Will Liz Truss lead the Conservatives into the next General Election?

It’s a question many have been asking at Westminster over the last few days. The Prime Minister left Downing Street yesterday to shouts of ‘have you wrecked the economy?’

Her performance at Prime Minister’s questions and attempts to charm backbenchers afterwards, appear to have done little to calm Conservative nerves. The mood is febrile.

To survive as leader Liz Truss has to move quickly to reassure markets, she also needs to give Conservative MPs who have their eyes on tumbling poll ratings, reasons to not remove her.

Under the Conservative party rulebook, Liz Truss can’t face a confidence vote for a full year from the start of her leadership, taking us to September 2023. But rules can change and there are other routes to try and force a resignation.

Plots may be starting and the party can be ruthless, but it did take them almost a year to get rid of Boris Johnson and even longer to shift Theresa May.

Any serious challenge before Christmas still seems unlikely, partly because agreeing on a replacement would be difficult.

Liz Truss seems determined to keep the show on the road and could try to turn things around before then. She may chose to reverse her plans for tax cuts.

This afternoon No 10 ruled out further changes to the mini-budget, but rumours have been flying about plans for another big U-turn.

The Prime Minister could ultimately agree to sack her Chancellor – though Kwasi Kwarteng is a closes ally and this seems unlikely.

Reaction to his major economic statement on Halloween could be key.

It is two years before there has to be a General Election – if the Prime Minister can survive that long.