Among the interests listed by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his time at Stanford University were the history of Coca-Cola and Star Wars.
A screenshot of the Tory leader’s alumni profile, shared by a political science student at the university, Tianyu M. Fang, shows details of Mr Sunak’s course at the prestigious US university.
And among his skills and hobbies is the history of Coca-Cola.
It comes after a clip of the Tory leader emerged in 2021 in which he spoke of his love for the fizzy beverage and admitted he was addicted to coke.
During the clip, Mr Sunak, who was chancellor at the time, told two school students: “I’m a coke addict. A total coke addict.”
He then realised how the statement might be perceived and added: “Coca-Cola addict for the record. I have seven fillings to show for it.”
He went on to say he now only allowed himself one coke a week and expressed his affection for a drink called “Mexican coke” which he claimed was made with “cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup“.
A Labour MP has slammed Rishi Sunak’sdecision to promote a key ally despite their previous dismissal for national security reasons.
Gavin Williamson, a former education secretary who oversaw the pandemic exam fiasco, was appointed minister without portfolio last night.
Questioning Mr Sunak in the Commons, Labour’s Stephen Kinnock accuses the prime minister of trying to “shamelessly swap red boxes for political support”.
He says there are “serious consequences to all this horse trading” and asks whether the PM sought any advice on security concerns about Mr Williamson, who was sacked previously for leaking sensitive information relating to national security.
Mr Sunak says this happened four years ago, although the Labour MP is “right” to raise the topic of national security.
He says that four years ago, Labour was busysupporting Jeremy Corbyn – who had wanted to abolish NATO.
“We won’t take any lectures on national security,” he says.
In British politics, the Great Offices of State refers to the four top jobs in politics: prime minister, chancellor, foreign secretary, and home secretary.
We know Rishi Sunak is the first, so let’s look at who the other three are.
Chancellor
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
In a move that many expected, Sunak decided to keep Jeremy Hunt as chancellor after he was brought in to undo the mess caused by former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s September 23 mini-budget.
His was the first appointment to be announced by Sunak’s team.
Foreign Secretary
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Another person who stayed in their cabinet role was James Cleverly, made foreign secretary by Truss a few weeks ago.
It was reported that Penny Mordaunt, Sunak’s rival in the leadership race, had made it clear this was the job she wanted – but she instead remained in her current post as leader of the House of Commons.
Home secretary
EPACopyright: EPA
A controversial addition was Suella Braverman, who were both appointed and re-appointed as home secretary yesterday.
Braverman was made home secretary by Truss in September, but she later resigned after it was revealed she had broken the rules by sending an official document from her personal email account.
In her resignation letter, Braverman claimed it was “not serious politics” for MPs to make mistakes and carry on. Many saw this as a reference to Truss, who was under intense pressure to stand aside, which she did – the next day.
Stay tuned for a full list of everyone Sunak hired yesterday.
Michael Gove has returned to the cabinet under Rishi Sunak,three months after being fired by Boris Johnson. He will resume his duties as levelling up secretary.
Mr Gove was on the back benches for the first time in a very long while after being removed from the position in the wake of political chaos under Mr Johnson.
It had been widely suspected Mr Gove would return to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
This could be a tactical move by Mr Sunak, as Mr Gove has not been shy in criticising the government from the backbenches.
Labour’s shadow minister for levelling up responded with a jibe, saying: “If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try and try again…”
Lisa Nandy added: “Congratulations Michael Gove. The job has got a whole lotharder.”
Sir Keir Starmerhas dropped the gloves in his latest remarks about the new Prime Minister, after previously congratulating Rishi Sunak.
Mr Sunak has only ever fought one leadership election battle, which he was “thrashed” by Liz Truss, the Labour leader told his shadow cabinet.
“Rishi Sunak stabbed Boris Johnson in the back when he thought he could get his job. And in the same way, he will now try and disown the Tory record of recent years and recent months and pretend that he is a new broom,” Sir Keir said, according to a readout of the meeting.
“But he was also the chancellor who left Britain facing the lowest growth of any developed country, the highest inflation, and millions of people worried about their bills. And now he plans to make working people pay the price for the Tories crashing the economy.”
He said Mr Sunak is a “weak prime minister who will have to put his party first and the country second”.
Acknowledging the Tories could expect a “bounce” in the opinion polls, he said he knew Labour’s hugelead in recent surveys was no more than an “enjoyable story”
He wrote to Rishi Sunak: “I know that you wish for a new team to join you in HM Government, so I write to stand aside.”
He added that he is “sure that HM Government will continue to deliver, and you will have my support in doing so“.
Congratulations to @RishiSunak on taking office as 🇬🇧 Prime Minister! I wish you to successfully overcome all the challenges facing British society and the whole world today. I’m ready to continue strengthening the 🇺🇦-🇬🇧 strategic partnership together!
A protester shouts “Rishi out!” as Rishi Sunakarrives at Downing Street.
Standing at the lectern outside his new home, he announces that he has accepted the King’s invitation to form a government.
He takes a solemn approach, saying the country is “facing a profound economic crisis”, the aftermath of COVID “lingers” and Putin is presenting a threat in Ukraine.
Mr Sunak pays tribute to his predecessor Liz Truss, saying she was enthusiastic to create change, but “some mistakes were made”.
He says they were not the result of “bad intentions”, but they were “mistakes nonetheless”.
“I have been made the leader of the party and your prime minister, in part, to fix them, and that work begins now,” he says.
Liz Truss has defended her lower-tax vision for the UK as she prepares to leave office as the UK’s shortest-serving prime minister in history.
She urged her successor, Rishi Sunak, to be “bold” in order to boost the economy in an unapologetic farewell speech.
She said the UK “cannot afford” for government spending to take up an “increasing share of our national wealth”.
And she insisted “brighter days lie ahead” for the UK.
Flanked by her husband and children, Ms Truss said she would go back to being a backbench MP for her South West Norfolk constituency.
Mr Sunak will take power later after he is formally appointed by the King following his victory in the Conservative leadership contest.
Ms Truss announced her resignation last week after just 45 days in office, after big tax cuts in a hastily-assembled mini-budget prompted financial turmoil.
After initially defending her agenda, she later abandoned almost all of it in a bid to calm markets but saw support from her own MPs ebb away.
But she struck a defiant tone in her speech in Downing Street, adding: “I’m more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenges we face.
“We simply cannot afford to be a low-growth country where the government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth,” she added.
Quoting the Roman philosopher Seneca, she added: “it’s not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it’s because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
She also pointed to her reversal of April’s National Insurance rise and her plan to limit energy rises as examples of successes during her short time in office.
She also urged Mr Sunak to continue British support for Ukraine, adding the country “must prevail” in its “brave fight against [Vladimir] Putin’s aggression”.
It is traditional for the new prime minister to be greeted by a throng of applauding advisers and MPs as they walk along Downing Streetfor the first time as PM.
But one of Rishi Sunak’s close allies, Mel Stride, texted MPs to say this will not be happening today.
The new PM apparently wants to avoid a celebratory tone.
The fact Mel Stride has sent this email suggests he may be destined to be Mr Sunak’s chief whip, in charge of parliamentary discipline.
According to a media notice from Downing Street,Liz Truss used her final cabinet meeting to tell her ministers the government had “secured some significant achievements” in the “short time” it had been in place.
A readout of this morning’s meeting said: “The prime minister opened cabinet by thanking ministers for their support. She said that in the short time the government had been in place they had secured some significant achievements.
“She said the government ensured the country was able to mourn the passing of Her Majesty The Queen and to welcome His Majesty King Charles III as the new monarch, a vital moment in the history of our country.
“The prime minister said the government acted to immediately protect the public and businesses from unsustainably high energy bills – bringing in the Energy Price Guarantee to save the typical household around £700 this winter.
“The government also stuck to its pledge to scrap the rise in national insurance and demonstrated its steadfast commitment in supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s war of aggression.”
The media notice ends: “The prime minister concluded by saying her time in the role had been a huge privilege and that her successor will have her support as they now build on the important steps already taken by the cabinet to support the country.”
Lord Bilimoria, a British Indian businessman, told Sky News that the last decade had seen “glass ceilings shattered” in front of his eyes.
He said: “This is something that we should be celebrating as a country.
“The Indian community here, one-and-a-half million strong, is the largest ethnic minority community, and I would say the most successful, reaching the very top in business, in politics, at the cabinet table and now prime minister.
“So that is wonderful news, it’s being celebrated by the 30 million people of Indian origin around the world, and it’s being celebrated by the 1.4 billion people in India.
“So it’s a matter of great pride, it’s a sign of how wonderful this country the United Kingdom is, how much it’s changed since I came from India as a 19-year-old student in the early 80s when I was told by my family and friends, if you decide to work in the UK after your studies, just remember you will never get to the top because you won’t be allowed to get to the top as a foreigner.”
The government has set a date for Rishi Sunak to visit Buckingham Palace and meet King Charles on Tuesday.
Sunakwill meet the monarch after Liz Truss has chaired a final meeting of her cabinet at 9am, after which she will make a speech outside Downing Street. She will then go to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the King.
Afterwards, Sunak will go and meet the King, where he will be asked to form a government.
The new prime ministerwill then give a speech outside Number 10 at about 11.35am.
When Liz Trussbecame prime minister, some commented that she had built up a cabinet almost entirely of her supporters.
Butour political correspondent Tamara Cohen says Rishi Sunakis likely to take a different approach.
“Rishi Sunak’s team say that when he talks about a government of all the talents, he actually means it this time,” she says.
This means bringing in people who don’t support or agree with him.
While this risks high-profile complainers in the newspapers come budget time, Tamara says there is another reason Mr Sunak will want to keep his critics close.
The Tories command a majority of nearly 80 in the Commons, but plenty of MPs backed Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt in the leadership race – meaning the party is “deeply divided” and votes on spending cuts could be difficult to get through.
Every vote will count for Mr Sunak, Tamara says – so he’ll need “as many of his critics in government positions as possible”.
Margaret Thatcher had taken a similar approach, appointing her critics so people would challenge her.
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Labouris saying the Conservatives are still a “divided and chaotic party” despite the accession of Rishi Sunak as prime minister.
Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden told Sky News that today’s reshuffle will be “another round of ministerial chairs being moved around”.
Mr McFadden said this was now not just affecting politics, “but it’s now affecting people in their pockets”.
While Labour wants to a general election, Mr McFadden said that will only happen if Mr Suank agrees to it, “so as much as I’d like to see one, he probably won’t have one”.
Asked about how Mr Sunak – as a multimillionaire – would be able to implement restrictive economic policy, Mr McFadden says he did not think personal wealth was something to harp on – and he prefers to talk about policies.
Rishi Sunak’s victory in the Conservative leadership election has been described as a “groundbreaking milestone” by US President Joe Biden.
After meeting King Charles today, Mr Sunak is set to become Britain’s first black prime minister. On Monday, Mr. Biden made the remark at a White House event commemorating the Indian holiday of Diwali.
Mr Sunak, a 42-year-old multimillionaire former hedge fund boss, won the race to lead the Conservative Partyon Monday and will become the UK’s youngest leader in modern times.
His family migrated to Britain from India in the 1960s, a period when many people from Britain’s former colonies moved to the country to help it rebuild after World War Two.
“We’ve got the news that Rishi Sunak is now the prime minister,” Mr Biden said. “He’s expected to become the prime minister I think tomorrow when he goes to see the King.
“Pretty astounding. A groundbreaking milestone and it matters.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had earlier said Mr Biden would call Mr Sunak in the coming days, noting that it was protocol for the US president to wait to offer his congratulations until after an incoming British prime minister had met with the monarch and been formally invited to form a new government.
Some Conservative Party supporters have cancelled their memberships followingthe announcement that Rishi Sunak is set to be prime minister, with one voter of more than 40 years saying they felt as though the party “has been destroyed from within”.
While some felt “delighted” by the news, others said the move has left them “fuming” that party members were not able to vote for Mr Sunak to take over from Liz Truss.
Lyn Bond, a 60-year-old retired nurse who has voted Conservative since she was 18, sent an email to cancel her membership after it was confirmed the MP for Richmond will lead the party.
