Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, is set to become the UK’s next Prime Minister just 44 days after it was announced that ex-Conservative party member, Liz Truss, would be stepping down as Britain’s governing leader.
The 42-year-old, who is the son of Indian immigrants, is one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster and will be the country’s first leader of colour. The ex-banker will also be asked to form a government by Britain’s recently appointed head-of-state, King Charles, after he defeated opponents Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt.
“This decision is an historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party,” Mordaunt said in a statement as she withdrew from the race after failing to garner support. “Rishi has my full support.”
Sunak was selected to follow on from Truss by lawmakers from the Conservative Party, becoming the nation’s third prime minister in less than two months tasked with restoring stability to a country indebted with years of political and economic turmoil.
Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, said that when announcing the results of the leadership race, the Conservative Party only received one “valid” nomination to be the leader and therefore Prime Minister, and that was Sunak.
An Oxford University graduate, the former Goldman Sachs analyst first came to national attention just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Britain, where he served as Finance Minister under Boris Johnson, developing the successful furlough scheme.
Sunak met his wife, Akshata Murthy—whose father is Indian billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, founder of outsourcing giant Infosys Ltd—while at Stanford University. Sunak will only become Prime Minister when Liz Truss formally hands in her resignation with King Charles, when he will be invited to form a government.
After a mainly shadowy leadership race, the veil has cleared and we now have a new prime minister. We’ll never know how many supporters Penny Mordaunt – or Boris Johnson – had, but it wasn’t clear if this would be a coronation or a struggle until the very end.
It is extraordinary to see the man who was defeated by Liz Truss sevenweeks ago replacing her so soon. This time 12 days ago, Kwasi Kwarteng was chancellor and Liz Truss was pushing ahead with her economic vision. Few could have imagined Rishi Sunak would have another shot at the top job so soon.
But today it became clear a Sunak era was close. Pressure had been mounting on Ms. Mordaunt, who was stuck on 25 public endorsements this morning, to pull out as her team dug in. Behind the scenes, they said she had more than 90 backers. She might indeed have been close, but the momentum from the start of this race has been with Mr Sunak.
He did no media interviews, there were no swish videos – just one plain statement announcing he wanted to be the next prime minister.
The former chancellor has managed to bring together very different wings of the party, from Caroline Naokes to Suella Braverman. Even the most ardent of Boris Johnson backers James Duddridge eventually rowed in behind Mr Sunak. His allies say has been proven right on the economy, but the divisions in the Tory party run deep and could quickly resurface. He inherits a grim in-tray in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and will need to find a way to stop the Tory party from tearing itself apart.
They say divided parties don’t win elections. As the next general election slowly starts to creep into view, will Mr Sunak be able to unite the party enough to govern effectively? He certainly has his work cut out.
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Rishi Sunak is favourite to become Britain’s next prime minister after Boris Johnson pulled out of the Conservative Party leadership race to replace Liz Truss, who resigned last week after an economic upheaval.
The only other challenger, Penny Mordaunt, has reportedly the backing of less than 30 MPs. A candidate requires nominations from at least 100 MPs to stand in the race.
Johnson had raced home from a holiday in the Caribbean to try and secure the backing of 100 legislators to enter the contest to replace Truss, the woman who succeeded him in September after he was forced to quit over a string of scandals.
He said late on Sunday that he had secured the backing of 102 legislators and could have been “back in Downing Street”, but that he had failed to persuade either Sunak or the other contender Mordaunt, to come together “in the national interest”.
“I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time,” Johnson said.
The former prime minister had secured the public backing of just less than 60 Conservative legislators by Sunday.
Johnson’s statement likely paves the way for his archrival, the 42-year-old Sunak, to become prime minister, possibly as soon as Monday.
If confirmed, he would replace Truss, who was forced to resign after she launched an economic programme that triggered turmoil in financial markets. According to the rules, if only one candidate secures the backing of 100 Conservative legislators, they will be named prime minister on Monday.
If two candidates pass the threshold, they will go forward to a vote of the party membership, with the winner announced on Friday, just days before new Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt lays bare the state of the country’s finances in a budget plan due to be released on October 31.
That had raised concerns that Johnson would return to Downing Street with the backing of the party members and not a majority of legislators in parliament, leaving the party badly divided. Hunt declared his backing for Sunak late on Sunday.
“I’ve never known this sort of rancour and division and it is very destabilising,” said Daniel Kawczynski, a Conservative legislator. “It is destabilising for the party, and destabilising for the country.”
‘Torn itself apart’
Some Johnson supporters could switch to Mordaunt, who has presented herself as the unity candidate, but many immediately switched to Sunak. A source close to the Mordaunt campaign said the former defence minister would continue in the contest.
“She is the unifying candidate who is most likely to keep the wings of the Conservative Party together,” the source said.
Johnson has loomed large over UK politics ever since he became mayor of London in 2008 and went on to become the face of the Brexit vote in 2016. While he led the Conservative Party to a landslide election in 2019, he was forced out just three years later by a rebellion of his ministers.
Sunak said he hoped Johnson would continue to contribute to public life “at home and abroad”.
One Sunak supporter, who asked not to be named, told the Reuters news agency that his main reaction was relief because if Johnson had won, the “party would have torn itself apart”.
Another Conservative legislator, Lucy Allan, said on Twitter: “I backed Boris for PM, but I think he has done the right thing for the country.”
Other Johnson backers immediately jumped ship.
Cabinet office minister Nadhim Zahawi, who minutes earlier had published an article on the Daily Telegraph website praising Johnson, said “a day is a long time in politics”.
“Rishi is immensely talented, will command a strong majority in the parliamentary Conservative Party, and will have my full support and loyalty,” he said.
Earlier, many of the Conservative legislators who normally back Johnson switched their support to Sunak, saying the country needed a period of stability after months of turmoil that has sparked headlines – and raised alarm – around the world.
Johnson is also still facing a privileges committee investigation into whether he misled parliament over Downing Street parties during COVID-19 lockdowns. He could be forced to resign or be suspended from office if found guilty.
Alex Deane, a Conservative commentator, said despite Johnson dropping his comeback bid, many people in the UK believe he could still run again in the future.
“A week ago we would have been surprised if we were thinking of Boris Johnson becoming our prime minister again very soon. So it’s been a whirlwind of events here in London,” Deane told Al Jazeera.
“Never write off Boris Johnson completely. The political graveyard is littered with the careers of people who say Boris Johnson is finished. Indeed, he’s left the door open for a return down the road in his message to his supporters saying he’s not going to run this time.”
‘Questions over legitimacy’
Deane said Sunak, while all but certain to be confirmed as the UK’s next prime minister, faces many challenges.
“The Conservative Party has now brought down three prime ministers in a row. If you were to ask Theresa May, or Boris Johnson, or Liz Truss, I think all of them will tell you, it was people within their own party that they feared the most and we are now going to have our third prime minister in a single year. He’s going to face some questions over legitimacy. You know, people voted in 2019 for Boris Johnson, as prime minister, and not Rishi Sunak. And he’s got a large number of people in the party that weren’t keen on him becoming prime minister. So there’s real challenges, but the biggest issue isn’t actually with Sunak’s behaviour. The biggest issue is going to be the party rallying together and coming behind him.”
Sunak first came to national attention when, aged 39, he became finance minister under Johnson just as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in the UK, developing a furlough scheme to support millions of people through multiple lockdowns.
“I served as your chancellor, helping to steer our economy through the toughest of times,” Sunak said in a statement on Sunday. “The challenges we face now are even greater. But the opportunities — if we make the right choice — are phenomenal.”
If chosen, Sunak would be the first prime minister of Indian origin in the UK.
His family migrated to the UK in the 1960s, a period when many people from former British colonies arrived to help rebuild the country after the Second World War.
After graduating from Oxford University, he later went to Stanford University where he met his wife Akshata Murthy, whose father is Indian billionaire N R Narayana Murthy, founder of outsourcing giant Infosys Ltd.
A source within Penny Mordaunt’s campaign team has texted Beth Rigby to say: “We have now passed 90. For the sake of the party, it’s important our members have their say.”
Only 25 Tory MPs have publicly backed the Commons leader – compared with 180 for Rishi Sunak.
We heard from Boris Johnson’s campaign last night, as he stood back from the race, that he’d had 102 backers – something commentators have questioned.
It willbecome clear over the coming hours whether Ms Mordaunt’s campaign is inflating the number to try to gain momentum, or whether the bookies and onlookers like George Osborne have got this completely wrong.
The number of MPs publicly backing her hovered around 20 all weekend and anyone hoping Boris Johnson’s exit would see a flurry of his backers joining her camp will be disappointed.
Even Mr Johnson’s most passionate backers, like Nadine Dorries and James Duddridge, are rowing in behind Mr Sunak. It is clear which way the wind is blowing.
With over half the parliamentary party now backing the former chancellor, the pressure is mounting on Ms Mordaunt.
Former Chancellor George Osborne has taken to Twitter to urge her to step aside. He said that “she can’t command the support of a majority of MPs” and Mr Sunak is best placed to “reinforce the return of market credibility”.
But there is no sign of Ms Mordaunt giving up – her team says she is continuing to speak to colleagues from across the party and is “in it to win it”.
Allies say behind the scenes the numbers are closer than they seem.
Some MPs do believe the membership should have a say and want a contest – not a coronation.
Last time round Ms Mordaunt secured the backing of 105 MPs in the final round and there are still enough undeclared votes for her to make it onto the ballot.
But one of the biggest jobs for whoever takes over will be uniting a deeply divided parliamentary party; with three hours to go calls for Conservative MPs to unite around Mr Sunak are getting louder.
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Despite all the frantic speculation about a possible deal between Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab – a political ally of the former chancellor – said there would be no deal between the two men.
They met last night, and had what was described to me as “friendly discussions”,
But the Sunak camp is clear – there will be no accommodation between the two men, for now at least.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, in the Johnson team, said definitively that the former prime minister will stand again – although his team are still shy about putting forward the names or firm numbers of those who they claim are ready to back him. So far, so unclear in terms of the final candidate list.
Penny Mordaunt, the only candidate who fronted up to the studio this morning, maintained she is still in it to win it, making her case as the potential leader who can pull the party together and end the shenanigans.
