UK government chaos: World reacts to Westminster drama

A Labour motion that would have banned fracking was put to Tory MPs as a confidence vote in the government, with a three line whip meaning anyone who voted against would be expelled from the parliamentary party.

Despite that it appeared there would be a number of rebels, and it was then reported that the government had backed down, with its chief whip and deputy chief whip resigning in protest.

There was then controversy over the actual voting process, with reports of Conservative MPs being harangued and even manhandled into .

Labour shadow minister Anna McMorrin wrote on Twitter that she witnessed one "in tears" after the vote.

Number 10 then released a statement saying chief whip Wendy Morton and deputy Craig Whittaker remained in government and MPs who failed to vote would face appropriate discipline.

It was the latest twist in what has been an extraordinary week in British politics, and the night of high drama made headlines around the world.

Here's how it was viewed in various countries.

France

The nation's largest newspaper Le Figaro told its readers that the Prime Minister's authority has been devastated by the events of the last week.

They wrote: "Rejected by public opinion, challenged within her own majority, after six weeks in power, Liz Truss is already seeing her authority torn to shreds.

"To try to calm the economic and political storm, the 47-year-old head of government had to go back almost entirely on the massive tax cuts she had promised during the campaign this summer.”

Le Monde, the centre-left daily viewed as France's most trusted newspaper was withering in its assessment of the mini-budget reversal.

Summing up Jeremy Hunt's new fiscal plan the paper wrote: "The scene is astonishing, almost painful: Monday, October 17, in the afternoon, the leader listens to her new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, methodically destroy the 'mini-budget' that she has fiercely defended since it was made public on September 23. She is still the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, but she has clearly lost the party.”

And the capital's newspaper Le Parisien wrote: "Rejected by public opinion, contested within her own majority, Liz Truss is already on probation six weeks after entering Downing Street."

Italy

Wednesday night's drama was was dissected in Italy's most-read newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Under a headline stating that the government is 'counting its hours' Luigi Ippolito wrote: “The government of Liz Truss is in meltdown and the British premier could resign today. The implosion took place under the eyes of all of Westminster where we witnessed chaotic scenes last night.

"The government had made it known that it considered a vote on fracking as a vote of confidence and had threatened to suspend from the Conservative Party those MPs who had spoken out against it. But when a large number threatened rebellion the executive was forced to back down, which caused the two whips to resign immediately.”

Meanwhile La Repubblica described Truss' government as "like a boat desperately shedding ballast to avoid sinking", and the Prime Minister herself as "increasingly weak".

A guest on Sky TG24's business programme, Francesco Castelli, put the blame for the chaos firmly on the decision to leave the European Union.

He said: "What was missing after Brexit was an economic plan, instead they’re playing it by ear.

Read More: Starmer says Tories at 'new chaotic low' as more MPs call on Truss to quit

“Progressively, the United Kingdom has preferred to eliminate experts, marginalise economists and specialists in the field. This government has concluded this process by doing the maximum possible, with crazy expenses of which we will probably never know the real amount.

“We have had an approach of extreme economic liberalisation for which, however, there is no coherent plan. For example, the UK was the first country to announce plans to switch to electric cars, but it does not want to build additional power stations to charge the cars. And, according to the data, eight power plants would be needed.”

Germany

Die Welt, the centre-right daily broadsheet, did not see much hope for the current government.

The conservative-leaning paper said: "Another cabinet member leaves with a bang, there are riots in the House of Commons, and calls for resignation from the ranks of the Tories are getting louder and louder: after only six weeks in office, the situation for Liz Truss is becoming increasingly precarious. How long will the self-proclaimed ‘fighter’ last?

“The British government is apparently on the brink of political abyss, despite the perseverance slogans of the ailing Prime Minister Liz Truss.”

For news magazine Der Spiegel the appointment of Grant Shapps, following Jeremy Hunt being made Chancellor is "an attempt by Truss, who has come under enormous pressure, to unite larger parts of the party behind her".

However, they warn she is "fighting for her office after she had triggered financial chaos with planned tax cuts and had to make a U-turn".

Spain

El Mundo, a centre-right daily which is the nation's second-largest, was astonished by the scenes in the Westminster voting lobby.

They wrote: “Suella Braverman has resigned as British Home Secretary, in a further sign of Prime Minister Liz Truss' critical situation. The departure of Braverman, representative of the hard line of the party, comes hours after Truss herself proclaimed in Parliament her intention to continue at the head of the Government: ‘I am a fighter, not a quitter’.

“In the midst of total confusion, Downing Street denied after three hours the alleged resignation of Wendy Morton as chief whip, reported by several British media outlets after the scenes in Westminster. Morton herself and her deputy, Craig Whittaker left the conclave of Tory MPs hours earlier, amid cross-accusations of harassment and even physical intimidation to demand voting discipline among the Tories.”

Read More: Commons Speaker orders probe into 'bullying' of Tory MPs

Madrid-based newspaper El Pais, which has the biggest circulation in Spain, had similar sentiments.

They said: "The government of Liz Truss is breaking down ever more quickly. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the favoured candidate of the hard-line and eurosceptics of the Tory party during the last leadership contest, submitted her resignation on Wednesday. She said it face to face with the Prime Minister, after a stormy question session in the House of Commons in which Truss assured that she was 'a fighter and not a quitter'. The prime minister's situation is becoming increasingly untenable.

"Late in the day, the head of the parliamentary group, Wendy Morton, also put on the table her resignation, unable to contain the growing rebellion of Conservative MPs. The government finally convinced her to continue in the post.

“Truss lives to fight another day by increasing internal tension in her parliamentary group. It remains to be seen how harsh she can afford to be with the rebels, because what she needs least at this point is more enemies.”

USA

America's paper of record, the New York Times, believes Truss is battling to save her political career.

It said: "Fighting for her political survival after the collapse of her economic agenda, Prime Minister Liz Truss of Britain suffered another heavy blow on Wednesday after she was forced to fire one of her most senior cabinet ministers, the second major ouster in a six-week-old government that has tumbled into chaos."

The Washington Post, in an opinion column, pondered who could possibly replace the ailing PM.

Adam Taylor and Karla Adam wrote: "British Prime Minister Liz Truss does not have the confidence of her own party – let alone the nation.

“Since she took office September 9, her grand financial plan has tanked the British economy, she’s seen her polls dive to the worst in recorded history and has had her most controversial proposals gutted by a former rival.

“But if Britain’s ruling Conservative Party wants to replace Truss, it has a poor array of alternatives.”

Australia

The scenes in parliament also got the eye in the Commonwealth, with plenty of interested reaction Down Under.

A Rob Harris opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald surmised: "The premiership of Liz Truss has effectively been over for days, perhaps even weeks, but cruelly she’s yet to be put out of her misery. It is coming, there’s no doubt. And for everyone’s sake, it should really hurry up.

“After tearing her policy platform up and starting again, Truss had hoped this week might be clear sailing. But in just a few hours on Wednesday, her already hopeless and hapless reign turned from absurd to outright ridiculous.

“Those who follow politics have laughed for years at the genius of such TV shows as Yes, Prime Minister or the more modern, darker British comedy The Thick Of It.

“These shows are parodies of the inner workings of politics, hammed up for comic and dramatic impact. But had the combined wit of screenwriters Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn or Armando Iannucci come up with this they’d be told it was too far-fetched.”