British Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced that she has resigned after just 45 days in office.
Ms Truss made her announcement in a statement, following a meeting with the chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives Graham Brady.
A leadership election will be completed within the next week. The Conservative Party set a threshold of at least 100 MP nominations for any leadership hopefuls.
Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office, Ms Truss accepted that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for Conservative leader, having lost the faith of her party.
"I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party," she said.
"This morning I met the chairman of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. We've agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.
"This will ensure that we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country's economic stability and national security."
Those expected to run for leadership include former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, a former defence minister.
Jeremy Hunt, the man brought in to rescue the public finances, has ruled himself out.
Party members and Conservative MPs are expected to be given a say in the vote. A poll earlier this week showed that most members wanted former prime minister Boris Johnson - who was ousted from Downing Street in July - to return.
Ms Truss had been battling to retain her grip on power after a tumultous six weeks in the job that has included financial market chaos in response to her government's economic programme, and the replacement of two of her most senior ministers.
Several of Ms Truss's own Conservative MPs had called on her to quit, with some saying they had submitted letters of no confidence in Ms Truss to Mr Brady, whose committee sets the rules for selecting and changing the party's leader.
WATCH: British Prime Minister Liz Truss makes statement in Downing Street | Read more updates: https://t.co/QXPHk57RAR https://t.co/wxMm2R7pOh
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Leader of the UK's Labour Party Keir Starmer called for an immediate general election, saying that the Conservative Party has shown it "no longer has a mandate to govern".
"After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos," Mr Starmer said.
"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."
Ms Truss' resignation follows what her spokesman described as a "difficult" day yesterday, which saw her government teetering on the brink of collapse after the resignation of Suella Braverman, mayhem in the House of Commons over a fracking vote and confusion over whether the Chief and Deputy Chief Whip had quit.
Ms Braverman lashed out at Ms Truss's "tumultuous" leadership as she quit and accused the government of "breaking key pledges".
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The exodus appeared to continue with speculation that Chief Whip Wendy Morton and her deputy Craig Whittaker walked out after a last-minute U-turn on a threat to strip the whip from Conservative MPs if they backed a Labour challenge over fracking.
After hours of uncertainty over their departure, Downing Street was forced to issue a clarification that both "remain in post".
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that Britain must appoint a new prime minister as "quickly as possible" to ensure stability within the broader political and financial spectrums.
US President Joe Biden said that the United States and the UK are "strong Allies and enduring friends".
"That fact will never change," Mr Biden said in a statement.
"I thank Prime Minister Liz Truss for her partnership on a range of issues, including holding Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine.
"We will continue our close cooperation with the UK government as we work together to meet the global challenges our nations face."
