The frustration at the state of UK politics is clear

A swift trawl through The Independent’s mailbag and the emails I am myself receiving, and it’s easy to get a sense of the frustration readers are feeling.

Recent correspondence has obviously focused on the end of Liz Truss’s tenure as prime minister and yet another leader of the country needing to be found. There have been a good number of emails about the current state of the Conservative Party, with readers not mincing their words. There has also been plenty of correspondence noting the need for a general election – as The Independent has been calling for.

In her resignation announcement, Truss made clear that her government had laid out a vision for a low-tax, high-growth economy. However, the financial markets definitely disagreed on the elements of that plan, laid out in the mini-Budget by the former chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng – as evidenced by the rally in the value of pound vs the dollar around the time of Truss's statement.

This government-inflicted market turmoil, coming on top of a cost of living crisis that was already piling the pressure onto households, has left many readers angry, if the correspondence we have received is anything to go by.

With consumer prices rising by 10.1 per cent in the year to September, energy and food costs going up (with this September figure normally being used to calculate next April’s increase in the state pension and some benefits) and mortgage rates reaching a 14-year high on Thursday, reducing the squeeze on household finances is something readers have continually been calling for.

A new Conservative leader is expected to be in place before 31 October, the scheduled date of a fiscal statement laying out the way ahead. Whoever ends up taking up the baton, they have little time to get settled. The public will expect swift action to deal with the cost of living crisis, as letters from our readers have made clear.

As ever, we would love to hear your views on another frantic few days in UK politics – and where the country should be going from here.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

Premium editor