“The whole thing is rather sad because, for a party that had such a wonderful win in 2019, it has been destroyed from within,” Ms Bond, from Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, said.
“I feel awash on a boat in the ocean not knowing where to go, what to do.
“I’ve never doubted what I voted for, ever, until today.”
Samuel Jukes, a retail worker from Birmingham who joined the Tories in 2019 and was supporting Boris Johnson in the contest, said a general election should now be called as Mr Sunak “has no mandate”.
“I’m fuming right now, we never voted for Rishi Sunak,” the 33-year-old told PA.
“I’m considering leaving, not decided yet but I see a lot of members are canceling their memberships and I might be the same… Rishi has no mandate.
“Right now I’m ashamed to be a Conservative member.”
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.
The gilt market was returned to its pre-Liz Truss mini-budget level shortly after Rishi Sunak was declared as Tory leader.
Gilts, or UK government bonds, are an essential part of our financial markets.
Following the mini-budget, the Bank of England was forced to intervene to prevent the gilt market from worsening.
UK government bonds were already staging a rally as Monday began and this rally became more aggressive as it became clearer that Rishi Sunak would likely face an unopposed run to the top job, business reporter Sharon Marris writes.
The 30-year gilt had been pummelled after Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget in September but it recovered late on Monday to levels seen before Mr Kwarteng’s tax-cutting plans had prompted a markets meltdown.
Investors are betting that Mr Sunak, a former chancellor with a background in finance, will stick with the economic policies announced by current chancellor Jeremy Hunt, which have calmed the markets in recent days.
Sunak’simpending status as the UK’s first prime minister from an ethnic minority is “a massive moment” symbolically, says Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank.
“[But] his reputation will hinge on how well he delivers as PM at what is perhaps a uniquely difficult time in our history,” Menon told Al Jazeera.
“At a minimum, the South Asian community will take note because one of their own is in Downing Street, though ultimately they will judge him on his policies and there is no guarantee that his policies will be to all of their likings,” he said.
“He’s different because he’s not white, … [but] socio-economically, he is absolutely part of the UK elite.”
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Rishi Sunak’s accession to Number 10, making him the first British Indian prime minister, is being hailed as a “historic moment”.
Sunder Katwala, the director of the British Future think tank, said: “This simply would not have been possible a decade ago.”
He noted that Mr Sunak becoming prime minister will be “a source of pride to many British Asians – including many who do not share” his politics.
“We should not underestimate this important social change,” he said.
“When Sunak was born in Southampton in 1980, there had been no Asian or black MPs at all in the post-war era. There were still no black or Asian Conservative MPs when he graduated from university in 2001.
“Sunak reaching 10 Downing Street does not make Britain a perfect meritocracy. While there is more to do, this is a hopeful sign of progress against the prejudices of the past.
“National politics has set the pace and business, public services and charities should accept the challenge to reflect modern Britain too.”
Rishi Sunak has given his first speech as Conservative Party leader, telling the party he is “humbled and honored” to win their support.
“I’d like to pay tribute to Liz Truss for her dedicated public service to the country,” he said of the outgoing leader. “She has led with dignity and grace through a time of great change.”
“It is the greatest privilege of my life to be able to serve the party I love, and to be able to give back to the country I owe so much to,” Sunak said.
“The United Kingdom is a great country, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge,” he added. “We need stability and unity, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring our party and our country together.”
“I pledge that I will serve you with integrity and humility … I will work day in, day out to deliver for the British people,” he concluded at the end of a very brief speech.
He said it was a time of “great difficulty and uncertainty” for the UK.
“Please join me in praying for Rishi Sunak as he takes on the responsibilities of leadership.
“May he, and all leaders of all parties, work across divides to bring unity and offer stability for those who need it most.”
Mr Sunak took the post unopposed on Monday after Liz Truss resigned as prime minister on Thursday.
She had been in Number 10 for 44 days – the shortest premiership of any British prime minister.
At a time of great difficulty and uncertainty for this country, please join me in praying for @RishiSunak as he takes on the responsibilities of leadership.
May he, and all leaders of all parties, work across divides to bring unity and offer stability for those who need it most.
Our political editor Beth Rigby has been talking us through what is likely to happen in the next few days after Rishi Sunak became the next Tory leader.
She said: “What’s he up to now? He’s addressing MPs – we haven’t seen him yet.
“But I think we are going to get a statement from him on camera later today. What does a new Conservative Party leader typically do?
“I imagine what we will see later today is he will go to Conservative HQ – this is what every new Conservative leader does.
“Then I think we will see tomorrow the handover of power, that’s when Liz Truss formally exits Number 10 and has an audience with the King, and then the new prime minister has an audience with the King and makes that journey from Buckingham Palace to the podium outside in the street.
“And he will address the nation.”
Beth added that this is an astonishing turnaround for Mr Sunak.
“But what a moment this is,” she said. “Rishi Sunak, he was down and out in July, he was out of the cabinet, he was back on the backbenches. There were questions about whether he would even remain as an MP.
“He is the first British-Asian prime minister… this really is a ground-breaking moment for the country in so many ways.
“But it’s also controversial because he is the third Conservative prime minister since the 2019 general election.”
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Former cabinetministers rushed to congratulate Rishi Sunak on his victory in the leadership election.
It comes at a time when many people are looking for a return to the top table of government.
“Huge congrats to Rishi Sunak,” former health secretary Matt Hancock said. He is the prime minister we need.
“All of those who know Rishi well know he has the integrity, ability, and experience to lead our country in thesetroubled times.”
Sajid Javid – another former health secretary and ex-chancellor, said: “Congratulations Rishi Sunak on becoming the new leader of the Conservatives.
“We face huge challenges, but he has the skill and experience to bring the stability we need.
“Conservatives must unite behind him and deliver for the British people.”
Former housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Congratulations Rishi Sunak. I couldn’t be prouder of my friend today.
“He’s won the overwhelming support of the parliamentary party. There are huge challenges ahead, but I have every faith that with him at the helm, the country will succeed.”