Notable though, that she was deeply reluctant to get into any detail.
Boris Johnson was pictured last night flying home from his holiday in the Dominican Republic, after reports that he planning to join the Conservative leadership contest.
A Sky News reporter shared a photo of the former PM on the plane. He is due to arrive in London this morning.
A BBC reporter who was also on the flight said some passengers who tried to take selfies were stopped from doing so by his sizeable security team.
The flight is full and passengers are sitting reading, watching the latest movies on screen…and amongst them is one very recognisable former PM who could possibly become PM again.
Boris Johnson has kept a low profile since resigning six weeks ago and continues to move quietly as he makes his way back home to the UK from his holiday in the Dominican Republic.
Even his arrival at airport was shrouded in secrecy, but then he eventually took his seat in economy alongside his wife and children.
Some passengers were amazed to see him there. A few who tried to take selfies were stopped from doing so by his sizeable security team that surround him, including Met police officers.
A man and woman a few seats down look totally bemused: “It’s just a bit mad…it’s made our flight home less boring. We want to try and see him before we get off in London.”
How do they feel about his return to office? “I’d rather an election.”
All day yesterday, Conservative MPs were setting out who they are backing to become the UK’s next prime minister – and we can expect more of this today.
Penny Mordaunt is the only candidate to confirm they are running so far, but that hasn’t stopped MPs speaking up for others. A few them shared their thoughts on Newsnight last night.
Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith, who’s backing Boris Johnson to be next the party leader and prime minister, said the reason Johnson has not formally declared his campaign is because “he’s probably waiting to see whether he felt he’d got the support… I’d say he’s certainly up for it”.
Rishi Sunak backer, Conservative MP Craig Williams, said Sunak will likely respond to calls to run for leader “in the coming hours or days… there are clearly over 100 colleagues publicly declaring parliamentary support.”
Declaring her run earlier, Penny Mordaunt, the current leader of the House of Commons, said she had been encouraged by colleagues.
One Tory MP who has publicly backed her is Bob Seely who said: “I think we owe the country a collective responsibility to apologise” adding that he believes Mordaunt has the best chance of providing “unity and leadership” within the Tory Party.
As it stands, only Penny Mordaunt has officially declared she is standing to be the next Tory Party leader and prime minister – with 21 Tory MPs publicly supporting her bid so far.
Rishi Sunak leads Tory MPs’ nominations to take over from Liz Truss, with 95 colleagues backing him by our count – although his supporters say he has already reached the 100 needed by 14:00 BST on Monday to get on the ballot.
Boris Johnson, who is currently flying back to the UK from a holiday in the Caribbean, told an ally he’s “up for” entering the race – and is second to his former chancellor with 45 MPs pledging support.
Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate.
Meanwhile, other names mentioned as potential runners are former leadership hopefuls Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch – but neither have much in the way of supporters, and time is of the essence.
Other big names that have ruled themselves out include Michael Gove, Ben Wallace and Jeremy Hunt.
It’s a fast-moving situation in Westminster, so stick with us for updates as soon as we get them.
Boris Johnson, the man ousted as UK prime minister by his own government just three months ago, has emerged as an early front-runner to be the next prime minister.
A second Johnson premiership would be an extraordinary turnaround even for a politician who has made miraculous comebacks before.
The last time anyone returned to the office of prime minister after losing the leadership of their party was 140 years ago, when William Gladstone returned to lead the Liberals – although some party leaders have had two stints as PM, including Sir Winston Churchill and Harold Wilson.
The final months of Johnson’s time in office were dogged by accusations he had broken ministerial rules by not telling the truth about Covid lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street.
He remains under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Committee, which could, in theory, lead to him being suspended from Parliament, or even being kicked out as an MP.
Johnson has yet to officially announce he will stand, but his former press secretary Will Walden has told Sky News Johnson is “clearly taking soundings” on a leadership bid.
He could only have dropped a heavier hint that he was not finished yet if he had used another catchphrase from the Terminator films: “I’ll be back.”
The leveling up secretary, Simon Clarke, is the second cabinet minister to officially back Boris Johnson as Tory Party leader.
In a joint statement to Daily Telegraph with the Tees Valley mayor, he says Johnson would lead “a broad-based, inclusive government drawing on talent from right across the Conservative Party, driven by a disciplined Downing Street”.
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has already backed Johnson, while Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he was “leaning” towards supporting him.
Clarke, a Truss loyalist, said Johnson “is the person we need to lead our country and our party” as he can unite the UK, make Brexit a success, and control illegal immigration.
No one has yet confirmed they are entering the race, but the BBC’s latest tally suggests Rishi Sunakwould have the backing of 56 MPs, Johnson would have 33 and Penny Mordaunt would be on 17.
With suggestions that former Prime Minister Boris Johnson may stand to be the leader of the Conservatives once more, let’s re-examine some of his final statements as PM.
When he made his resignation speech in September, one of his remarks fuelled much speculation.
“Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough,” he said from the lectern outside No 10 Downing Street.
The reference from the Oxford Universityclassics graduate seemed somewhat obscure to the ordinary listener and led to a rise in online searches for Cincinnatus.
Those who weren’t clued up on Ancient Roman history learned that Cincinnatus was said to be a legendary 5th Century BC Roman leader, who was called upon to lead Rome in a time of crisis, before later returning to his farm after resigning.
The crucial point people took from this historical tale, however, was that Cincinnatus supposedly made a comeback as a ruler later on.
Many have interpreted this as a suggestion from Johnson that he himself perhaps wishes to return as leader.
In his final session at Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament earlier in July, Johnson also bid goodbye by quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
“Hasta la vista, baby,” he said, which translates as, “see you later”.
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Liz Truss is entitled to more than £100,000 a year as a former prime minister, despite only being in office for 45 days.
Truss resigned on Thursday after her tumultuous stint as prime minister resulted in deep splits within her party and fury over her handling of the economy.
A new PM is expected to be in place by next Friday with Boris Johnson, Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak among the favourites to win.
Truss has not indicated what she will do after resigning but all former PMs are entitled to money through the Public Duties Cost Allowance (PDCA).
John Major and Tony Blair have both claimed the expense ever since they left office. (PA)
It is currently set at £115,000 a year and hasn’t changed since 2011.
Despite Truss only being in office for just over five weeks, she is still entitled to the yearly sum for the rest of her life.
John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron all claimed more than £100,000 in the last financial year.
The PDCA was announced in 1991 by Major and Margaret Thatcher was the first former prime minister to benefit from it.
The government says the purpose of the allowance is to allow former PMs to still take an active part in public life.
It is not a direct wage, but rather an allowance they can claim to cover expenses to pay for travel, staff and offices they may require from their special position in public life.
It is not allowed to be used for private life or for their parliamentary office if they still remain an MP.
All former PMs can claim the allowance unless they are the leader of the opposition.
They can claim it for the rest of their life, and any staff who are still employed by them upon their death can receive redundancy pay from the pot.
The details of the leadership election have not yet been described, but many Tory MPs are hoping the party will rally behind a unity candidate quickly.
How the Tory membership will be involved still has not yet been figured out, as the balloting of the whole party is by far the longest part of the whole process.
1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady has said he expects Tory members to be involved in choosing a new party leader.
Asked if the party faithful will be included in the process, he told reporters: “Well, that is the expectation.
“So the reason I’ve spoken to the party chairman and I discussed the parameters of a process is to look at how we can make the whole thing happen, including the party being consulted, by Friday next week.”
Brady added: “I think we’re deeply conscious of the imperative in the national interest of resolving this clearly and quickly.”
All of the opposition parties have called for a general election as a result of Truss’s resignation.
The two go back a long way. In 2016, Wallace ran Johnson’s failed leadership bid after the Brexit referendum.
When Johnson resigned this summer, Wallace is said to have worried that losing him as a leader without a plan for a successor would land the party in trouble.
His support today was not totally unqualified. He did nod towards “questions” around Johnson.
The trouble is they are more than just “questions” for a significant number of Tory MPs who remember Johnson for the chaos he brought to Downing Street, the fact he broke the law while in office, was fined, saw dozens of resignations, and is still being investigated by parliament for lying.
Wallace said today a new Tory leader had to have a focus on unity, but that’s something Johnson may struggle to bring to his party.
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The Kremlin has avoided answering whether President Vladimir Putinhas ordered his military to leave Kherson.
Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s spokesman, addressed the question to the defense ministry, stating, “This question concerns the conduct of the special military operation.”
“I recommend you address it to the defence ministry.”
It comes as Russian-installed officials are evacuating tens of thousands of residents from the western side of the Dnipro river, which splits the region.
It also comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of planning to blow up a major dam in the region.
Meanwhile, Russia said that Ukrainian forces had killed at least four people and injured 13 in a missile attack on civilians leaving Kherson.
Mr Peskov also took a subtle dig at what he hinted was a lack of democracy involved in the process to choose a new British prime minister following the resignation of Liz Truss.
Asked about the possible return of Boris Johnsonto the top post, he said: “We do not expect insight and political wisdom from anyone in the countries of the collective West, let alone Britain.
“Especially in Britain, where people do not choose the person at the head of the executive branch, who appears as a result of internal party shake-ups.”
Following Liz Truss’s announcement that she was going to step down as prime minister, the Kremlin said it did not expect Britain to choose its new leader with “political wisdom.”
Asked about the possible return of Boris Johnson to the top post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We do not expect insight and political wisdom from anyone in the countries of the collective West, let alone Britain. Especially in Britain, where people do not choose the person at the head of the executive branch, who appears as a result of internal party shake-ups.”
Former prime minister Boris Johnson, an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, was ousted in July after a wave of scandals.
At the time, Russian media and officials celebrated the news of his departure.
Russia has likewise warmly welcomed news of Truss’s imminent departure.
A Labour MP and leading critic of Boris Johnson has given seven reasons why he opposes the former Prime Minister’s return.
Chris Bryant is the chair of the Standards Committee, which is investigating whether Mr Johnson misled parliament with his comments on partygate – however, Mr Bryant recused himself so that he could continue his criticism.
But the Rhondda MP mentioned this as his number one reason for opposing Mr Johnson getting a second term.
If things go against Mr Johnson, he could end up being suspended as an MP and facing a by-election.
