There is an unmistakable feeling of deja vu. The familiar wooden lecternA tall stand which someone reads at, with a sloping part for a book or paper. just metres in front of the historic black door of 10 Downing Street10 Downing Street, in central London, has been the official home of the UK prime minister since 1735. . The anxious flurry of cameras waiting for that door to open. 

This is the second resignation in this spot in five months, after Boris Johnson announced in July that he would leave the post of prime minister.

There is a feeling of shock. Truss, perhaps hoping to make history as Britain's third female leader, will instead be recorded as its shortest-lived.

It happened with alarming speed. Her resignation speech was just 89 seconds long. Minutes earlier she had notified the King of her departure.

Forty-five days on the job. It is almost exactly half of a school term. One third of the amount of time it took to film The Titanic. Fewer than two advent calendars.

September's leadership contest left Rishi SunakA British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. as a runner up. He is now likely to win his second leadership contest of the autumn, which is due to end next week.

Some say it is not fair to have another election in the party only. Leaders are elected by Conservative party membership of around 150,000 people, meaning the winner has the support of only around 0.01% of the UK population. Many are demanding that the Conservative party offer a general election.

A recent petition demanding exactly that reached over 630,000 signatures. Both Labour leader Keir Starmer and Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon are in favour.

Since the ToriesThe Tory Party was the former name of the Conservative Party. The phrase is still used to refer to Conservatives.  won the last general election in 2019, we have seen pandemic, war and economic crisis. These circumstances mean people may have changed their minds about who they want to lead.

But many in the Conservative party believe a strong new leader could subdue worries in the markets. A general election, they say, would only lead to more weeks of chaos.

Yes: It is absurd to cycle through leaders like this whilst the people remain powerless to have their say. The Conservative Party is falling apart at the seams, and it needs to renew its mandate.

No: The UK is a Parliamentary democracy, under which we have an Act which states that elected parties should have a tenure of five years in power. We have seen many changes in governing leaders which have not triggered a general election, and this should not be an exception.

Or... We should sit tight and await the results of the next leadership election. A general election, which will further disturb our economy and create yet more instability, should be a last resort.