Ex-Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith said: “In Rishi Sunak as prime minister, the United Kingdom has the best possible person to deal with the current challenges we face. Finally.”
And former business secretary Andrea Leadsom – a key backer of Ms Mordaunt – said: “Penny has done an amazing job and run an excellent campaign.
“Huge congratulations to Rishi Sunak and enormous gratitude to all those who have worked so hard on Penny’s campaign.”
Penny Mordaunthas stepped down at the last minute, paving the way for Rishi Sunak to become the next Prime Minister.
Mr Sunak had over 200 supporters as the two contenders raced to obtain 100 nominations by today’s 2 pm deadline.
Ms Mordaunt said in a statement that it was “clear that colleagues feel we need certainty today.”
“They have taken this decision in good faith for the good of the country…
“As a result, we have now chosen our next prime minister. This decision is a historic one and shows, once again, the diversity and talent of our party.”
The Commons leader said Mr Sunak now has her “full support” and that now is the time to “unite and work together for the good of the nation”.
“There is much work to be done,” she added.
Ms Mordaunt’s withdrawal means there is only one candidate left in the race – Rishi Sunak – and therefore he will be the new leader.
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.
If Rishi Sunak is elected, one of the first big concerns he will face is appointing a new defence secretary.
Of course, we don’t yet know who will be in his cabinet, but as think tank chief Torsten Bell points out, the present (and popular) Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s stance on defence expenditure may complicate matters.
Unless Ben Wallace finds himself a climb down strategy the first crisis of this new government could be losing the defence secretary. We ain’t going to be spending 3% of GDP on defence
Mr Wallace, one of the most experienced and well-regarded members of the cabinet, has campaigned hard for increases in defence spending.
One of Liz Truss’s key pledges had been to boost defence spending to 3% of national income by 2030.
But Jeremy Hunt – who is widely expected to stay on as chancellor when the new prime minister comes in – has refused to commit to this promise.
He said the Ministry of Defence would need to make additional savings, along with other departments.
Mr Sunak himself has also signalled he is unlikely to stand by the 3% spending promise.
He said this target was “arbitrary” and “not a plan”.
The former chancellor had also become embroiled in a row with Mr Wallace, with the latter claiming Mr Sunak had tried to block a multi-year settlement for the Armed Forces in 2019.
One of these comes from Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Brandon Lewis, who tweeted…
tweeted…
At a time of acute challenge, we must come together and unite. It is clear that the majority of our parliamentary party support @RishiSunak to be our next PM. He has the necessary expertise and experience to do that, and he will have my absolute backing in doing so.
The other is from Ruth Davidson – the ex-leader of the party in Scotland and now a Tory peer.
She said: “I backed Rishi in the summer and continue to believe he’s the best person for the job.
“The challenges facing the country are significant, but the government has a duty to meet those challenges head-on – to level with the country as to why and to what end decisions are being taken. There are so many people struggling and worried out there.
“Frankly, a return to moderate, grown up, honest, the stable government cannot come soon enough.”
George Osborne,who was chancellor during the David Cameron years, doesn’t have much expectation of Penny Mordaunt persuading 100 backers and taking this to a vote of Tory members…
Rishi Sunak will be Prime Minister by the end of the day. Some think,like me, he’s a solution to our problems;others think he’s part of the problem.But whatever your politics,let’s all celebrate the first British Asian becoming PM and be proud of our country where this can happen
After Boris Johnson announced his withdrawal from the campaign to become the United Kingdom’s next Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has emerged as the frontrunner.
Among Conservative MPs, the former chancellor presently has the most declared supporters.
The focus now shifts to whether his remaining opponent, Penny Mordaunt, will satisfy the requisite 100 MPs when nominations end at 14:00 BST.
Mr Johnson withdrew from the race to succeed Liz Truss on Sunday.
The former prime minister – who was in No 10 until just seven weeks ago – claimed he had met the threshold required to stand but in a statement said “you cannot govern effectively unless you have a united party in Parliament”, adding that now was “simply not the right time”.
Many of Mr Johnson’s supporters were caught by surprise at his withdrawal. Essex MP James Duddridge, who gave the first indication that Mr Johnson was intending to run in the Tory leadership race, simply tweeted: “Well that was unexpected. Off to bed!”
With Mr Johnson out of the leadership race, several MPs have begun switching their nominations to the two remaining candidates.
Some 180 out of 357 Tory MPs have gone public with who they are backing, with Mr Sunak garnering support from 155 and Ms Mordaunt securing 25 backers.
Ms Mordaunt’s team said she was still in the running and within “touching distance” of getting enough backers, while Mr Sunak’s team said they were taking nothing for granted.
Damian Green, a former cabinet minister in Theresa May’s government and who is backing Ms Mordaunt, said her numbers are “well above” the published figure.
“We’re confident of getting to 100 before the deadline of two o’clock and putting to colleagues that the case that Penny is the person best positioned to unify the party,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
If she does reach 100 backers, the race could then go to an online ballot of Conservative Party members, with the winner of that being announced by Friday.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, Penny Mordaunt in an interview outside the BBC on Sunday
Mr Sunak is the firm favourite to replace Ms Truss as PM and could do so by as early as Monday afternoon if Ms Mordaunt fails to meet the benchmark.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who scrapped many of Ms Truss’s major economic plans announced in September’s mini-budget, has endorsed Mr Sunak.
In a piece in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Mr Hunt said: “To restore stability and confidence, we need a leader who can be trusted to make difficult choices.
“We have a leader who can do just that in Rishi Sunak.”
He added that Mr Sunak had been “proved right” over his “unfunded tax cut” warnings during the summer’s Tory leadership campaign.
Whoever wins the race will be the UK’s third prime minister in less than two months.
But there are growing calls from opposition parties for an immediate general election – with Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner saying Mr Sunak had not given a public interview since the leadership process began.
“The Tories are about to hand Rishi Sunak the keys to the country without him saying a single word about how he would govern,” she said. “No one voted for this.
“Perhaps it’s not surprising he’s avoiding scrutiny: after all, he was so bad that just a few weeks ago he was trounced by Liz Truss.
“It’s why we need an election now – people deserve a vote on the future of the country.”
SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford also said Tory MPs should put pressure on their next leader to immediately call for a general election.
“That the Tories can foist upon us a third prime minister in just three years without an election, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and economic crisis of their making, speaks to how unfair and undemocratic this Westminster system is,” he said.
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries has said it would now be impossible to avoid a general election, taking aim at the remaining two candidates.
Ms Dorries, a long-time ally of Mr Johnson, tweeted that Mr Sunak and Ms Mordaunt, “despite requests from Boris, refused to unite, which would have made governing utterly impossible”.
Ms Truss, who replaced Mr Johnson in No 10 following a lengthy leadership campaign in the summer, resigned as prime minister after 45 days in office marked by turmoil. She will become the shortest-serving prime minister in British history when she stands down.
Chloe Smith, Work and Pensions Secretary, has come out in support of Rishi Sunak after listening to “his hopes for our country” and her local Conservative members.
“I intend to back Rishi to be prime minister, acting in the national interest and achieving the stability and opportunity that our nation needs,” she tweeted.
By the BBC’s tally, the total number of Sunak’s declared supporters is now 139.
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.
As we said earlier, we’ve been keeping an eye on the number of Conservative MPs who have declared their support for potential contenders in the leadership election so far.
Take a look at our latest tally:
Rishi Sunak – 56
Boris Johnson – 33
Penny Mordaunt – 17
No one has publicly said they’re running yet.
Our tally is based on MPs telling the BBC who they’re backing, or publicly declaring for a potential candidate, as compiled by the BBC.
You may say see different counts online – as others may be including MPs who‘ve privately told them who they’re backing.
We’ll bring you updates on the numbers as we get them.
Other namesbeing floated as potential contenders are former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and international trade secretary Kemi Badenoch. Defence Secretary Ben Wallaceearlier ruled himself out of the contest.
Candidates need the support of at least 100 MPs by 14:00 on Monday – a much higher threshold than the last leadership race.
One Tory MP believes previous leadership challenger and ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak will run to replace Liz Truss.
“I am pretty sure he will, I hope so,” Richard Holden tells Sky News.
The MP says that in the difficult economic times, the party and the country need a PM “who has got the economic experience to deliver real stability over the next few years and get the ship of state back on an even keel” – and that person is Sunak.
He adds: “What we need is competence right at the core of this at the moment… and the economy front and center.
“We have had a really tough time over the past few weeks. Even though I didn’t support Liz [in the leadership contest] I didn’t want it to go the way things have gone.
“What we need to see now is competence at the heart of government and particularly the economic vision.”
But while Holden wants Sunak in Number 10, he also promises he will “unite behind anybody”.
He adds: “The truth is that the Conservative Partyhas got to unite behind whoever is elected to win the next election.”
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.
More than 80% of Conservative Party members think Liz Truss is doing a bad job – with 55% saying she should stand down as leader.
Boris Johnson is the members’ favourite to take over – beating out Rishi Sunak and Ben Wallace.
New polling from YouGov surveyed 530 Tory members today and yesterday for their opinion, a comparatively smaller sample size than opinion polls of the public at large.
Some 83% of paid-up Conservative backers think Ms Truss is doing badly – with just 15% saying she is doing well. Only 2% don’t know.
When asked if Ms Truss should resign, 55% of all those asked said yes, 38% said no, and 7% did not know.
Almost 40% of members who voted for Ms Truss in the leadership race now want her to go, the poll found.
It follows similar bad numbers from JL Partners overnight (see 6.29 am post), which found that most Truss supporters in the Tory party regret their choice.
When asked by YouGov who they want to take over as PM should Ms Truss stand aside, 32% said Boris Johnson, 23% said Rishi Sunak, 10% Ben Wallace and 9% say Penny Mordaunt.
Going forward, most Tory members – around 31% – think they alone should choose Conservative Party leaders, with no input from MPs.
Only 25% think the current system should remain,with another 25% thinking MPs alone should choose the leader.
However, if Ms Truss does stand down, six in 10 members want MPs to agree on a unity candidate and there not to be another election at the current time.
This must bethe most humbling of humble moments for Liz Truss.
Six weeks after becoming prime minister she is being forced to sit in silence as a man who backed her rival in the leadership campaign rips apart her whole plan for the country and turns it into something resembling Rishi Sunak’s prospectus for the government.
Next to the chancellor, two seats away Penny Mordaunt – the woman Ms Truss beat into the Tory leadership runoff.
She has just been fielding questions in the prime minister’s place, at one point assuring MPs that the prime minister was not hiding “under a desk.”
It’s hard to see how Liz Truss comes back from this politically with her vision for the country in tatters and one-time rivals now holding the power in government.
The problem for the prime minister is this isn’t just humbling, it’s humiliating.
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Liz Truss has only been in Number 10 for a few weeks, but the possibility of her leaving in the coming months is being seriously considered.
The chancellor has been fired, which is the last resort for any Prime Minister.
Tory MPs including ministers tell me, Liz Truss, herself – prime minister for just five weeks – cannot survive and there is a discussion about how to remove her.
But removing a sitting prime minister who doesn’t want to leave office isn’t always easy. Here are some of the options.
She could resign
No prime minister wants to be hounded out of Downing Street but it could be that Ms Truss, fuelled by cabinet resignations, sees the writing on the wall and announces a Conservative leadership contest.
This is what the last two prime ministers, Boris Johnson and Theresa May, ended up doing after both won no-confidence votes of their MPs but their positions became untenable.
Both of them were in office for three years, though, not just a matter of weeks.
Vote of no confidence
Not so easy. The last Conservative leader to be ousted by their peers in parliament was Iain Duncan Smith in 2003.
Like Ms Truss, he was the choice of the party members, but not his MP colleagues (who favoured Ken Clarke); like Ms Truss, he was also accused of making things worse by not reaching out across the party when appointing his shadow cabinet, and he struggled to maintain authority.
But – thanks to a little-known rule of the backbench 1922 Committee – this is not currently an option.
When Mr Johnson became prime minister in the summer of 2019, the powerful committee decided that a new leader would get a “grace period” of a year before they could be challenged.
