Main article: October 2022 United Kingdom government crisis
Charles Walker's remarks on the market fallout, subsequent government crisis and Conservative unpopularity.[233][234]
After initially defending the mini-budget, on 3 October Truss instructed Kwarteng to reverse the abolition of the 45 per cent income tax additional rate.[235] She later reversed the cut in corporation tax and dismissed Kwarteng, replacing him with Jeremy Hunt on 14 October.[232] Hunt reversed many of the remaining policies announced in the mini-budget, leading to further instability;[236][237] because of Truss's perceived weakness, he was described by some Conservative MPs and newspapers as the de facto prime minister.[238][239] During this time, Truss became increasingly unpopular with the public, and contributed to a large fall in support for the Conservatives;[240][241] in October, she became the most unpopular prime minister in British history,[196] with her personal approval rating recorded in one survey as nine per cent.[242] She was pilloried in national and international press as a u-turner,[243][244] and a chaotic vote on fracking along with the resignation of Braverman as home secretary compounded a rapid deterioration of confidence in her leadership.[245] On 19 October, in response to a question by the leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, Truss said that she was a "fighter and not a quitter", quoting a 2001 phrase by Peter Mandelson.[246]
Shortly before noon on 20 October, Truss's forty-fifth day in office, Brady held a meeting with Truss where she asked if she would be able to remain in office;[236][247] his response was "I don't think so, Prime Minister".[247] At 1:35 pm, Truss announced her resignation as the leader of the Conservative Party and as prime minister. She gave the following 89-second-long statement:
