Politics

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s debt-cutting plan will be published on 31 October – three weeks earlier than planned – alongside an independent economic forecast, the Treasury has confirmed. Both the publication of the medium-term financial plan and the forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had been due on 23 November, but the chancellor has

Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi has warned restive Tory MPs that “dither or delay will end in defeat” as he appealed for unity just over a month after Liz Truss took office. Speaking to Sky News, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster stressed the need for party colleagues to “focus” on delivery or face being

Nicola Sturgeon has said she is confident a second referendum on Scottish independence could be held next October if given the go ahead by the Supreme Court. Scotland’s first minister has said plans are “ready to go” to legislate for another breakaway vote in just 12 months. But critics argue she is “deluding herself” with

On Thursday, the day after the end of the conference season, YouGov hosted a focus group with seven Blue Wall voters from around the South East exclusively for Sky News. Some natural Conservatives, some former Tony Blair supporters, all with one thing in common: each voted Tory in the 2019 general election. Now their votes

Liz Truss has “showed the world she is unfit to be prime minister” and is a “symptom of the Westminster dysfunction”, SNP’s deputy leader will say in his opening speech at the party conference. Keith Brown will accuse the prime minister of delivering “more chaos and confusion than even the most pessimistic prediction” when he

Liz Truss has sacked trade minister Conor Burns from her government “with immediate effect” following an allegation of serious misconduct. The Tory MP for Bournemouth West has also had the whip suspended while the complaint is investigated. A No 10 spokesman said: “Following a complaint of serious misconduct, the prime minister has asked Conor Burns

A government minister has failed to rule out energy rationing across the UK this winter after warnings three-hour power blackouts could be imposed. Asked on Sky News whether the measure – not seen in the UK since the 1970s – would be brought in, climate minister Graham Stuart said the government did not “expect that

Labour has called for an investigation into the appointment of Liz Truss’s chief of staff, after it was revealed he was questioned as a witness in an FBI bribery inquiry and was initially being paid by Number 10 via his lobbying company. Mark Fullbrook refused to answer questions about the FBI investigation when tracked down

The plane flying Liz Truss to meet the Queen at Balmoral for her appointment as prime minister a month ago was hit by turbulence in bad weather and struggled to land at Aberdeen airport. The aircraft’s helpless circling in mid-air was seen at the time as a bad omen for her premiership. And after a

Liz Truss will hold meetings with EU leaders today after a chaotic party conference that left Conservatives divided over her policies. The prime minister arrived in the Czech Republic on Thursday morning for the European leaders’ summit in Prague where she is expected to have bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, Dutch Prime Minister

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has urged his ministerial colleagues to keep their views on government policy “around the cabinet table” as Liz Truss faces an open split within her top team over the 45p tax rate U-turn. The senior cabinet member warned his peers that it is “always better to feed straight into the boss”

Liz Truss will wrap up the Conservative Party conference by defending her approach and pledging a “new Britain for the new era” – after a week of U-turns and infighting. In her first conference speech as prime minister, Ms Truss will on Wednesday reiterate Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s plan to boost growth. And just a day

Liz Truss has refused to commit to raising benefits in line with inflation, despite growing pressure from a cabinet minister and senior Tory MPs. Speaking to broadcasters in Birmingham, where the Tory party conference is underway, the prime minister said she had “not made a decision” on whether to stick to the benefit uprate promised

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

The first rule of U-turns, as a veteran former cabinet minister told me last week, is to do them quickly. Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng decided late last night to cut their losses, both saying this morning that the policy of abolishing the 45p rate for those earning more than £150,000 had become a “distraction”.

A little under four weeks as prime minister and it couldn’t really have gone worse for Liz Truss. A mini-budget that precipitated a run on the pound (it has rallied a bit since), a £65bn emergency intervention by the Bank of England to prop up pension funds, and the withdrawal of nearly 1,000 mortgage deals