This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63275544
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Liz Truss still in charge despite U-turns, says Jeremy Hunt | Liz Truss still in charge despite U-turns, says Jeremy Hunt |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| WATCH: Hard decisions ahead, says Jeremy Hunt | WATCH: Hard decisions ahead, says Jeremy Hunt |
| WATCH: Hard decisions ahead, says Jeremy Hunt | WATCH: Hard decisions ahead, says Jeremy Hunt |
| Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has insisted Liz Truss is still in charge of the government, after a series of U-turns left her premiership in jeopardy. | Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has insisted Liz Truss is still in charge of the government, after a series of U-turns left her premiership in jeopardy. |
| Some Tory backbenchers have been talking privately about how to remove the PM, after market turmoil led her to abandon her flagship tax policies. | Some Tory backbenchers have been talking privately about how to remove the PM, after market turmoil led her to abandon her flagship tax policies. |
| Mr Hunt urged the party to unite behind her, as the pair held crunch talks to thrash out plans on tax and spending. | Mr Hunt urged the party to unite behind her, as the pair held crunch talks to thrash out plans on tax and spending. |
| But a senior Tory MP said "the game is up" and called for Ms Truss to go. | But a senior Tory MP said "the game is up" and called for Ms Truss to go. |
| Mr Hunt replaced Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday, after the former chancellor was fired following financial turbulence in the wake of last month's mini-budget and a backlash from a number of MPs in his party. | Mr Hunt replaced Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday, after the former chancellor was fired following financial turbulence in the wake of last month's mini-budget and a backlash from a number of MPs in his party. |
| A key test of the government's moves so far will come when markets reopen early on Monday, with ministers facing a nervous wait to see if the rise in UK government debt costs over recent weeks continues. | |
| Chancellor warns of tax rises and cuts on spending | Chancellor warns of tax rises and cuts on spending |
| Bank of England chief warns of interest rate hike | Bank of England chief warns of interest rate hike |
| Who is in charge? Liz Truss or Jeremy Hunt? | Who is in charge? Liz Truss or Jeremy Hunt? |
| Measures already jettisoned from the £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts announced last month include scrapping the top income tax rate, and a freeze in corporation tax. | Measures already jettisoned from the £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts announced last month include scrapping the top income tax rate, and a freeze in corporation tax. |
| And Mr Hunt, who held talks with Ms Truss at her official Chequers country retreat, has not ruled out further U-turns as he seeks to restore UK economic credibility. | |
| In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, recorded on Saturday, he said he was not "taking anything off the table". | |
| He warned of "difficult decisions both on spending and on tax," as he prepares to deliver an economic statement on 31 October to convince investors he has a plan to get debt under control. | |
| However, there are newspaper reports that some Tory MPs have already begun talks about how to remove her from power, despite current party rules preventing a formal leadership challenge for a year. | However, there are newspaper reports that some Tory MPs have already begun talks about how to remove her from power, despite current party rules preventing a formal leadership challenge for a year. |
| Tactics reportedly under consideration include submitting no-confidence letters in a bid to force party bosses into a rule change, or changing the rules to allow MPs to bypass party members and pick a new leader themselves. | |
| Mr Hunt held talks with the prime minister at Chequers, her official country residence, on Sunday | Mr Hunt held talks with the prime minister at Chequers, her official country residence, on Sunday |
| Asked whether she could survive as PM, former minister Crispin Blunt told Channel 4: "No, I think the game is up and it's now a question as to how the succession is managed. | Asked whether she could survive as PM, former minister Crispin Blunt told Channel 4: "No, I think the game is up and it's now a question as to how the succession is managed. |
| "If there is such a weight of opinion in the parliamentary party that we have to have a change then it will be effected." | "If there is such a weight of opinion in the parliamentary party that we have to have a change then it will be effected." |
| Speaking to Sky News, senior backbencher Robert Halfon said "of course, colleagues are unhappy with what is going on", adding that "we're all talking to see what can be done about it". | Speaking to Sky News, senior backbencher Robert Halfon said "of course, colleagues are unhappy with what is going on", adding that "we're all talking to see what can be done about it". |
| He said he was not calling on Ms Truss to go, but called for a "dramatic reset" in the government's direction. | He said he was not calling on Ms Truss to go, but called for a "dramatic reset" in the government's direction. |