Mr Bryant’s other problems with Mr Johnson were listed in a tweet – including the fact that “he lies and can’t help it” and that his government collapsed due to ministers resigning.
Problems with Johnson.
1. Privileges investigation
2. His poll ratings with public rather than Tories
3. Ministers who resigned can hardly support him
4. Pincher
5. Adviser on ministerial code
6. He makes unforced errors time and again
7. He lies and can’t help it
While some Conservative MPs are asking for Boris Johnson’s comeback, others are cautioning against it.
Sir Roger Gale reminded people that the ex-prime minister was still being investigated by the Privileges Committee for potentially misleading the House.
He added: “Until that investigation is complete and he is found guilty or cleared, there should be no possibility of him returning to government.”
We need to remember that Mr Johnson is still under investigation by the Privileges Committee for potentially misleading the House.
Until that investigation is complete and he is found guilty or cleared, there should be no possibility of him returning to Government.
Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister just 44 days after succeeding Boris Johnson.
She will be the prime minister with the shortest tenure in modern British political history.
In a statement read outside Downing Street, Ms Truss said: “I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability.
“Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills.”
She said she was elected “with a mandate to change this”, adding: “We delivered on energy bills.”
” I recognise, though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party,” she said.
“I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.
“This morning, I met the chairman of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady. We’ve agreed that there will be a leadership election to be completed within the next week.”
He added: “The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people.
“They do not have the mandate to put the country through yet another experiment; Britain is not their personal fiefdom to run how they wish.”
The start of Truss’ downfall
Ms Truss’ downfall started when her former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced his mini-budget a month ago, which prompted weeks of economic turmoil and eventually led to him being sacked last Friday.
Mr Hunt, who voted for Rishi Sunak during the leadership campaign, then took over as chancellor and U-turned on the majority of the unfunded mini-budget tax cuts on Monday – further undercutting Ms Truss’ authority.
On Wednesday afternoon, her home secretary, Suella Braverman then quit after saying she had breached security rules by sending a policy message to a colleague over her personal email by mistake.
It only got worse on Wednesday evening after confusion over whether Labour’s opposition day vote was actually a confidence vote in the government or not – which resulted in allegations of “manhandling” of Tory MPs bycolleagues.
Some Tory MPs had publicly called for Ms Truss’ resignation before that but in the hours before she quit, a flurry of Tory MPs revealed they wanted her to go.
Conservative Party rules prevent a leader from a confidence vote in the first 12 months of their tenure but it is understood after a significant number of MPs wrote to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, calling for her to go, a decision was made that she could not stay.
In an excruciating news conference– so short the gathered political press pack was left open-mouthed as she departed – Liz Truss made her already perilous political position even worse.
Be in absolutely no doubt, the prime minister is in deep trouble.
She has sacked her chancellor, committed a second major U-turn on her mini-budget, and junked the core of her economic policy.
And she did so, awkwardly and uncomfortably, in no more than eight minutes.
In an excruciating news conference – so short the gathered political press pack were left open-mouthed as she departed – Liz Truss made her already perilous political position even worse.
The aim of this breakneck change in direction was to attempt to calm markets and her Conservative colleagues, but instead, she left huge questions unanswered.
It’s worth underlining the significance of what the prime minister just announced.
First, on policy, she has buckled and reversed her position on corporation tax. She will now go ahead with the increase proposed by her leadership rival, Rishi Sunak.
During the contest to replace Boris Johnson as Tory leader, Ms Truss had said increasing the rate from 19% to 25% next April would “put off people who want to invest in Britain” and amount to “cutting off our nose to spite our face”.
It was a significant part of the platform on which she was elected Tory leader, nowhumiliatingly discarded in order to bring in around £18bn to fill the black hole left by last month’s mini-budget.
She said it was a “down payment” on the medium-term fiscal plan due to be set out on 31 October – a signal to the markets that she’s prepared to make more reversals if necessary.
Does she still believe it will put people off investing? We don’t know because she didn’t stick around at the news conference long enough to be asked.
On the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor, she expressed her sorrow – but again, did not answer the obvious question about how she can possibly justify his departure without her own.
she can possibly justify his departure without her own.
Image:Liz Truss and her former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng
The chancellor, who was supposed to be one of her closest political friends, was also humiliatingly discarded – along with the government’s radical economic mission for which she had asked him to lead the charge.
The way in which the prime minister delivered this news really matters. Not just because of the lack of scrutiny that came from only taking four questions and barely engaging with them in the answers – but because her party, and indeed the markets, will have been watching to see how she handled the situation.
That news conference was not just about communicating with the public. The messages I received from Conservative MPsahead of the news conference made clear that she needed to put in a really strong, reassuring performance.
Their fears are that she is out of her depth. They want to see that she can handle being prime minister. And the early signs are that her performance today failed on both fronts.
One MP has messaged me saying it was “shockingly bad”, even by Liz Truss’s standards.
Image:Jeremy Hunt has replaced Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor
Jeremy Hunt’s installation as the new chancellor may be intended to show the ship is being steadied – that someone with deep experience in government is at the helm of the economy and that markets do not need to fear further surprises.
But power flows from Number 10. The prime minister is the head of government. The prime minister is the person who must command the confidence of the Commons if they are to remain in post.
This prime minister looks out of her depth. “It’s not going to last,” is how one cabinet minister put it to me.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries has said that Liz Truss has “thrown under a bus” her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng.
It comes after a morning interview in which the prime minister said that Mr Kwarteng made the decision to lower the top, 45%, rate of taxation.
Ms Dorries tweeted: “One of Boris Johnson‘s faults was that he could sometimes be too loyal and he got that.
“However, there is a balance, and throwing your chancellor under a bus on the first day of the conference really isn’t it.”
Using a finger crossed emoji, Ms Dorries said she hoped “things improve and settle down from now”.
One of @BorisJohnson faults was that he could sometimes be too loyal and he got that. However, there is a balance and throwing your Chancellor under a bus on the first day of conference really isn’t it. 🤞 things improve and settle down from now. https://t.co/72cBRWo2c1
Ms Dorries, who left the government when Liz Truss became prime minister, has also given an interview to The Sunday Times, in which she describes Boris Johnson as “one of the world’s best leaders”.
Since the mini-budget, nine days ago, the Conservatives have plummeted in the polls.
A YouGov/Times survey placed Labour 33 points ahead of the Tories.
Ms Dorries reflected: “The day they ousted Boris we were five points behind in the polls, which was actually fantastic.
“To be only five points behind in the polls when you have been in power for 12 years was an incredible place to be.
“Those of us who had been around in politics for more than five minutes knew in the full heat of the general election campaign that would burn away like the June mist on a morning lawn.
“At the time it seemed utterly incomprehensible the position MPs were about to put the government in by removing our most electorallysuccessful prime minister.”
The other team have not only left the goal wide open, but the goalkeeper has also wandered off the pitch.
The strikers are repeatedly kicking themselves in the face.
The other players have either turned on each other, collapsed, or abandoned the game entirely.
Parts of the pitch are on fire.
All Sir Keir has to do is calmly take the ball and walk it over the line.
It should be an easy win, even for a leader whose party has often questioned his ability to make an impact on the electorate, fearing his cautious approach just doesn’t cut through.
In normal times this might have held him back, but these are far from normal times.
The Conservatives have done a lot of the work for him.
Under Boris Johnson, they forfeited much of their moral authority – and in a matter of days under Liz Truss, the party’s economic credibility hangs in the balance.
In his conference address, there doesn’t need to be sparkling oratory or groundbreaking policy ideas.
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A YouGov poll dropped at around 10 pm giving the party a thumping 17-point lead – the biggest for 20 years.
Of course, it is only one poll, and Sir Keir Starmer’s top team insists they are not complacent about the need to win back people’s trust.
But some could not resist letting the excitement show, one former minister saying “it feels like the mid-90s” when Tony Blair was two years away from a landslide.
Many other Labour figures are keenly aware that a lot could happen before the next election in two years’ time, but there is a palpable sense that Labour scent power.
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, told the conference that a Labour government “is on its way”.
Today, Wes Streeting told Sky News that his message to mortgage lenders and worried homeowners is that “the cavalry is coming” – in the shape of a Labour government – at the next election.
There are big questions about how Labour will finance its plans, given they have pledged to keep the income tax cut announced by Kwasi Kwarteng despite a bleak economic outlook.
Today’s speech cannot promise huge investments in public services. The message is that Labour is the party of “sound money”, while the Conservatives have squandered that reputation – as the turmoil in the financial markets has demonstrated.
Also buoying the party is the number of businesses attending and sponsoring events.
Shadow ministers say they have been inundated with requests for meeting with corporations keen to hear about Labour’s plans.
After months of hammering Boris Johnson on his personal integrity, Labour insiders say Sir Keir “relishes” the fight on the economy.
They say he needs to do three things – show the party has changed, interrogate the government’s record, and lay out the country he wants to build.
If his speech is to hit the mark today, voters will need to believe there is progress on all those fronts in the months ahead.
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“A few months ago the BBC came to see me talk about Her Majesty the Queen. And we sat down and the cameras started rolling. And they requested that I should talk about her in the past tense,” he said.
“And I’m afraid I simply choked up and I couldn’t go on. I’m really not easily moved to tears, but I was so overcome with sadness, that I had to ask them to go away.”
Mr Johnson, who went to see the Queen at Balmoral to resign just three days ago, added: “I know that today there are countless people in this country and around the world, who have experienced the same sudden access of unexpected emotion.â€
He was speaking at a packed house of parliament on Friday as MP after MP stood up to pay tribute to the monarch with dedications expected to continue into the evening and on Saturday.
In an earlier statement, Mr Johnson branded the Queen “Elizabeth the Greatâ€, on account of her being “the longest serving and in many ways the finest monarch in our historyâ€.
Speaking in the Commons on Friday he said: “That impulse to do her duty carried her right through into her 10th decade to the very moment in Balmoral, as my right honourable friend [Liz Truss] has said, only three days ago, when she saw off her 14th prime minister and welcomed her 15th.
“I can tell you, in that audience, she was as radiant and as knowledgeable and as fascinated by politics as ever I can remember and as wise in her advice as anyone I know, if not wiser.â€
The ex-PM, who was forced out by his party after a series of sleaze scandals, told MPs the Queen had “humility†and a “refusal to be grandâ€.
