If Liz Truss had any honour, she would follow Kwasi Kwarteng’s lead and quit

The former prime minister and record holder for shortest-serving premier in British history is back – by (no) popular demand, writes Andrew Grice

Ten years on from ‘pork markets’, former prime minster Liz Truss seems to have grown no more self-aware, launching ‘PopCon’ (PA)

Only Kwasi Kwarteng can know if he timed news of his exit from politics to coincide with Liz Truss’s attempt to make a comeback by launching yet another Conservative faction.

Either way, there can be little doubt that many people will wish Truss had taken the course chosen by her former chancellor. Between them, in the space of a few reckless weeks running the country, their ill-judged mini-Budget spooked the financial markets and triggered an economic catastrophe with a devastating impact on the lives of millions of families. It still hovers like a black cloud over the Tories’ general election prospects.

In announcing that he will stand down at the election after 14 years as MP for Spelthorne, Kwarteng has perhaps signalled at least some degree of responsibility, some humility even.