UK PM Liz Truss's tumultuous first six weeks in office

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss is fighting for her political survival less than 40 days into her premiership.

The following is a timeline of her first six weeks in office:

SEPT. 5 - TRUSS WINS LEADERSHIP CONTEST

Truss is elected Conservative Party leader by the party's membership, winning 57% of the vote to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister.

SEPT. 6 - TRUSS OFFICIALLY BECOMES PM

Johnson formally tenders his resignation to Queen Elizabeth and Truss is appointed prime minister.

SEPT. 8 - TRUSS ANNOUNCES ENERGY SUPPORT PACKAGE

Truss announces the government will cap soaring consumer energy bills for two years to cushion the economic shock of war in Ukraine, a plan expected to cost the country tens of billions of pounds.

SEPT. 8 - QUEEN ELIZABETH DIES

Elizabeth, Britain's longest serving monarch, dies at the age of 96. Ten days of national mourning begins, effectively putting politics on hold.

SEPT. 19 - QUEEN'S FUNERAL

Truss makes her first appearance on the international stage as prime minister by giving a Bible reading at the queen's funeral.

SEPT. 20-21 - TRUSS TRAVELS TO UNGA

Truss travels to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, her first international trip as prime minister, and has her first in person meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.

SEPT. 23 - MINI BUDGET

Truss's finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng sets out a "mini-budget" which includes 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts and huge increases in government borrowing, sending sterling and British government bonds into freefall.

He is criticised for failing to publish growth and borrowing forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) government watchdog alongside the budget.

SEPT. 26 - BANK OF ENGLAND MONITORING MARKETS

The central bank says it will not hesitate to change interest rates and is monitoring markets "very closely", after the pound plunged to a record low and British bond prices collapsed in response to the new government's financial plans.

SEPT. 28 - BANK OF ENGLAND STEPS IN

The Bank of England seeks to quell the fire-storm in Britain's bond markets, saying it will buy as much government debt as needed to restore order.

SEPT. 29 - TRUSS STICKS TO HER PLAN

Truss breaks her silence after nearly a week of financial market chaos to say she is prepared to make controversial and difficult decisions to get the economy growing.

OCT. 3 - U-TURN ON TOP RATE OF TAX

Truss and Kwarteng are forced to reverse a planned cut to the highest rate of income tax after turmoil in financial markets and opposition from many of their own Conservative lawmakers.

OCT. 6 - TRUSS ATTENDS MEETING OF NEW EUROPEAN CLUB

Truss attends the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community in Prague, with some hoping her decision to attend was the sign of a reset in relations between Brussels and London.

OCT. 11 - BANK OF ENGLAND ACTS AGAIN

The Bank of England expands its programme of daily bond purchases to include inflation-linked debt, citing a "material risk" to British financial stability and "the prospect of self-reinforcing 'fire sale' dynamics".

OCT. 10 - KWARTENG BRINGS FORWARD BUDGET DATE

Under pressure to rebuild shattered investor confidence in the new government's economic agenda, Kwarteng brings forward the publication date for fiscal plans and economic forecasts to Oct. 31, from Nov. 23.

OCT. 12 - NO PLANS TO REVERSE TAX CUTS

The government says it will not reverse its vast tax cuts or reduce public spending despite ongoing market turmoil. []

British government borrowing costs hit a 20-year high.

OCT. 14 - TRUSS SACKS KWARTENG, U-TURNS ON CORPORATION TAX

Truss fires Kwarteng and acknowledges her government's plans for had gone "further and faster" than investors were expecting.

She also announces corporation tax will rise to 25%, reversing an earlier plan to freeze it at 19%, and says public spending will have to grow less rapidly than previously planned.

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Grant McCool)