Some letters have gone in already, I’m told by MPs.
As one source on the 1922 Committee put it to me, committee chairman Sir Graham Brady “would have to act if we found ourselves in that situation”.
Image: Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked on Friday
A coronation
The problem is that many Conservative MPs feel it was the membership who chose Ms Truss – based on an unachievable prospectus – and they would rather not allow them to choose her successor.
This is much trickier, as the principle that the leader is “elected by the membership” is enshrined in Schedule 2 of the Conservative Party‘s written constitution, and overturning that would require a two-thirds majority in a vote of the National Conservative Convention, which has 800 members comprising the party’s senior officials including grassroots association chairs.
There is no guarantee of how that might go, and there would be accusations that it was shutting down party democracy.
One option would be for MPs to shortlist two candidates in a leadership contest, and for one of them to drop out – as Andrea Leadsom did in her contest with Mrs May in 2016.
The last candidate standing would become a leader “by acclamation” and that could happen quite quickly.
Image: Former chancellor Rishi Sunak
Or, as ConservativeHome’s Paul Goodman has suggested, MPs could set a higher bar of say 100 MPs supporting each candidate so there is only one possible winner.
But it’s not clear there is a unifying figure to undertake that role.
Rishi Sunak supporters believe he has been vindicated for predicting market turmoil, but it’s far from clear he would be accepted more widely.
An election
Ms Truss could make the extremely bold decision, given her party is now 30 points behind in the polls, to go for an election.
The Fixed Term Parliaments Act has been repealed so she would not need a vote in parliament to do this – to which you would imagine only Conservatives would be opposed.
Sir Keir Starmer made fun of the Conservative Party this morning, pointing out that they had had four chancellors since Labour unveiled its economic blueprint.
Liz Truss was named the fourth on Friday, thus Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi, Kwasi Kwarteng, and Jeremy Hunt have all held the position since July.
Sir Keir said: “Since I set out our plans to grow the economy, the Tories have got through four chancellors.
” Our Green Prosperity Plan will create a million good jobs. And we’ll deliver GB energy, a home-grown energy company.
” Labour will build the future Britain deserves.”
Since I set out our plans to grow the economy, the Tories have got through 4 Chancellors.
Our Green Prosperity Plan will create a million good jobs. And we’ll deliver GB energy, a home-grown energy company.
After sacking Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor after just 38 days in the job, Liz Truss now has to appoint his successor.
But who could she choose?
No announcement has been made yet, but here are a few names emerging as possible front-runners:
Jeremy Hunt
The former health secretary could make a return to the front benches for the first time since July 2019.
Mr Hunt was foreign secretary for a year under Theresa May’s leadership and before this, also held the health secretary and culture secretary briefs under David Cameron.
Mr Hunt was also one of Rishi Sunak‘s most prominent backers in the leadership contest against Ms Truss.
If appointed as chancellor, this could be seen as an attempt by Ms Truss to try and win over the critics within her own party and steady the Conservative ship.
Sajid Javid
The former chancellor has been publicly criticising the government this week – adding his voice to growing calls that benefits must be raised in line with inflation.
Could this be an advantage? Maybe the markets will trust someone who went toe-to-toe with Ms Truss in recent days.
Therese Coffey
She is currently the deputy prime minister and the health secretary – another close ally of Ms Truss.
Ms Coffey last month defended the PM from criticism that she has appointed a “cabinet of chums”.
Simon Clarke
The new levelling up secretary is a close ally of Ms Truss, and was present at the meetings to put together the much-maligned mini-budget.
He has reportedly written to the PM with a set of proposals intended to boost house-building and economic growth.
Nadhim Zahawi
The current Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has sought to quell disquiet in Tory ranks, warning: “Delay is our biggest enemy.”
He has said colleagues must “focus” on delivering for the country, as any “dither” will “end in defeat” for the party.
Mr Zahawi was promoted to chancellor by Boris Johnson on 5 July 2022 following the resignation of Rishi Sunak earlier that day in the dying days of Ms Truss’s predecessor’s government.
The following day, he and other members of Mr Johnson’s cabinet gathered in Number 10 calling on the PM to resign.
Mr Kwarteng replaced him as chancellor in Ms Truss’s cabinet.
PM press conference to be held at 2.30pm
The prime minister’s press conference will be held at 2.30pm in the Downing Street briefing room, Number 10 has said.
‘Changing the chancellor doesn’t undo the damage that’s been done’ – Reeves
Labour MP Rachel Reeves has spoken out since the news that Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked by Liz Truss as chancellor.
Ms Reeves says that the country doesn’t just need a change in chancellor, “we need a change in government”.
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Javid and Zahawi among names mentioned inside Number 10 as PM looks to replace chancellor
Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby has said she expects the PM to announce her new chancellor at this afternoon’s press conference.
Rigby says the names Sajid Javid and Nadhim Zahawi have both been discussed inside Number 10 today.
“There are other names that could come up. Simon Clarke, the Level Up Secretary, though he is also very much signed up to the growth of gender equality.
“There are other names that are swimming around such as Jeremy Hunt.”
Rigby adds that some Tory MPs would certainly be ready to accept a more broadly based cabinet, bringing in people from different wings of the party rather than the tight coterie around Liz Truss.
“They would like to see this,” she says. “Just talking to more and consulting with them more. And it’s possible that she would she would gain the support enough of her of her party to survive for a while if she changes completely and takes that sort of line.”
Kwarteng ousted from Number 11 less than 24 hours after saying he was ‘not going anywhere’
Kwasi Kwarteng has left Number 11 Downing Street after being sacked by Liz Truss.
The former chancellor left the building via the front door and smiled at the cameras as he entered a government vehicle.
Just yesterday afternoon Mr Kwarteng told reporters in Washington DC he was “not going anywhere.”
Here’s the clip:
Kwarteng confirms sacking in letter to prime minister
Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed he has today been sacked as chancellor after just 38 days in the role.
Publishing a letter he has written to Prime Minister Liz Truss on Twitter, Mr Kwarteng said it had been “an honour” to serve as her first chancellor.