To honor the Queen, Liz Truss’ cabinet gathered in Downing Street.
A number of senior ministers, many of whom were only appointed this week, including Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Education Secretary Kit Malthouse, were seen arriving for the gathering.
A Number 10 spokesperson said: “At 9.30 am the cabinet paid tribute to Her Majesty, and shared memories of her lifetime of service, including fond recollections of their own encounters with her.
“Cabinet was united in their support for His Majesty the King, as he and the United Kingdom continue to mourn the passing of his mother. There was a moment of silence at the conclusion of the meeting.”
The gathering comes before a special session of Parliament, starting at midday, in which MPs and peers will share their memories and praise for the monarch, who died at Balmoral on Thursday aged 96.
Ms Truss became the Queen’s 15th prime minister when she was appointed at Balmoral on Tuesday.
The meeting became the last public appearance of the monarch.
Later on Friday, Ms Truss will meet the King when he returns to London from Scotland, where he had been since the Queen’s health deteriorated.
According to the government’s attorneys, the contentious relocation program the government is implementing gives it the legal right to send migrants to Rwanda.
Attorneys for the Home Secretary said that concerns raised by the United Nations were unfounded on the third day of a court challenge to the program.
The plan to fly migrants to Rwanda is on hold until the outcome of the case.
Liz Truss and her new Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, support the plan begun by Priti Patel and Boris Johnson.
The government is facing a highly unusual five-day legal challenge to the policy involving at least 10 migrants, campaign groups Care4Calais and Detention Action, and the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents the vast majority of UK Border Force staff.
The claimants argue the home secretary has no legal right to send migrants to Rwanda and, furthermore, deciding the country is safe was irrational.
Evidence already aired in court has included warnings from a handpicked government adviser that the African country’s regime has murdered political opponents.
But opening the government’s defence of the policy, Lord David Pannick QC said it was clear the home secretary could send migrants to another country provided she could show it was safe under a law dating back to Tony Blair’s Labour government.
That 2004 legislation gave ministers the power to identify “safe third countries” and to relocate asylum seekers there, rather than handle their claims for refuge in the UK.
The law could only be used if the government was sure migrants would not be sent on to another more dangerous country – and Lord Pannick said the government had obtained those assurances.
“There is no other criteria stated by Parliament,” said Lord Pannick.
“It is not for the court to insert more criteria so as to limit the [home secretary’s powers].
“The [international law] obligation on the UK is to either assess the claim or return the asylum seeker to a safe third country,” said Lord Pannick.
“If we choose to return the individual to a third country that is safe, then we, the UK, have complied with our obligations under the Refugee Convention.”
On Tuesday, the court heard the UN’s Refugee Agency believes Rwanda has neither the capacity nor the expertise to deal with the numbers that could be sent.
Furthermore, it warned the government of Rwanda may not abide by the agreement it had struck with the UK.
But government lawyers said documents from the Rwandan government showed it has given point-by-point assurances that all migrants will be fairly treated.
“The home secretary has received detailed assurances from the government of Rwanda regarding both the processing of relocated individuals’ asylum claims and the reception and ongoing treatment of relocated individuals,” said written submissions.
Liz Truss is delivering her address to the nation after being appointed the country’s new prime minister by the Queen.
The Tory leader, who became the UK’s third female prime minister today, begins by paying tribute to Boris Johnson who she says was a “hugely consequential prime minister”.
She says the UK now finds itself facing “global headwinds” caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine and now is the time to “tackle the issues that are holding Britain back”.
Ms Truss says she has a “bold plan” to “grow the economy through tax cuts and reform” and says she has three priorities.
“I will cut taxes to reward hard work and boost business-led growth and investment,” she says.
The new prime minister says she will deal “hands-on” with the energy crisis caused by Vladimir Putin‘s war and will “secure our future energy supply”.
“I will make sure that people can get doctors appointments and the NHS services they need. We will put our health service on a firm footing by delivering on the economy, on energy and on the NHS,” she says.
She adds: “As strong as the storm maybe I know that the British people are stronger.
“Our country was built by people who get things done. We have huge reserves of talent, energy, and determination. I am confident that together we can ride out the storm, we can rebuild our economy and we can become the modern, brilliant Britain that I know we can be.”
A further 2,400 long-term supported homes for those with the most complex needs, including young people, will also be delivered by March 2025 through a £200m accommodation programme.
The plans will be paid for with £2bn of funding over the next three years which was initially announced in the spring spending review.
Of this sum, £764m has been allocated to councils and government partners.
Boris Johnson’s winning 2019 election manifesto contained a commitment to ending “the blight of rough sleeping by the end of the next Parliament”.
It said this would be achieved through an extension of the Rough Sleeping Initiative which began in 2018, Housing First, and using local services to meet the health and housing needs of people living on the streets.
The government says the funding will “exhaust all options” to ensure no one leaves a public institution – such as hospitals, prisons, the care or asylum systems, or the armed forces – for the street.
A further 20 areas will get drug and alcohol treatment services through investment of up to £186.5m
Pilots in the West Midlands, Manchester, and Liverpool will be extended.
Leveling Up Secretary Greg Clark said: “Ending rough sleeping in this parliament is an important manifesto commitment.
“We’ve made great strides towards that goal in the last few years and today’s strategy backed by £2bn of support will give some of the most vulnerable people in our society a roof over their heads and targeted support so they can rebuild their lives.
“The full weight of government is behind this very necessary pledge and this landmark strategy will give us the right tools to identify people at risk of rough sleeping earlier and provide the help they need.”
Rough sleeping minister Eddie Hughes added that the government “will pull every lever at our disposal so councils, working hand in hand with the voluntary, faith and community sectors, can intervene swiftly when someone is sleeping rough”.
Homeless Link, the national membership charity for frontline homelessness organizations in England, said the strategy is a “step in the right direction”.
But Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, called the plan a “missed opportunity”, adding: “It’s good that this strategy recognises that, fundamentally, not being able to afford anywhere to live is the main driver of homelessness.
In a published legal opinion commissioned by the government, Lord Pannick – a crossbench peer who sits in the House of Lords – described the Privileges Committee’s approach to its investigation into whether the PM misled MPs as “unfair” and “flawed”.
Lord Pannick’s advice states: “We advise Mr Johnson that the committee is proposing to proceed by reference to substantive errors as to the ingredients of contempt and the standard of proof required, and is proposing to adopt an unfair procedure.
“But for the parliamentary privilege, a court hearing a judicial review application brought by Mr Johnson would declare the committee’s report to be unlawful.”
His advice says that “the committee has failed to understand that to prove contempt against Mr Johnson, it is necessary to establish that he intended to mislead the House”.
The top barrister also warned that “the threat of contempt proceedings for unintentional mistakes would have a seriously chilling effect on all members”.
The publishing of legal advice commissioned by the government is a highly unusual move.
Labour MP Chris Bryant, who chairs the privileges committee but is not leading the partygate inquiry having recused himself, dismissed the government-commissioned legal opinion by Lord Pannick as “disgraceful bullying” and “wrong on several counts”.
“Firstly, he fails to mention that the motion that charged the committee makes no mention of ‘intentionally misleading.
“Nor does he acknowledge that many aspects of standards processes have changed over the years, including the introduction of the right of ministers to correct the record through a written ministerial statement – which was used 200 times last year.”
He continued: “It’s time this disgraceful bullying stopped. Let’s hear and see the evidence. If Johnson has a good case to make, he’ll be vindicated. If not, he should take his punishment.”
Image:Lord Pannick said the committee’s approach to the probe into whether the PM lied to Parliament over partygate is ‘unfair’
Meanwhile, shadow leader of the House of Commons Thangam Debbonaire told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme that not allowing the Commons inquiry to investigate whether Mr Johnson corrected the record over his party gate denials would amount to a cover-up.
Lord Pannick is a crossbench peer who has previously acted against the government for anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller and Shamima Begum over the removal of her British citizenship.
Although Mr Johnson is due to leave Number 10 next week, the Privileges Committee has said it will go ahead with its inquiry into whether Mr Johnson committed a bcontempt of parliament by telling MPs on several occasions that there were no lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and across Whitehall.
If the committee finds there has been contempt, it can recommend a sanction on the PM – but it is up to the House of Commons to accept or reject that recommendation.
Such a sanction could include Mr Johnson being suspended from the Commons or even kicked out in a by-election after a recall petition.
The Conservative leadership election to choose Boris Johnson’s successor as prime minister is now over.
At 12.30 BST on Monday, the two candidates, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will learn who has won the vote of Tory members.
The winner will be formally appointed prime minister on Tuesday by the Queen.
They will then begin appointing ministers to their new cabinet.
Mr Johnson, who led the Tories to a landslide victory at the 2019 election, will remain in office until the transfer of power is complete.
The fractious campaign to replace him has seen the candidates regularly attack each other’s policies as well as the Tories’ record in government.
Ms Truss, the foreign secretary, is the clear favourite to win, according to polls of Tory members. She has promised to deliver billions of pounds in tax cuts in an emergency Budget if she wins power.
With the cap on domestic energy prices set to soar in the autumn, what to do about rising living costs has dominated the contest in recent weeks.
Both candidates have come under pressure to spell out how they would protect households from the rises, as well as give help to businesses, which are not covered by the price cap.
Mr Johnson left big spending decisions to his successor after his resignation in July, leading opposition parties to accuse the government of paralysis.
Ms Truss has said she would reverse April’s rise to National Insurance and cut green levies on energy bills to help households with costs. She has signalled she would provide more support on top of this but has offered no details.
Mr Sunak has said he would make further payments to pensioners and the low-paid over winter, on top of the payments they are already due to receive.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA
Image caption,
Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murthy (c) cheered him on at campaign hustings in London
The contest began in mid-July when Mr Johnson was forced out by a ministerial revolt over a string of scandals.
The original field of 11 contenders was whittled down to two in a series of Tory MP ballots, with the final two going into a run-off to be decided by the membership, which stands at around 160,000.
Although Mr Sunak had the most support among Tory MPs, opinion polls have suggested Ms Truss enjoys more support among party members.
