Kwasi Kwarteng jokes tax cut plan 'caused a little turbulence' as he addresses U-turn
Kwasi Kwarteng is reportedly bringing forward his fiscal statement from 23 November to this month after his mini-Budget spooked the markets.
The chancellor’s statement on spending and regulation will be made alongside the publication of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s assessment of his mini-Budget.
It comes after he made a screeching U-turn, hours before his Conservative Party conference speech on Monday, on his plans to axe the 45p tax rate for the highest earners.
Mr Kwarteng joked during his speech that the turmoil his plans caused to the markets, such as the pound plummeting as low as the dollar, was merely a “little turbulence” – a comment that the Liberal Democrats said was an “insult to millions”.
He also said, referring to the criticism – including from Tory former ministers: “I get it. I get it. We are listening and have listened, and now I want to focus on delivering the major parts of our growth package.”
The Lib Dems’ Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said: “Laughing about the turbulence caused by this botched budget is an insult to the millions of people already facing spiralling mortgage costs.
“This should be his first and last conference speech as chancellor.”
Royal Navy frigate helping to protect North Sea infrastructure
A Royal Navy frigate has been deployed to the North Sea in an effort to protect underwater infrastructure following attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace joined a crisis meeting of northern European nations on Monday to discuss co-ordinating security responses, including increased maritime presence.
“The group condemned the blatant attacks against civilian infrastructure,” the Ministry of Defence tweeted.
“A Royal Navy frigate is in the North Sea, working with the Norwegian Navy to reassure those working near the gas pipelines.”
You can read the full story here:
The UK is working with other nations on a security response following attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said
Some Tory MPs ‘talking about getting rid of Liz Truss’
Nick Timothy, former No 10 chief of staff under Theresa May, said it remained “very, very difficult to recover” after the disastrous mini-Budget.
He said that some MPs were “openly talking” about how Ms Truss might be removed from Downing Street, though he cautioned: “I think anybody who makes the assumption that therefore she might be removed or have to leave as PM, I think is over-egging it at this stage.”
Nick Timothy resigned after Theresa May’s disastrous 2017 snap election campaign
(PA)
Speaking to LBC’s Tonight with Andrew Marr, he added: “They’ve dug themselves in an absolutely enormous hole and it’s going to be very difficult to get out of it.”
Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel Johnson told Marr that another fall in the pound sterling after the Bank of England stops its emergency bond-buying scheme could mean the end for Ms Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
“I they will go down with the pound if we see the pound falling on October 14 … there won’t be anything else to do apart from having maybe a general election I think.”
Braverman considering anonymity for suspected criminals
Earlier we reported that home secretary Suella Braverman is considering a radical shake-up to the criminal justice system to grant suspects anonymity before they are charged.
At a Young Conservatives event at Tory conference, she said she was “looking at” whether changes could be made to protect the privacy of those suspected of a crime to save them from “trial by media”.
She said: “I think that we’ve had some high-profile instances where the media circus around a suspect – who has not been charged – can be and has been devastating.”
You can read all the details here by Adam Forrest
Naming accused before charges made can be ‘very damaging’, says home secretary
Get on with it, Liz Truss tells NI parties on power-sharing
There is no reason why a new Northern Ireland Assembly and executive should not be re-established at Stormont now, Liz Truss has said.
“I strongly encourage the parties in Northern Ireland to get on with that,” she said.
But Ms Truss also warned of a pre-Christmas election if the parties did not return to power-sharing by 28 October, as outlined by current legislation.
Asked if there would be an election if the institutions are not restored by the end of the month, Ms Truss told UTV: “Yes, there will.”
FCO summons diplomat over protest crackdown in Iran
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) today summoned Mehdi Hosseini Matin – Iran’s most senior diplomat in the UK – in response to the country’s crackdown on protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.
Ms Amini died aged 22 in the custody of Iran’s morality police in Tehran for allegedly not adhering to Iran’s strict dress code.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly said he had instructed the Foreign Office to summon Mr Matin.
