Politics

Liz Truss is facing a fresh battle with Conservative MPs over a potential benefits squeeze and cuts to public spending, after already being forced into making a policy U-turn. The prime minister is under pressure to set out whether benefit payments will be uprated in line with inflation, or if they will face a real-term

The chancellor has admitted it has been a tough day after he was forced to U-turn on cutting income tax for the rich. Kwasi Kwarteng began his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference by saying: “What a day, it has been tough but we need to focus on the job in hand.” Just hours

Liz Truss is to delay the vote on cutting the 45p rate of tax for higher earners, a cabinet minister has told Sky News. The policy was announced in last Friday’s mini-budget, but would have to go to a vote of MPs before it could be approved. On Sunday, the party said any Tory MP

Liz Truss has admitted that she “should have laid the ground better” for the government’s tax-cutting mini-budget after the pound slumped to a record low. The prime minister said she has “learnt from that” and “will make sure in future we will do a better job of laying the ground”. Ms Truss also doubled down

Liz Truss is set to face a wretched week at the Tory Party conference after the disastrous reaction to Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting mini-budget. The prime minister arrived in Birmingham on Saturday looking buoyant just hours before yet another injurious poll was released. Hopes to be greeted by an adoring host of members have likely been

The devolved governments of the UK want an urgent meeting with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to discuss immediate action to reverse the damaging effects of the mini-budget. In a joint letter, the finance ministers of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are warning that the government’s spending plans are a “huge gamble” that will mean another decade

Liz Truss has for the first time acknowledged that “there has been disruption” to the UK economy following last week’s mini budget. Since the chancellor’s announcement of £45bn in tax cuts the value of the pound has plummeted, nearly half of mortgages have been pulled and the Bank of England launched a £65bn bail-out to

Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have met the head of the UK’s independent fiscal watchdog amid the fallout from the government’s mini-budget. The government confirmed that publication of the forecast would not be brought forward from 23 November – more than seven weeks away. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) confirmed it would deliver an

Labour has surged to record leads in multiple polls in the wake of the economic turmoil after the government’s mini-budget. A YouGov/Times poll placed Labour 33 points ahead of the Conservatives, believed to be the largest lead for Labour in any recorded poll since 1998, when the-then PM Tony Blair was enjoying his “honeymoon period”.

Liz Truss has insisted “decisive action” by the government over its economic policies will help the UK going forward. Speaking to reporters, the prime minister said: “We have to look at what situation this country would be in if we hadn’t acted – people were facing fuel bills of up to £6,000, we had very

Prime Minister Liz Truss’s external adviser on the economy has told Sky News that the chancellor had “taken his eye off the ball” and “overstepped the mark” with his mini-budget. Gerard Lyons, who is often referred to as Ms Truss’s ‘favourite’ economist, said Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng failed to adequately prepare the financial markets ahead of

Sir Keir Starmer has called for a recall of parliament to discuss the financial market turmoil following Friday’s mini-budget. Speaking to reporters, the Labour leader said the move by the Bank of England to launch a temporary bond-buying programme to prevent “material risk” to UK financial stability was “very serious”. Politics Hub: ‘Growing movement’ for

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has criticised the UK government’s mini-budget, saying the plans for tax cuts and spending will increase inequality and counteract the Bank of England’s monetary policy. The conflicting government and currency policies, of seeking to ramp up growth via tax cuts and rein in inflation through interest rate rises, attracted sharp

Keir Starmer has announced that a Labour government will create Great British Energy – a new, publicly owned company that will generate renewable sources “to cut bills, create jobs and deliver energy independence”. The role of GB Energy will be to provide additional capacity alongside the private sector, to establish the UK as a clean

Sir Keir Starmer will claim a “changed” Labour can turn the UK into a “growth superpower” in his keynote conference speech – as a new poll gave the party its largest lead over the Conservatives in more than two decades. The Labour leader will tell party delegates in Liverpool on Tuesday that Labour’s Green Prosperity