, asking the question, could Liz Truss's
premiership outlast a lettuce? Enter a viral livestreamed accounted on her final days as prime minister. Here's Anna Stewart.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Utter chaos broken, as Liz Truss's days as prime minister became numbered, one British tabloid posed a
question that captured a nation, could she last longer than this lettuce? You may be wondering how it all began, well, let us explain.
An "Economist" article compared the total days that trust has been gaining control to roughly the shelf life of a lettuce, which inspired this gem
from "The Daily Star". Who would perish fall first? Day or night, the campaign continued.
And despite some tough talk from Truss.
TRUSS: I am a fighter and not a quitter.
STEWART: It was a resounding victory for the greens.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is just the tip of the iceberg.
STEWART: Officially, the lettuce cannot be cast in the upcoming race but remains the Caesar of salads.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Well, let us take a look now at what will happen next. Liz Truss will remain prime minister and conservative party leader until her
replacement is chosen. Normally, there will be a postal vote -- but given the circumstances, it seems normal rules are being circumvented and just a
crisis that the country is facing. The 350 plus conservatives in parliament will choose a new leader among themselves.
We could expect to see that happen by next Friday. Sources say Boris Johnson may be considering a big comeback.
[17:55:01]
I want to bring in Bianca for final thoughts.
Bianca, I want to -- leave Boris for just a second, let's talk about the lettuce, because that speaks volumes, doesn't it?
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am the special correspondent --
SOARES: I'm more of a romaine person, you know? I like a romaine lettuce.
But let's talk about what this says about the climate in this country, the political climate right now.
NOBILO: It speaks to the ridicule and the fact that as Sadiq Khan said, the mayor of London, that Britain is a laughingstock, this has been the
concern about their reputational damage that the revolving door of leaders and the instability do not just to the conservative party but to the
country a large.
And we have been talking about so much and, yes, of course, there's a human element, some of the details salacious, like a soap opera, kind of like
Love Island but people go to the gym less. Sorry, I am enjoying my own jokes too much today.
But there's an element of that. However, the far more important point is the fact that a decision is being made or not being made in the building
behind us are affecting people's ability to get through the winter and feel their families and even beyond that, the reputation of this country in the
world at large. And also, I have been speaking with members of parliament who said to me that they don't actually recognize parliament from what it
was a decade ago, in terms of the behavior, the expectations, the civility, which you asked me how PM cues for that punishing and antagonism, but
actually, it has a point being an inspiration and leading lights, other inspiring democratic nations around the world for the principles that it
upholds.
And a lot of conservatives feel like Liz Truss and the prime minister before have done serious damage to that legacy.
SOARES: What we have heard today from various voices, of course, little clips to be played, they don't recognize that the country -- feel that the
leaders really represent them, because the crisis the country is facing is incredibly severe. The cost of living crisis, energy crunch, soaring
mortgages, soaring inflation, that is, of course, huge concern.
Bianca, really appreciate you taking the time for our last five hours or so. Thank you very much.
And thank you for watching CNN special coverage following the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss. Do stay here with CNN. We'll stay on
the story in the coming hours and days.
But, for now, Wolf Blitzer is up next with "THE SITUATION ROOM". I shall see tomorrow. Have a wonderful evening, bye.
END