As the campaign drew to a close, Mr Sunak thanked his supporters and said he had “loved every second” of his “six weeks on the road”.
Ms Truss also thanked volunteers on her campaign, and said if she is elected she would “do everything in my power to make sure our great nation succeeds”.
The British monarch, Queen Elizabeth has experienced mobility problems since last autumn, and she now frequently employs a walking stick. She had to reschedule a number of public events earlier this year, which meant that she significantly missed her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Queen will receive the new prime minister at her Balmoral estate in Scotland for the first time in her long reign.
Her Majesty will meet them on 6 September, a day after the new prime minister is announced.
She would normally appoint prime ministers from Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.
However, the 96-year-old monarch has been advised to remain at her Balmoral residence in Aberdeenshire, where she is enjoying her summer holiday.
It will be from there that she will install either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss as prime minister on 6 September, breaking years of royal precedent.
It is understood the decision was taken at this stage in order to provide certainty for the prime minister’s diary.
If the Queen had experienced an episodic mobility issue next week and the plan had been to travel to London or Windsor, it would have led to alternative arrangements needing to be made at the last minute.
Since last autumn, the Queen has suffered from mobility issues and now regularly uses a walking stick.
This year, she has been forced to cut several official engagements short, and she notably missed much of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, only appearing briefly on the palace balcony.
In June, she missed Royal Ascot for the first time since her coronation, with the Duke of Kent taking her place in leading the royal carriage procession.
She also contracted COVID-19 back in February, and later spoke about how it left her feeling “very tired and exhausted”.
The winner of the Tory leadership contest to succeed Boris Johnson is set to be announced on Monday 5 September.
His successor will then travel to Balmoral to be officially appointed by the Queen the following day.
Research has revealed that the Home Secretary should utilize their power to restructure “failed” police forces and, if necessary, appoint a new chief constable.
According to Policy Exchange, a center-right research organization, policing has “lost its way” and some ordinary infractions are “in essence almost totally decriminalized.”
A serious intervention, according to the report’s author, former detective chief inspector David Spencer, is required.
Making Britain safer, according to Boris Johnson, has always been a top goal.
The report said that the public feels police officers are “more interested in being woke than solving crimes”.
It said police should avoid acts that may be intended to show solidarity against discrimination, such as taking the knee or wearing a badge on their uniform.
These acts could be interpreted as having “a partisan political view” and “has the potential to be hugely damaging to public confidence,” the report said.
Mr Spencer said the police’s ability to solve common crime is “woefully low” with only 3.5% of residential burglaries, 6.3% of robberies, and 4.1% of thefts solved during the last year.
He said tackling online crime should be a priority for law enforcement and the government.
“Less than 2% of all police officers in the UK are dedicated to the investigation of fraud or the sexual abuse of children online,” Mr Spencer said.
“The threats to individuals, the public and wider society from online child abusers, computer hackers and online fraudsters are huge and growing.”
He said the government’s aim to recruit 20,000 more police officers in England and Wales by 2023 “will fail to make any real contribution to tackling the online threat” because they are mostly “uniformed police officers deployed to do traditional policing”.
“As a result, these offenses are in essence almost entirely decriminalized.”
The report said regulations should urgently be amended to allow police chiefs to dismiss officers found guilty of criminality or serious misconduct.
IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS
Image caption,
Boris Johnson will meet new front-line officers on one of his last visits as prime minister
Mr Johnson will meet new police officers on the frontline on Wednesday as part of one of his final visits as prime minister.
Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr Johnson said: “Making our streets safer has always been central to my mission to level up this country because everyone should have the security, confidence, and opportunity that comes from having a safe street and a safe home, wherever they live.”
He said the government is cracking down on “vile gangs” and putting dangerous offenders behind bars for longer.
He said the government’s plan to recruit 20,000 new officers will provide the “firepower for years to come in the fight against crime”.
The government says more than 13,790 extra police officers have been hired across England and Wales as part of Mr Johnson’s pledge to put 20,000 additional officers on the streets.
“They do inspire a certain kind of awe don’t they on the streets?” Johnson said. “You know if you were a miscreant you wouldn’t want them biting you on the seat of your pants.”
The gap between the two candidates to replace Boris Johnson has narrowed, but Liz Truss is set to win by a long way – however Conservative members still prefer Boris Johnson and think ousting him was a mistake
Liz Truss is set to win the Tory leadership contest by a decisive margin next month, according to an exclusive Sky News poll that gives the foreign secretary a 32-point lead over rival Rishi Sunak.
The poll also shows that the legacy and personality of Boris Johnson is likely to loom large over the next prime minister as there is huge regret among Tory members over the decision to oust him in July.
The YouGov survey suggests 66% of members are voting for Ms Truss and 34% are backing Mr Sunak, once those who do not know or will not vote are excluded.
The race has tightened very slightly since a YouGov poll of members just over two weeks ago, when Ms Truss had a 38 percentage point lead.
Polls put Liz Truss, the UK’s foreign minister, well out in front of former finance minister Rishi Sunak in a contest that will be decided in early September by members of the Conservative Party.
If elected, Truss faces a daunting array of problems. Millions of Britons are struggling to make ends meet as inflation hits a four-decade high, driven by soaring household energy bills that are expected to top £300 ($365) a month in January.
But Truss, in a debate that same day hosted by Sky News, struck an optimistic note, saying a recession was “not inevitable.”
“We can change the outcome, and we can make it more likely that the economy grows,” she said.
What’s her remedy? A set of personal income and business tax cuts amounting to more than £30 billion ($37 billion), according to estimates by the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
Truss has promised to reverse an income tax hike introduced in April, and ditch a planned increase in taxes on businesses next year from 19% to 25% that was designed to help pay for the costs of pandemic relief.
She’s counting on these cuts to stimulate growth, encourage businesses to invest, and ultimately help bring down inflation — which the Bank of England expects to edge above 13% later this year.
Truss has cited Patrick Minford, a pro-Brexit economist at Cardiff University whose research influenced Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s, in backing her view.
And in a letter to The Telegraph last month, a group of economists praised her plans, arguing her tax cuts would “not be inflationary” and were necessary given the “unbearable strain” historically high taxes were having on UK households.
But John Van Reenen, a professor at the London School of Economics, among others, disagrees.
“[She’s] wrong. It won’t decrease inflation, it will increase inflation,” he told CNN Business.
Tax cuts put more money into people’s pockets, driving up demand for goods and services. In the context of an “extremely tight,” labor market, Van Reenen said, fueling more demand will worsen inflation.
A spokesperson for Liz Truss told CNN Business that the country’s tax burden would soon be the highest since the 1940s, which would stifle business, innovation and growth.
“Liz’s tax cuts are necessary, affordable and not inflationary. Cutting taxes, incentivizing business investment will boost productivity, create new jobs and ensure people can keep more of their hard earned cash,” the spokesperson said.
Any further rises in consumer prices could pile further pain on households and spur the Bank of England to hike interest rates again, hitting those without a fixed-rate mortgage particularly hard.
Already, UK shoppers have pared back spending on groceries and ditched streaming subscriptions as the cost of living has soared in recent months.
Eye-watering energy prices, exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have driven consumer prices up 9.4% year-over-year.
But on Thursday, Truss reiterated her opposition to increasing a £5 billion ($6 billion) windfall tax on oil and gas companies’ bumper profits to fund more help for consumers, arguing that it would discourage investment in the United Kingdom.
“If we also have a reputation for levying a surprise tax on any industry that makes a profit, that is a big problem for our country,” she told Sky News.
Racking up debt
Economists point to other hurdles in Truss’ plans, which include a promise to increase military spending: rising government debt.
“The effect you would get on growth [from tax cuts] is nowhere near enough for them to pay for themselves,” Stuart Adam, a senior economist at the IFS, told CNN Business.
Truss formerly served as a high-ranking minister in the country’s Treasury department, a role that has responsibility for managing public spending.
Now, instead of big spending cuts, Truss has promised to find savings through slashing waste and inefficiency in the public sector, though some of her plans have already come unstuck.
Earlier this week, Truss retracted a proposal to tie the wages of government workers to local living costs, which she claimed would save £8.8 billion ($11 billion).
Critics argued the plans would result in an effective pay cut for millions of nurses and teachers.
Truss can little afford to anger public sector workers, thousands of whom have gone on strike this summer — or have threatened to — to demand wage increases.
In the long run, Adam said, the government would need to slash its spending or raise taxes again to pay for any tax cuts introduced by Truss.
“At some point that’s got to come home to roost,” he said.
Going for growth
Truss’ plans to grow the UK economy are ambitious, given the central bank’s own prediction that the economy will go into reverse in the fourth quarter, a situation that could last all of next year.
Van Reenen said the “temporary sugar rush” brought by tax cuts would do little to ward off an economic slowdown, which is being driven by supply shocks rather than a lack of demand.
“Just stimulating demand [through tax cuts] isn’t a great tool for getting out of [a recession],” Adam said.
Further interest rate hikes resulting from higher inflation would be likely to reduce demand anyway, he added.
For Van Reenen, the focus on tax cuts to boost growth is misplaced. Deeper problems in the economy, including more than a decade of stagnant productivity and real wage growth, should be the new prime minister’s priority.
“It’s a bit depressing the lack of significant engagement with serious issues,” he said, referring to both Truss and Sunak’s plans for the future.
Britain is as close as it has ever been to being run by a prime minister who is not White. When Boris Johnson eventually skulks out of office, he will be replaced by either Rishi Sunak, son of Indian migrants via East Africa or Liz Truss who is doing her best Margaret Thatcher impression.
There was much fanfare that half of the original eight Conservative candidates were from an ethnic minority, representing far and away the most diverse contest for the next leader of the country ever.
But rather than being a signal that we are at a watershed moment in British politics, this whole episode is the perfect example that diversity is often the enemy of anti-racism.
Representation matters. But Sunak does not represent the majority of those experiencing racism in the UK. This is not (just) because his family is alleged millionaire tax dodgers.
(In April the Independent revealed Sunak’s multi-millionaire Indian wife held a non-domicile status, allowing her to avoid paying tax on foreign earnings in the UK — an arrangement that though legal was awkward for the chancellor’s wife and one she pledged to change).