Describing the “incredibly difficult” situation Ms Truss’s government inherited, Mr Kwarteng’s letter adds: “However, your vision of optimism, growth and change was right.
“As I have said many times in the past weeks, following the status quo was simply not an option.
“For too long this country has been dogged by low growth rates and high taxation – that must still change if this country is to succeed.”
Despite growing calls for further U-turns over the government’s controversial mini-budget, Mr Kwarteng describes his Medium-Term Fiscal Plan – due to be unveiled on 31 October – as “crucial”.
He says he believes the PM’s “vision is the right one”, adding that he looks forward “to supporting you and my successor” from the back benches.
Mr Kwarteng’s letter concludes: “Your success is this country’s success and I wish you well.”
Kwasi Kwarteng’s rise and fall, from Eton scholar to chancellor
Kwasi Kwarteng’s stint as chancellor was perhaps as short as his rise to the top of politics was swift.
Mr Kwarteng was promoted to chancellor by Liz Truss on 6 September from his previous post as business secretary under Boris Johnson.
Within 38 days he had been sacked, his downfall set in motion by the economic turmoil unleashed by his mini-budget.
He insisted his tax-cutting mini-budget was the best way to encourage growth, saying the turmoil in the UK economy was part of global pressures caused by the Ukraine war and the pandemic recovery.
But after open revolt among Tory MPs and a surge in the polls for Labour forced U-turns on two of his major policies, the prime minister decided it was time for him to go.
Mr Kwarteng is not used to failure, rising up the political ranks fairly quickly after becoming an MP in 2010 – although that did take a few attempts.
In the eyes of many MPs, Truss is as much to blame as Kwarteng
Although there’s still no official confirmation, it now appears that Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked as chancellor.
We await to hear Liz Truss’s reasoning for this, but it looks like part of an economic reset in government and a signal to MP and markets that a new approach is being adopted.
So will it work?
Remember, Liz Truss promised most of these tax cuts during her leadership campaign.
In the eyes of many MPs, she is as much to blame as the chancellor.
One former cabinet minister told Sky News the prime minister would eventually have to leave office as well.
“She is as guilty as Kwasi Kwarteng and I don’t think it is good enough that she throws him under the bus and can then expect to proceed as if the problem is sorted”, said the senior Tory.
Lib Dems call for general election after chancellor sacked
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for a general election in response to Kwasi Kwarteng being sacked as chancellor.
Sir Ed has accused Liz Truss of having “broken our economy” and said it is “time for the people to have their say”.
“This mustn’t just be the end of Kwarteng’s disastrous chancellorship, it should be the death knell of the Conservatives’ reckless mismanagement of our economy,” he said in a statement.
“It didn’t suddenly start with Kwarteng, but it must end now.
“People are angry, fed up and worried about the future.
“Most of all they are furious that Conservative MPs seem to think this is an acceptable way to conduct the government of our country in these difficult times.
“Enough is enough.
“It started with Boris Johnson failing our country, and now Liz Truss has broken our economy, it is time for the people to have their say in a general election.”
Kwasi Kwarteng sacked as chancellor by Liz Truss, Sky News understands
Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked as chancellor after just over a month in the role, Sky News understands.
Two sources informed our deputy political editor Sam Coates of the update – though it has not been officially confirmed.
Mr Kwarteng was appointed on 6 September after Liz Truss took office as prime minister and has served just 38 days in the role.
Yesterday, Mr Kwarteng had told reporters in Washington DC that he was “not going anywhere” despite growing calls for him to resign over his controversial tax-cutting mini-budget which saw the pound slump to a record low.
It means he is the second shortest-serving UK chancellor on record.
Conservative Iain Macleod is the shortest-serving chancellor after dying of a heart attack 30 days after taking the job in 1970.
The country has had four chancellors in the last three years since 2019 – Mr Kwarteng, Nadhim Zahawi, Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid.
The next chancellor will be the seventh Conservative chancellor in 12 years.
‘It’s a matter of survival for her now’ – would ousting her chancellor be enough to save Truss?
Discussion is happening at all levels in the Conservative party about whether the prime minister can survive – even if she replaces her chancellor.
As one senior minister in her government put it to me this morning before reports that Kwarteng would be sacked: “I honestly don’t think either of them, Liz or Kwasi have a clue, I don’t think they know what they’re doing.”
“They’ve got one shot to satisfy the markets,” the minister said – with a full U-turn on the corporation tax freeze and perhaps more: “The worst possible thing, now the markets have priced in a U-turn on corporation tax would be mealy mouthed partial U-turn.”
“But my instinct is she won’t survive. She’s introduced herself to the country in the worst way imaginable, and people’s views of her are quite settled now.
“Even if she stays, you can’t have a chancellor who has lost the confidence of the markets, that’s never happened before that I can remember”. The minister said the prime minister might need a complete reboot of the Treasury team to restore confidence, but having jettisoned key parts of her economic programme, “she is a husk.”
This minister and others point out that her controversial supply-side reforms are likely to be opposed in parliament – as are spending cuts on the scale that may be needed to pay for her measures.
Other MPs also say she will need a humiliating change of direction to survive. One long-serving MP said: “It’s unfair for Kwasi to go in the sense that it was all her idea, but politics isn’t fair. It’s a matter of survival for her now, there are discussions going on but it’s not organised yet.”
Former cabinet minister says Truss ‘has to go’
A former Conservative cabinet minister has told Sky News that Prime Minister Liz Truss “has to go” as there is “nothing she can do to retrieve her position”.
Discussing the potential corporation tax U-turn, they said: “It was the centrepiece of her campaign, the bit that distinguished her from Rishi.
“She is as guilty as Kwasi Kwarteng and I don’t think it is good enough that she throws him under the bus and can then expect to proceed as if the problem is sorted.
“Crucially, she has damaged the Tory brand when we could say the economy was safe in our hands. We can’t now.
“She has to go. There is nothing she can do to retrieve her position.”
PM doing news conference alone doesn’t bode well for Kwasi Kwarteng
Back from Washington and now inside Downing Street, it may not be long before we learn what Kwasi Kwarteng’s fate will be.
One possible indication of where we’re going may be lurking in who is due to attend the press conference this afternoon.
