Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has called for a general election following Kwasi Kwarteng's sacking as UK Chancellor this afternoon (October 14) after just six weeks at the helm.

Mr Kwarteng's downfall was set in motion by the mini-budget on 23 September, in which he announced £45 billion in unfunded tax cuts.

The mini-budget pushed the pound to a record low against the dollar, sent the cost of government borrowing and mortgage rates up and led to an unprecedented intervention by the Bank of England.

Reacting to the breaking news, Kingston and Surbiton MP, Ed Davey said: "This mustn't just be the end of Kwarteng's disastrous chancellorship, it should be the death knell of the Conservatives' reckless mismanagement of our economy. It didn't suddenly start with Kwarteng but it must end now.

"People are angry, fed up and worried about the future. Most of all they are furious that Conservative MPs seem to think this is an acceptable way to conduct the government of our country in these difficult times.

"Enough is enough. It started with Boris Johnson failing our country, and now Liz Truss has broken our economy, it is time for the people to have their say in a general election."

Liz Truss is due to hold a press conference later today to announce that corporation tax will rise to 25 per cent this spring. The about-turn means she is abandoning one of the flagship tax cut promises from her Tory leadership campaign. 

Ms Truss had pledged to scrap a corporation tax hike from 19 per cent to 25 per cent which had been scheduled for April next year by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor. But the rise will now go ahead as planned.

The Conservative Party has now had four chancellors in the past three years - Mr Kwarteng, Nadhim Zahawi, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid.

And the next chancellor, who will be chosen by Ms Truss, will be the seventh Tory chancellor in 12 years.

While the PM's focus will be on choosing a new chancellor, there is set to be a renewed focus on whether Ms Truss can remain in the job.