When he was chancellor, Johnson liked to draw attention to his government being the most diverse in British history, including Sunak. (It was Sunak’s resignation from the government last month that started the floodgate of ministers losing faith in Johnson, which led to this leadership contest).
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak are pictured in October 2020. Sunak is one of two remaining Conservative candidates hoping to become the UK’s next prime minister.
In Britain, immigration policy has always been the first line of defense against the so-called race problem. Unlike the United States, Britain kept its colonial violence and subjects primarily in its former colonies. It is only since technology allowed travel from the empire that Britain has had to deal with large numbers of racial minorities.
Since it became clear Black and brown migrants were coming to stay in the late 1950s, immigration policy has been aimed at reducing non-White migration in order to “keep Britain, White.”
This eventually led to the “hostile environment” that mandated immigration checks on all walks of life, which resulted in the Windrush scandal.
The scandal, which began to surface in 2017, saw countless people who had been legally living in the country for decades suddenly losing their jobs and being subject to arrest and deportation because they could not prove their status.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has only made matters worse, proposing using warships to turn back boats crossing the Mediterranean even though it would put lives at risk, and unlawfully seeking to deport those that make it to British waters to Rwanda for processing.
Patel had to admit that her latest piece of immigration legislation was so restrictive that her own Ugandan Indian parents would have been barred from entering the country.
She seems so committed to the “keep Britain White” agenda that the next logical step is surely to deport herself.
Patel’s recent policing bill essentially outlaws the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, and she has been outspoken about how “dreadful” she finds Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
It is no coincidence that the most racist policy has come from a non-White spokesperson. Patel’s diversity is the point, allowing her to get away with words and deeds someone of a different hue could not.
He has pledged to push ahead with plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, deport an increasing number of foreign-born criminals, and even proposed a cap on the total number of refugees.
Make no mistake, he is a continuity candidate and will be steering the same racist ship as his predecessor.
Whoever takes over from Johnson has a large majority in parliament and can effectively pass whatever legislation they see fit.
In theory, a new prime minister could bring in sweeping changes.
Unlike when former US President Barack Obama was elected, there is no hostile Congress standing in the way of a non-White leader to usher in the age of racial progress.
Unfortunately, if Sunak wins, we will see precisely the opposite occur.
Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak campaigns with Tory activists on July 22.
Let’s just say the average member of the Conservative party voting for the next prime minister is not a liberal advocate for racial justice.
One of the most appealing candidates for the membership was Kemi Badenoch, a Nigerian immigrant who became the queen of the anti-woke brigade with her attacks on critical race theory, Black Lives Matter, and her defense of the British empire.
She is so extreme that far-right nationalist group Britain First reportedly endorsed her candidacy. (Badenoch did not publicly respond to the endorsement).
Anyone who hopes to lead the party is bound to the faithful and the will of the parliamentarians.
The Conservatives have always been the anti-immigrant, law and order party who have disdain for notions like institutional racism.
It is not just a brand but deep in the DNA of the party. The idea that Black and brown faces leading the party is progressive is as insulting as absurd. This is the real identity politics, the idea that just because of their color people like Patel, Badenoch and Sunak must have the best interests of Black and brown communities at heart.
In truth, there have always been those who chose to align with the forces of racial oppression in order to enrich and enable themselves. The British Empire simply could not have run without countless Black and brown middle managers. The fact that one may now be elevated into the most important role is no kind of victory.
In fact, a Sunak victory would put British race relations back even further than the Johnson government did. There is nothing more damaging than the illusion of progress because it masks the real problems that continue to exist.
The absolute last thing that this racist government need is the PR boost from a brown face at the head of the table. If Sunak wins, he will be leading an openly racist government, hell-bent on continuing its devastating agenda. But because a non-White prime minister has been such a long time coming, many of us will delude ourselves into believing a change has come.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of Independent Ghana
Tory MPsare jockeying for position in the race to succeed Boris Johnson after the prime minister quit as Tory leader following a dramatic cabinet mutiny.
Tom Tugendhat is the latest MP to enter the leadership battle, joining Attorney General Suella Braverman and Brexiteer Steve Baker who have shown interest.
Mr Johnson plans to stay on as PM until a replacement is found by the autumn.
Many Tory and opposition politicians want him to leave now – but he has already filled cabinet jobs.
New Education Secretary James Cleverly said he did not agree with calls for Mr Johnson to stand down immediately, saying there was no need for a caretaker prime minister.
But some Tories are deeply unhappy that Mr Johnson is not quitting immediately, with the former Prime Minister Sir John Major saying it would be “unwise” for him to stay until a replacement is chosen.
The Labour Party has also threatened to try and unseat the PM immediately through a vote of no confidence, although this would need considerable support among Conservatives to succeed.
Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner told the BBC “the fact he’s trying to cling on for the next couple of months is completely unacceptable”.
Nearly 60 Conservative MPs have quit government roles in recent days at both senior and junior levels, raising doubts about the government’s ability to function.
Speaking to his newly appointed cabinet on Thursday, Mr Johnson promised he would not use his remaining time in No 10 to make “major changes of direction”.
A timetable for the Tory leadership race is due to be confirmed next week and the new prime minister is expected to be in position by September.
But unofficially, the contest is already under way. The chair of the foreign affairs committee Mr Tugendhat, launched his leadership bid by writing in the Daily Telegraph on Friday, promising tax cuts and “new energy and ideas” for government.
“I have served before – in the military, and now in Parliament. Now I hope to answer the call once again as prime minister,” said the former soldier, who has been a prominent critic of Mr Johnson.
Attorney General Ms Braverman has already confirmed she will stand, while former Brexit minister Mr Baker said he was “seriously” considering running after being asked by people to do so.
Sajid Javid, the former health secretary, and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps – who both revolted against Mr Johnson – are also considering putting their hats into the ring, the BBC has been told.
Others tipped to run include Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and ex-Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
More declarations are expected in the coming days – but some senior Tories have already said they will not be running, including former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab and former Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
IMAGE SOURCE,ANDREW PARSONS / NO 10 DOWNING STREET Image caption, Boris Johnson greets his wife Carrie and their children after delivering his statement in Downing Street
Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg criticised Mr Sunak on Thursday, saying he was “not a successful chancellor” and “not alert to the inflationary problem”.
Speaking on Channel 4 News, the Johnson loyalist said the PM had been an “exceptionally good leader” who had been brought down by some “relatively minor missteps that got taken out of all proportion”.
Transport minister Robert Courts said Mr Shapps, who he works alongside, would be a “great choice” and also suggested Ben Wallace, the defence secretary.
“I think we need someone who’s got experience, someone who is able to campaign… someone who’s able to deliver,” he told BBC Newsnight.
Boris Johnson has resigned following a revolt within his Conservative Party, saying in an address to the nation that the process of choosing a new prime minister “should begin now.”
“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore, a new prime minister,” said Johnson.
“The process of choosing that new leader should begin now,” he added, saying the time line will be announced next week.
Johnson is not planning to leave office immediately, however. “I’ve today appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place,” he said, in a televised speech outside 10 Downing Street. Appointing new cabinet ministers means that the government can continue to function as he prepares to depart.
Johnson spoke of his attempts to stay on as leader and how “painful” it is for him to step down, but made no mention of the scandals that have proved his political downfall.
“In the last few days, I’ve tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much… and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally,” Johnson said.
“I regret not to have been successful in those arguments, and of course, it’s painful, not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself,” he said, adding that he’s proud of “getting Brexit done” and “leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.”
Johnson went on to address voters directly, and expressed his sadness at stepping down after nearly three years in the role.
“To you, the British public: I know that there will be many people who are relieved and, perhaps, quite a few will also be disappointed,” he said. “And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.”
Johnson has in recent months been engulfed in a series of scandals that forced even his most stalwart supporters to abandon him.
Nearly 60 members of the government — including five cabinet ministers — have resigned since Tuesday, furious about the botched handling of the resignation by Johnson’s former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, who was accused of groping two men last week.
Johnson initially attempted to ride out the crisis — despite an unprecedented flight of middle-ranking ministers from the government, a battering at Prime Minister’s Questions and a bruising appearance before a committee of senior lawmakers in Parliament. On Wednesday, he still insisted he wasn’t going to resign.
But Johnson finally gave in Thursday after some of his most loyal allies told him that the game was up.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Johnson had made the “right decision” to resign. “We need calmness and unity now and to keep governing while a new leader is found,” she added.
Greg Clark, newly appointed UK Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said that he had a “duty to ensure that the country has a functioning government.”
The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said it was “good news for the country” that Johnson had decided to resign, adding that “it should have happened long ago.”
“He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale,” said Starmer on Twitter.
The opposition leader also had scathing words for the Conservatives. “They have been in power for 12 years. The damage they have done is profound. Twelve years of economic stagnation. Twelve years of declining public services. Twelve years of empty promises,” Starmer said.
“Enough is enough. We don’t need to change the Tory at the top — we need a proper change of government. We need a fresh start for Britain.”
‘Needless damage’
While Johnson has announced his resignation as Conservative Party leader, it is possible that he will remain as Prime Minister until October, when the party meets for its annual conference.
Conventionally, when a Conservative leader resigns, he or she gives the party time to hold a thorough leadership contest.
But some said Johnson should leave office more quickly.
“We now need a new Leader as soon as practicable,” Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Twitter. “Someone who can rebuild trust, heal the country, and set out a new, sensible and consistent economic approach to help families,” he added.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also called for the leadership question to be settled.
“There will be a widespread sense of relief that the chaos of the last few days (indeed months) will come to an end, though notion of Boris Johnson staying on as PM until autumn seems far from ideal, and surely not sustainable?” Sturgeon said in a series of tweets.
Conservative MP Steve Baker told CNN that the party needs “to move swiftly to a leadership contest.”
Baker said Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab should be caretaker prime minister, but that Johnson could also continue in office.
“I am absolutely determined that we should not prolong this crisis. If it’s agreed within government that Boris Johnson should continue as caretaker, then that’s fine with me,” Baker told CNN. “Because we need to just end the crisis, get into a leadership contest, and start fresh in September.”
Baker had earlier told the BBC that he was “seriously thinking” about standing in the contest.
Barrage of criticism
Johnson’s departure will mark a remarkable downfall for a Prime Minister who was once seen as having political superpowers, with an appeal that transcended traditional party lines.
