Irish airline sends Liz Truss to ‘ANY’ airport in cheeky jab after UK PM quits | World news
Irish ultra-small airline Ryanair was bought by outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday after she announced her resignation. Ryanair tweeted an insult of the boarding pass in the name of the Tory leader with 10D – a reference to the official residence of the UK PM, 10 Downing Street – as the seat and LGW, or Gatwick in London, as the departure airport and ÁNY, or ‘wherever ‘ as they are going. The feature also has a QR code that links to the GBP/Euro currency chart on Google, which shows that the pound is recovering. To top it all off, the tweet had a ‘shaking hand’ emoji to underline the ‘goodbye’ message.
Truss’ term as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom came to an end on Wednesday evening – just 45 days after it began – with his controversial economic policies sparking an internal revolt similar to the one that ousted Boris Johnson in March July.
The pound bounced back after Truss’ resignation, which has been widely speculated since his government’s debt-fuelled budget panicked the markets.
There were even humorous exchanges between Ryanair and other Twitter users, including a handle operated by Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport.
“Make sure it’s not a fix. We know what it’s like…” the airport said.
“Don’t worry it’s no different,” Ryanair shot back.
In a short address, Truss, 47, said he had chosen (after an internal leadership contest) to cut taxes and boost economic growth. “I know I can’t give my mandate if the Conservative Party has elected me.”
READ | As he announced his resignation, the UK PM said this about his economic plan
His departure left the Tories devastated and trailing Labor by 30 points after more than 12 years in power; in the past seven years the UK has had four (Truss’s successor will be the fifth) Prime Minister.
Labor leader Keir Starmer and other political parties have called for a general election – the last one is in 2019 – but the Conservatives have refused to play ball and will hold a second leadership contest in as many months.
Truss said he will remain in power until a new leader is appointed.
Former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak – who was beaten by Truss in the September contest – is the favorite to replace his rival, who has the unfortunate distinction of being the UK’s shortest prime minister.
READ | Will Rishi Sunak be the next UK PM? The odds say yes…
Former PM Boris Johnson has emerged as a dark horse.
Truss’ big mistake
Apart from the leadership style, Truss’ massive £45 billion tax cuts amid the worst inflation in four decades led to his embarrassing exit.
The biggest tax hike in 50 years rattled markets that reacted strongly amid fears it could prevent a war on inflation and damage public finances.
The pound’s tumble to an all-time low against the dollar forced the Bank of England to intervene and added to Truss’ woes.
READ | Size, London stocks climbed after the Truss withdrawal
Screaming for answers, Truss sacked finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng and scrapped a plan to freeze corporation tax next year, but public anger and pressure eventually forced him to quit.
With input from Bloomberg