People protesting in London following the death of Mahsa Amini
(Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters)
Mr Cleverly said: “The violence levelled at protesters in Iran by the security forces is truly shocking.
“Today we have made our view clear to the Iranian authorities – instead of blaming external actors for the unrest, they should take responsibility for their actions and listen to the concerns of their people.
“We will continue to work with our partners to hold the Iranian authorities to account for their flagrant human rights violations.”
Schools and hospitals ‘must find £11bn of cuts’
Schools and hospitals will be forced to make £11 billion worth of cuts, according to a think tank, after chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has refused to protect their budgets from soaring inflation.
Mr Kwarteng has been warned against his decision to stick to 2021 spending allocations amid rising prices.
Despite this, local government minister Paul Scully has claimed that there is “fat to be trimmed” from town hall budgets.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) already warned that an extra £18bn was needed next year to restore “the real-terms generosity intended” when the allocations were made.
You can read the full story here by Rob Merrick
Local councils told there is ’fat to be trimmed’ from their budgets – despite a decade of austerity
Nearly 500,000 people sign petition for early general election
Almost half a million people have put their names to a petition calling for an early general election.
The petition has been signed by more than 480,000 people at the time of writing.
This means that the petition is set to be debated in Parliament as it has garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
Part of the government’s response to the petition says: “A change in the leader of the governing party does not trigger a general election – this has been the case under governments of successive political colours.”
Nadine Dorries, former culture secretary and a Boris Johnson loyalist, has called on his successor Liz Truss to call an election earlier than the scheduled date of 2024.
Although Ms Dorries backed Ms Truss in the Tory leadership race over the summer, she has become increasingly critical of the prime minister and has called for a fresh nationwide vote.
In complaining that her three years’ worth of work has been halted, she said: “No one asked for this. C4 (Channel 4) sale, online safety, BBC licence fee review, all signed off by Cabinet all ready to go, all stopped.”
You can read her remarks in the full story here by Kate Devlin
‘If Liz wants a whole new mandate, she must take to the country’, ex-culture secretary says
Key pledges: Nuclear power to harsher sewage dumping fines
While chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s widely-panned speech has dominated the headlines, other ministers have made a number of pledges and announcements today.
Here are the key takeaways from their speeches:
The UK’s first prototype nuclear fusion power station will be built in Nottinghamshire by 2040, business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg announced.
The government will be replacing GDPR (general data protection regulation) its “own business and consumer friendly British data protection system,” culture secretary Michelle Donelan announced.
Work and Pensions secretary Chloe Smith has said “protecting the most vulnerable is a priority” for her and said that the government has confirmed that pensions “will again be supported by the triple lock”.
Home secretary Suella Braverman told an audience of Young Conservatives at the party conference that she will “look at” giving anonymity to suspected criminals before they are charged to avoid what she called “trial by media”.
Environment secretary Ranil Jayawardena confirmed he would lift the limit on fines that water companies could face for dumping sewage in UK waterways from £250,000 to up to £250 million.
Watch: Rees-Mogg doesn’t mind being called ‘Tory scum’
Jacob Rees-Mogg – subjected to plenty of abuse from protesters as he arrived the Tory conference – said: “If people really want to call me Tory scum, I don’t mind.”
The business secretary said: “I happen to think that having a democracy where you can actually walk through the streets and people can exercise their right to peaceful protest shows the strength of our society.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg says he doesn’t mind being called ‘Tory scum’ by protesters
A rundown of Liz Truss’ history of U-turns
The scrapping of the plan to abolish the 45p tax rate was Liz Truss’ first U-turn as prime minister.
But it appears she has a bit of a history of having to eat her words after making big decisions.
Jon Stone has compiled a rundown on her backtracks, including those on the cost of living and abolishing the monarchy.
The Tory frontrunner has performed many U-turns, big and small