He won a landslide victory in December 2019 on the promise of delivering a Brexit deal and leading the UK to a bright future outside the European Union. But his premiership unraveled in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In recent months the Prime Minister has faced a barrage of criticism from all sides over his conduct and that of some members of his government, including illegal, Covid-19 lockdown-breaking parties thrown in his Downing Street offices for which he and others were fined.
Numerous other scandals have also hit his standing in the polls. These include accusations of using donor money inappropriately to pay for a refurbishment of his Downing Street home and ordering MPs to vote in such a way that would protect a colleague who had breached lobbying rules.
Last month, he survived a confidence vote among members of his own party, but the final count of his lawmakers who rebelled against him was higher than his supporters expected: 41% of his own parliamentary party refused to back him.
He suffered a further blow late last month when his party lost two parliamentary by-elections in a single night, raising new questions about his leadership.
His reputation was also dented by the resignation of his second ethics adviser in less than two years.
The MP Chris Pincher – at the time, the Conservative deputy chief whip – went to a private members’ club in London. In his words, he “drank far too much” and “embarrassed himself”.
He was accused of groping two men, which led to flurry of allegations, some dating back years. It set off a chain of events that ended with the prime minister’s downfall.
First, Downing Street said Mr Johnsonwas not aware of “specific allegations” about Mr Pincher before appointing him as deputy chief whip in February. Ministers later reiterated this line – even though it turned out to be inaccurate.
On 4 July, the BBC reported Mr Johnson had been aware of a formal complaint. The next day, a former civil servant – Lord McDonald – said the prime minister had been told of the complaint in person.
Mr Johnson then admitted he had been told in 2019, and apologised for appointing Mr Pincher as deputy chief whip.
Partygate
Media caption, Watch Boris Johnson admit to attending the No 10 party in May 2020
In April this year, the prime minister was fined for breaking lockdown rules, after attending a gathering on his birthday in June 2020.
He also apologised for going to a “bring your own booze” party in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown.
More widely, the Metropolitan Police issued 126 fines to 83 people for breaking lockdown rules in Downing Street and Whitehall.
And a report by Sue Gray – a senior civil servant – described a series of social events by political staff that broke lockdown rules.
“The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture,” she wrote.
Last December, Mr Johnson told the Commons that “all guidance was followed completely in No 10”. He is now being investigated by a Commons committee over whether he knowingly misled Parliament.
The cost of living crisis – and a tax rise
Inflation has risen sharply in 2022, to the current rate of 9.1%.
Many of the reasons were outside of Boris Johnson’s control. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, for example, has led to rises in oil prices and the cost of food.
And, while the government has taken some steps – for example, by cutting fuel duty by 5p per litre – it also went ahead with a tax rise in April. National Insurance went up by 1.25 pence in the pound.
The government said the tax rise would pay for health and social care, and changes that kicked in this week softened the blow – but anyone earning more than £34,000 a year will still pay more.
“In the middle of the worst cost of living crisis for decades,” said Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in April, “the government chooses to increase taxes on working people”.
Owen Paterson row
In October 2021, a House of Commons committee recommended a 30-day suspension for then-Conservative MP Owen Paterson.
The committee said he broke lobbying rules, to try to benefit companies who paid him.
But the Conservatives – led by the prime minister – voted to pause his suspension, and set up a new committee to look at how investigations were carried out.
After an outcry, Mr Paterson ended up resigning. Mr Johnson later admitted he had “crashed the car” in his handling of the case.
Lack of focus – and ideas
Media caption, Watch: ‘Enough is enough,’ says Sajid Javid in his resignation speech
Boris Johnson won his thumping majority on the back of a clear, easy-to-follow policy – Get Brexit Done.
But since then, his critics said, there was a lack of focus and ideas in Downing Street.
His ex-adviser turned chief critic, Dominic Cummings, repeatedly accused him of being an out-of-control shopping trolley, veering from position to position.
Others questioned the prime minister’s philosophy – or, indeed, if he had one. In June, Conservative MP and former minister Jeremy Hunt accused Mr Johnson of lacking “integrity, competence, and vision”.
Mr Hunt was speaking before a confidence vote, which Mr Johnsonwon – but the complaints were getting louder.
The by-election defeats kept coming. After the latest, Mr Johnson said he would not undergo a “psychological transformation”.
But that, now, is not the concern of Conservative MPs. They have spoken, and the prime minister is going.
Mr Zahawi, who becomes the fourth chancellor in three years, was appointed alongside the prime minister’s chief of staff, Steve Barclay, who became health secretary.
A No 10 source said the new chancellor was “more dynamic and more aligned” with Mr Johnson, and described the new health secretary as a “massive upgrade”.
Bim Afolami – who quit as vice-chair of the Conservative party live on TV on Tuesday evening – said Downing Street’s handling of the Chris Pincher affair had been “really appalling” and he could no longer “defend that sort of behaviour”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he supported Mr Johnson in his recent confidence vote in order to give him time to rebuild trust after Partygate, but things had “got a lot worse” in recent weeks.
Neither Mr Javid nor Mr Sunak have publicly spoken since standing down, but their resignation letters on Tuesday were highly critical of the PM.
Mr Javid warned the leadership was not “acting in the national interest”, while Mr Sunak said the public expected government to be conducted “properly, competently and seriously”.
Opposition party leaders urged cabinet ministers to join the pair and resign, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was ready for a snap general election.
Tory MP and former chief whip, Andrew Mitchell, told BBC Newsnight it was “over” for Mr Johnson, saying “he has neither the character nor the temperament to be our prime minister” – and the only question was how long the affair would go on.
But the PM cannot be ousted from his post under the current Conservative Party rules, and several ministers have rallied around the PM, including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss – one potential contender to replace him as Tory leader.
She said she was “100% behind the PM”, while cabinet ministers including Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Therese Coffey and Ben Wallace also indicated they would be staying in the government.
Tory backbencher Daniel Kawczynski suggested the resignations would ultimately strengthen Mr Johnson’s position, adding they “could have triggered an avalanche against the prime minister but it hasn’t”.
A senior Tory source tells the PA Media agency PM Boris Johnson took five questions at the meeting with MPs, two of which were “hostile” – while the other three were not.
The source said Sir Charles Walker, the MP for Broxbourne, told the PM “at times you’ve driven me absolutely wild”, which drew “a big laugh”.
Sir Charles was said to have added that he accepted Johnson’s apology – and warned colleagues that “defenestrating a PM is a brutal, bloody, shocking, horrible, terrible thing”.
But former Conservative chief whip Mark Harper said if Johnson stayed he would be asking MPs to “defend the indefensible”.
The prime minister rejected this “very, very aggressively”, PA was told.
Number of public Johnson supporters up to 131
The BBC’s political research unit places the number of Conservative MPs pledging publicly to support Boris Johnson in the confidence vote at 131.
The prime minister needs 180 votes to get over the line – if every MP votes.
The ballot, taking place in one of Parliament’s committee rooms between 18:00 and 20:00 BST, will be a secret one. And we’ll know the outcome at 21:00.
Why is a vote happening?
Some Conservative MPs have handed in letters calling for Mr Johnson to resign.
Pressure on the prime minister has grown following the publication of details of Downing Street parties which broke Covid rules.
A report, by senior civil servant Sue Gray, said many of the gatherings “should not have been allowed”.
What is a no confidence vote?
An attempt by Conservative MPs to remove their leader is known as a vote of confidence.
For a vote to be held, at least 15% of Conservative MPs have to write a letter saying they no longer support their leader. At the moment this works out as 54 MPs (out of 359).
Their letters are sent to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of a group called the 1922 Committee, which represents them.
On Monday he said there were enough letters for a vote to take place.
How does a no confidence vote work?
To win, Mr Johnson needs more Tory MPs to vote for him to continue, rather than be replaced.
So, if every Conservative MP takes part, Mr Johnson needs 180 votes (half his MPs, plus one).
Tory MPs won’t have to say how they vote, but some will choose to do so.
One Tory MP has been told to stay away from Parliament, after being accused of rape and sexual assault. However, as he has not been suspended from the Conservative Party, he can take part if another MP agrees to vote on his behalf (known as a proxy vote).
What happens if Mr Johnson wins?
If he wins, Mr Johnson can continue as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.
Under current rules, Tory MPs would not be allowed to hold another no confidence vote for a year.
However, there has been speculation some could try to change the rules, to hold another vote sooner. When asked about it, Mr Brady said “technically, it’s possible”.
It is also possible that if Mr Johnson won by only a few votes, he could be persuaded to think twice about whether he had enough support to continue.
Boris Johnson has insisted he will remain as prime minister despite the “bitter and painful” judgement of a report into parties held in Downing Street during Covid restrictions.
Excessive drinking, mistreatment of cleaners and security staff and Covid rule-breaking was highlighted in civil servant Sue Gray’s report.
She said the leadership in No 10 “must bear responsibility” for its culture.
Some opponents have repeated their calls for Mr Johnson to quit.
However in a press conference on Wednesday, the prime minister ruled out resigning, saying: “I’ve got to keep moving forward.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had earlier called on Conservative MPs to remove him, saying it was time for Mr Johnson “to pack his bags”.
Addressing the Commons, Mr Johnson said he took “full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch”, had been “humbled” and learned lessons.
He told MPs that when he had previously said “the rules and guidance had been followed at all times”, it had been “what I believed to be true”.
He said he had attended events to wish staff who were leaving farewell and his attendance had not been found to be outside the rules.
“But clearly this was not the case for some of those gatherings after I had left and at other gatherings when I was not even in the building,” he added.
Mr Johnson said he had been “shocked” and “appalled” by some of Ms Gray’s findings, especially over the treatment of security and cleaning staff.
At the press conference later on Wednesday, he said a lot of the report which he had only seen for the first time on Wednesday had been “news to me”.
Boris Johnson is facing fresh questions after photos showing the prime minister drinking at an event during a Covid lockdown were published.
The pictures, released by ITV News, are believed to show the prime minister at a leaving party on 13 November 2020.
The BBC has been told that at least one person who attended the event was fined, but the PM was not.
The Metropolitan Police are facing calls to explain why Mr Johnson did not receive a fine.