| And in a blistering attack, he accused ministers of behaving like "libertarian jihadists" treating the public as "laboratory mice on which to carry out ultra, ultra free market experiments". | And in a blistering attack, he accused ministers of behaving like "libertarian jihadists" treating the public as "laboratory mice on which to carry out ultra, ultra free market experiments". |
| Biden weighs in | Biden weighs in |
| However Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who sits on the committee that decides the rules, told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House that removing Ms Truss would be a "very serious event". | |
| "We will only change the rules if it is very clear that a large majority, by which I mean probably sixty to seventy percent," he added. | "We will only change the rules if it is very clear that a large majority, by which I mean probably sixty to seventy percent," he added. |
| Former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries, a key ally of former leader Boris Johnson, warned "serial back-stabbers" against trying to depose Ms Truss. | |
| "Our core supporters will not vote for a feuding party that throws its leaders overboard in every storm," she wrote in the Sunday Express. "She has had a rough start but we must give her the chance to put things right". | |
| Meanwhile, in a further blow to the prime minister, US President Joe Biden has criticised tax cuts from her mini-budget. | Meanwhile, in a further blow to the prime minister, US President Joe Biden has criticised tax cuts from her mini-budget. |
| In an unusual intervention, he told reporters during a campaign visit that the outcome was "predictable" and "I wasn't the only one that thought it was a mistake". | In an unusual intervention, he told reporters during a campaign visit that the outcome was "predictable" and "I wasn't the only one that thought it was a mistake". |
| He added that he had disagreed with "the idea of cutting taxes on the super wealthy", but it was up to the UK to "make that judgment, not me". | He added that he had disagreed with "the idea of cutting taxes on the super wealthy", but it was up to the UK to "make that judgment, not me". |
| Watch: Joe Biden voices his disagreement to cutting taxes for the UK's "super wealthy" | Watch: Joe Biden voices his disagreement to cutting taxes for the UK's "super wealthy" |
| Watch: Joe Biden voices his disagreement to cutting taxes for the UK's "super wealthy" | Watch: Joe Biden voices his disagreement to cutting taxes for the UK's "super wealthy" |
| In his BBC interview, Mr Hunt said every government department would be asked to make savings, ahead of the 31 October economic statement. | In his BBC interview, Mr Hunt said every government department would be asked to make savings, ahead of the 31 October economic statement. |
| However, he insisted the changes would not be "anything like" the period of austerity which began in 2010, when predecessor George Osborne oversaw large cuts in public spending. | However, he insisted the changes would not be "anything like" the period of austerity which began in 2010, when predecessor George Osborne oversaw large cuts in public spending. |
| Asked who was running the government, he said "the prime minister's in charge", insisting she remained committed to boosting economic growth but had changed "the way we're going to get there". | |
| "She's listened, she's changed, she's been willing to do that most difficult thing in politics which is to change tack," he added. | "She's listened, she's changed, she's been willing to do that most difficult thing in politics which is to change tack," he added. |
| According to reports, Ms Truss is also preparing to delay by a year her 1p cut to the basic rate of income tax. | According to reports, Ms Truss is also preparing to delay by a year her 1p cut to the basic rate of income tax. |
| The Treasury has not confirmed the reports, adding: "We cannot speculate on any tax changes outside of a fiscal event." | The Treasury has not confirmed the reports, adding: "We cannot speculate on any tax changes outside of a fiscal event." |
| Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged the prime minister to reshuffle the cabinet to extend her support across the party. | Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged the prime minister to reshuffle the cabinet to extend her support across the party. |
| He told the BBC: "There's a huge amount of talent on the backbenches - I'm not talking about me, but there are many others that should be brought into government." | He told the BBC: "There's a huge amount of talent on the backbenches - I'm not talking about me, but there are many others that should be brought into government." |
| Labour's shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said any further public spending cuts would be entirely because of government "incompetence". | |
| "I'm not even sure what this government's economic policy is at the moment. I don't know which bits of the budget still apply, and I don't know what we will hear next week," he told the BBC. | "I'm not even sure what this government's economic policy is at the moment. I don't know which bits of the budget still apply, and I don't know what we will hear next week," he told the BBC. |