Given we expect a major announcement on the government’s plan for the economy, you would expect the chancellor to be involved – not least to reassure the markets that Liz Truss still had faith in her man in the Treasury.
But asked directly if the chancellor would be at this afternoon’s press conference, a Downing Street source replied simply saying “PM presser”.
That suggests the prime minister will be doing this alone, and it doesn’t bode well for Kwasi Kwarteng.
Cabinet ministers have ‘no idea what’s going on’
Our political editor Beth Rigby has been speaking to cabinet ministers this morning amid reports that Liz Truss could be set to dismantle parts of her controversial mini-budget later today.
The senior ministers she has spoken to have said they “have no idea what’s going on – either about the chancellor’s position or the possible decision to raise corporation tax from 19% to 25% in April after all”.
Chancellor arrives back in Downing Street ahead of expected U-turn
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has arrived in Downing Street after returning from the US amid expectations he will scrap parts of his mini-budget to reassure markets.
If Truss is to reset her administration and junk tax cuts – should she do it with someone like Sajid Javid?
As they often do at times like this, rumours are swirling about who could replace Kwasi Kwarteng if he is to leave his post as chancellor.
One name frequently linked to vacant cabinet posts is Sajid Javid, and today is no different.
But if the former chancellor is to re-enter the Treasury, it’s worth remembering his recent history of pledging his own unfunded tax cuts.
During his relatively brief campaign to become prime minister in the summer, Mr Javid pledged tax cuts broader in scope than the ones Liz Truss was promising at the time.
In his pitch for the top job, there were plans to shelve the corporation tax rise that is about to be U-turned on; as well as to scrap the national insurance rise; and bring forward the cut to the basic rate of income tax.
If Liz Truss is to reset her administration and junk tax cuts in a bid to reassure the markets, can she do it with someone like Sajid Javid who is so closely linked to a similar prospectus for government?
A humiliating U-turn is necessary, but the real damage is done – Reeves
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is the latest MP to comment on speculation of a major U-turn on Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget.
She said: “A humiliating U-turn is necessary – but the real damage has already been done to millions of ordinary people now paying much higher mortgages and struggling to make ends meet.
“This is a Tory crisis made in Downing Street. They have plunged our economy into chaos and crisis with Truss’s discredited trickle down approach. It won’t be forgiven or forgotten.
“Only a Labour government has the credibility, authority and plan to fix things.”
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Who could be the next chancellor if Kwarteng is sacked?
Sky’s deputy political editor Sam Coates is weighing in on this question.
He says it is uncertain whether Kwasi Kwarteng will retain his job as chancellor.
“Could it be Simon Clarke?” Coates asks.
Mr Clarke is currently serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up. He served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2021 to 2022.
“Well, he’s an ideological bedfellow of Liz Truss. He was in the meetings to put together the mini-budget.
“But will the markets trust him if they think that he also shares the trust of economic values that have taken this to this point?”
He adds: “Could it be Theresa Coffey? She’s currently the deputy prime minister and the health secretary’s very close ally.
“She’s been in some, but not all of the economic meetings.”
Government is set to U-turn on keeping corporation tax low, Sky News understands
The government is set to raise corporation tax despite promising not to do so in the mini-budget, Sky News understands.
The prime minister had vowed to scrap the planned tax rise from 19% to 25% next April, a key policy of her pro-business growth plan, during the Conservative leadership campaign.
The change in direction is the second major tax cut U-turn after the government confirmed it would not go ahead with a plan to scrap the 45p top rate of tax.
Kwarteng being sacked is ‘inevitable’, Sky News told
Sky’s political and business correspondent Mhari Aurora reports that a former cabinet minister has told her that Kwasi Kwarteng being sacked is “inevitable”.
According to the Reuters news agency, a government spokesperson has refused to comment on speculation that Mr Kwarteng has been sacked.
It follows a report by the Times newspaper in the last half an hour which has suggested the chancellor has already been dismissed.
We will of course bring you more on this as we get it.
The foreign secretary has won the contest to become the next Tory party leader – and therefore prime minister – in a ballot of Conservative members.
Liz Truss will become the next prime minister after defeating Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership contest.
Ms Truss, who was the favourite to win, will succeed Boris Johnson on Tuesday and become the nation’s third female leader.
The foreign secretary used her victory speech to indicate she would not trigger an early general election, instead pledging to secure “a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024”.
She won by a comfortable margin, but her victory was slimmer than in other recent leadership contests.
Ms Truss said it is an “honour to be elected” as she thanked her party for organizing “one of the longest job interviews in history”.
In a short speech after the result was announced, she issued her thanks to her “friend” Mr Johnson.
“You got Brexit done. You crushed Jeremy Corbyn. You rolled out the vaccine and you stood up to Vladimir Putin,” she said.
Shortly after this, Ms Truss will meet the Queen, who will invite her to form a government.
Ms Truss is expected to make a speech outside Number 10 once she takes office and will then get to work on appointing her cabinet.
She faces the immediate challenge of coming up with a package of support to help households weather a worsening cost of living crisis driven by soaring energy bills.
Ms Truss reiterated her promise to “deliver a bold plan” to cut taxes and grow the economy in her victory speech.
“I will deliver on the energy crisis dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply,” she said.
Ms Truss has remained tight-lipped about what kind of support package she might introduce – though speculation is mounting it could be a freeze in the energy price cap.
Reacting to her victory, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said she “needs to show that she actually understands and can meet the challenges that are there after 12 years of failure of this Tory government”.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, also called on her to “freeze energy bills for people and businesses, deliver more cash support, and increase funding for public services”.
Conservatives have also been reacting to her victory.
Theresa May said: “I look forward to supporting the government in that task.”
And former leadership hopeful Penny Mordaunt told Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby that Ms Truss is the strong character the UK needs to “take our country forward”.
Mr Sunak and Ms Truss were whittled down to the final two candidates after five rounds of voting by Tory MPs.
The pair went head-to-head over a summer of hustings and live television debates, during which they clashed repeatedly over their plans for the economy.
Party members had from 1 August to 2 September to cast their votes, which were counted over the weekend.
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 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.