A government source told BBC News the photos may have been taken by the official No 10 photographer and proved Mr Johnson was there in a work capacity.
The police investigated two events in Downing Street on 13 November. Asked in Parliament by a Labour MP whether a party had taken place on that date, Mr Johnson said “no”, adding that “I’m sure…all the rules were followed”.
Meanwhile, a government source has also told the BBC that civil servant Sue Gray may hand her report on parties to Downing Street on Wednesday, followed by a statement in Parliament and a press conference by the prime minister.
Responding to the leaks, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said it would be difficult for the PM to reconcile his statement to Parliament that no party had taken place with the pictures and called on Tory MPs to remove him from office.
The peer and former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said the prime minister had lied to Parliament and his position was now untenable.
Senior Conservative Tom Tugendhat was also critical telling the BBC that: “Seriousness in government matters. It costs us all. And I’m afraid this just doesn’t look serious.”
But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that while he found the picture “difficult to look at”, he suggested the presence of the PM’s ministerial red box “suggests he was probably on his way through”.
“I think he’s popped down there to raise a glass and say thank you to a long term member of staff who is leaving,” he said, adding that the police would have “thoroughly investigated” the event.
IMAGE SOURCE, ITV
A No 10 spokeswoman said the prime minister would address Parliament “in full” after senior civil servant Sue Gray published her report into the gatherings “in the coming days”.
There was support for the PM from Conservative backbench MP Sir Desmond Swayne, who said he believed it was a “work do”, adding “that’s what people do at work”.
He told BBC Newsnight: “Now I understand entirely the public anguish at a time when they were locked down and they were not supposed to be together, but there clearly was a distinction between the workplace – where people work together and are effectively in a bubble – and what was taking place outside.”
The government is confident it can move towards a safe return for fans to watch sporting events in stadiums, says Minister for Sport Nigel Huddleston.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said spectators could be able to return to stadiums in England from October.
On Tuesday, Warwickshire faced Worcestershire at Edgbaston as part of a pilot programme that saw a limited number fans allowed inside the ground.
“We need to take the natural baby steps moving forward,” said Huddleston.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the MP for Mid Worcestershire said the government will look at the pilot events and how to build up the number of spectators over time.
“I’m confident that we can find a way to move forward,” he added.
“Of course, whether it’s sports stadiums or theatres and all sorts of other things, we’ve seen in other countries there is a way to get full audiences without a vaccine.
“I’m confident that there are measures that can be put in place that can give both those taking part in the sports and spectators confidence that they are going to somewhere safe.”
Among the pilot events are the World Snooker Championship, the Goodwood horse racing festival, and another county cricket friendly between Surrey and Middlesex at The Oval.
Any stadium re-openings are subject to coronavirus guidelines.
And Professor James Calder – who has chaired the cross-sport working group with government and health officials on the return to sport – has told BBC Sport that sports events are highly unlikely to have full capacity crowds this year.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s car was involved in a minor accident as he left the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday.
As Johnson’s car left Parliament to drive the short distance to Downing Street following the weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions, a group of protesters ran towards the car, prompting it to come to a sudden halt.
A security car following the Prime Minister’s vehicle then ran into the back of Johnson’s car, leaving a visible dent.
The story came to light after a video of the crash circulated on social media.
Johnson’s official spokesperson confirmed that the video showed the PM’s car, and that he was in it at the time, but said he was unhurt in the shunt.
“Yes, that was the PM’s car,” the spokesperson said. “I think the video speaks for itself as to what happened. No reports of anybody being injured.”
London’s Metropolitan Police issued a statement, saying: “A pedestrian is reported to have stepped onto the road, causing the vehicles to suddenly stop, which has led to two of the vehicles in the convoy being involved in a damage-only collision.”
It added that a man “was arrested at the scene for offences under Section 5 of the Public Order Act and for obstructing the highway” and that all vehicles involved “were able to drive from the scene.”
Downing Street has said that it will not be commenting on the matter further.
Bois Johnson in car crash at Parliament. Just now. Security drives into back of his car as Kurdish protester runs into road. pic.twitter.com/k1kCplzyZ5
— Steve Bray #HoldThemToAccount (@snb19692) June 17, 2020
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet EU chiefs by video link Monday to try to breathe new life into stalled post-Brexit trade talks, with both sides entrenched in long-held positions.
The conference with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel will review progress in the talks on future EU-UK relations.
It is the first time Johnson has personally taken part in the talks which began in March, just weeks after Britain left the European Union on January 31 after 47 years in the European project.
While expectations are low for the long-planned meeting, the unpredictable Johnson, who has recently recovered from a bout with the coronavirus, has EU negotiators on the lookout for any potential surprises.
Britain and the EU have held four rounds of talks on how to organise their ties after December 31, when the UK leaves the single market and stops adhering to Brussels’ rules after an 11-month transition.
So far they have achieved little, giving Monday’s meeting added significance. London and Brussels have already agreed to intensify negotiations, with mainly in-person talks through July and August.
Talks between EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his British counterpart David Frost have mostly taken place virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“So far we haven’t had actual negotiations, just an exchange of views,” an EU diplomat told AFP. “It’s a battle of strategies at this point.”
On Friday, Britain formally declared that it would not seek to extend the post-Brexit transition by one or two years, something it could have done according to the terms of the divorce deal Johnson signed last year.
‘Cherry-pick’
The same intractable issues have hampered the talks since the start.
Britain has firmly rejected calls by the EU that it commit to European standards overseen by EU law to keep open access to the single market – something Brussels says would maintain a “level playing field”.
“We cannot accept the UK’s attempts to cherry-pick parts of our single market benefits,” Barnier said in a speech on Thursday.
“It is looking to pick and choose the most attractive elements of the single market – without the obligations,” he added.
The EU is also asking for continued guaranteed access to British waters for European fishing fleets, an idea Britain has so far refused. Instead, they have proposed annual talks on quotas for catches.
Britain is eager to keep its deep business ties to the EU single market, the world’s biggest – but it won’t recognise any mention of EU law or court decisions in the deal, which it sees that as a violation of its sovereignty.
Johnson’s government also refuses to discuss many topics beyond trade that the Europeans would like to have bound to the same deal.
Security, diplomacy, research and data flows are for now sidestepped by the British side, to the great frustration of Barnier and his teams.
Tight timetable
Opinions diverge on how soon a deal needs to be struck in order to give companies the visibility they need on the terms of cross-Channel trade from January 1, 2021.
Barnier has said the deal needs to be done by October 31 to leave enough time to be ratified by member states and the European Parliament.
British officials believe a deal is needed sooner, and Barnier and Frost have both committed to participating actively in all aspects of the talks throughout the summer, to get a deal.
Failure to agree one will effectively remove Britain from Europe’s supply chain due to tariffs, customs and regulatory checks and other obstacles to business, such as professional licensing.
On Friday, the UK said that whatever the outcome of the talks, British customs officers would not be ready to deal with new rules at their ports or borders on January 1.
UK border checks will, therefore, be applied with a “light-touch” for the first months after the new year as Britain readies itself for post-Brexit trade ties.
Disclaimer : “Opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not in any way reflect those of tigpost.co. Our outfit will hereby not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article.â€
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said a wave of anti-racism protests across Britain had been “hijacked by extremists”, as fears mounted about clashes between activists and far-right groups.
In London, authorities boarded up several statues, including of World War II leader Winston Churchill, after previous damage and with further demonstrations planned.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said the monuments, as well as the Cenotaph war memorial, were being protected against the risk of “disorder, vandalism and violence”.
Statues and monuments to figures involved in Britain’s colonial past and the international slave trade have become increasing targets for activists over the last week.
Their targeting has prompted calls for a re-examination of the country’s historical legacy.
On Sunday, crowds in southwest England toppled a statue to a local slave trader and philanthropist, Edward Colston, and threw it into the harbour, prompting calls for others to be removed.
But while recognising the “legitimate desire to protest against discrimination”, Johnson said in a statement issued on Twitter: “We cannot now try to edit or censor our past.
“We cannot pretend to have a different history. The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations.
“They had different perspectives, different understandings of right and wrong. But those statues teach us about our past, with all its faults.
“To tear them down would be to lie about our history, and impoverish the education of generations to come.”
The protests were sparked by the death during a US police arrest of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American, which have triggered outrage around the world.
Johnson acknowledged the anger of black and minority ethnic communities and said there had been “huge” strides in tackling discrimination in Britain.
But after clashes marred largely peaceful demonstrations in London, he added: “It is clear that the protests have been sadly hijacked by extremists intent on violence.
“The attacks on the police and indiscriminate acts of violence which we have witnessed over the last week are intolerable and they are abhorrent.”
“The only responsible course of action is to stay away from these protests,” he said.
Tensions high
With tensions running high, the Black Lives Matter group called off a demonstration planned for Saturday in London’s Hyde Park after far-right groups said they would also protest.
“We want the protests to be a safe space for people to attend however we don’t think it’ll be possible with people like them present,” BLM London said on Instagram.
However, it said a protest for Friday lunchtime would go ahead when the group will unveil a billboard to the victims of what it called “state and racist violence”.
Mayor Khan backed protesters, saying Floyd’s death “must be a catalyst for systemic, lasting change to tackle the racism and inequalities that black people still face today”.
But he urged people to stay home this weekend, both because of the risk of spreading the coronavirus and of violence.
“Extreme far-right groups who advocate hatred and division are planning counter-protests, which means that the risk of disorder is high,” the London mayor said.
Churchill’s statue was vandalised last weekend by campaigners who say his policies led to the deaths of millions of people during a famine in the Indian state of Bengal in 1943.
Johnson, who has written a biography of the wartime leader, said it was “absurd and shameful” his memorial would be targeted, as he fought against fascism and tyranny.
“Yes, he sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today, but he was a hero, and he fully deserves his memorial,” the premier wrote.
Activists linked to the Stop Trump Coalition have compiled a crowd-sourced list of statues and monuments across Britain that they say “celebrate slavery and racism”.
The list includes figures such as the 16th-century explorer Francis Drake, and Robert Clive, once described as an “unstable sociopath” who managed the East India Company in British-ruled India.
London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals announced it would remove two statues – including to its benefactor Thomas Guy — because of their links to slavery.
