‘Arghhhhhhhhh’: the 10 angriest Tories at Conservative conference

Never have so many angry things been said by so many Tories about each other in a single day as on Monday. We rank the 10 most irate MPs

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The Tories assembled in Birmingham are fighting over lots of things. They’re fighting over the 45p tax U-turn, and the prospect of a swingeing benefit cut, and whether or not it’s OK for the Home Secretary to accuse backbenchers of mounting a coup. But above all, deep down, they’re mostly fighting about whether Liz Truss has got what it takes. There may never have been so many angry things said by so many Tories about each other in a single day as there were on Monday. It’s not the ideal introduction for the most important speech of Liz Truss’ life.

Some of them are angrily making headlines by saying exactly what they bloody well think; others are angrily making headlines by telling the first lot to put a sock in it. The mood is a little delirious. An amazing video appeared on Tuesday of at least three people appearing to sleep soundly through health secretary Thérèse Coffey’s speech in the main hall, but on Wednesday morning I find myself wondering if they weren’t obscure backbenchers who somebody had poisoned.

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Tory MPs threaten rebellion against Liz Truss over mini-budget

Party conference overshadowed by fears that refusing to do a U-turn on tax and spending cuts will kill off election chances

Liz Truss is struggling to persuade Conservative MPs to back her controversial mini-budget, with some even threatening all-out rebellion amid fears that they will once again become known as the “nasty party”.

The prime minister faces with a rising drumbeat of discontent that is overshadowing the Tory conference after she insisted she would “stand by” her plans to cut the top rate of income tax and ram through public spending cuts.

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Michael Gove says Liz Truss’s tax cut plans ‘not Conservative’

Influential former minister hints he will not vote for mini-budget measures, in blow to PM

Michael Gove said Liz Truss’s programme of tax cuts was deeply concerning and “not Conservative”, and hinted he would not vote for them, in a major blow to the prime minister’s authority.

Gove, who was removed as levelling up secretary before Boris Johnson left No 10 but remains a hugely influential Tory MP, said he could not back Truss’s abolition of the top 45p rate of tax, or the removal of the cap on bankers’ bonuses.

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Liz Truss admits she should have ‘laid ground better’ before mini-budget and says cabinet not consulted about 45% top rate tax cut – live

Latest updates: PM vows to press ahead with mini-budget plans and dismisses objections to top rate of tax being axed

Q: Are you absolutely committed to getting rid of the 45% rate of tax?

Yes, says Truss.

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Westminster dealings ‘demoralising’, say ex-ministers of devolved nations

UK government accused of being devoid of understanding of issues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The UK government’s dealings with the devolved nations has been described by former ministers as “demoralising”, “depressing” and devoid of understanding of issues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

As the former Brexit minister David Frost is tipped to take charge of matters relating to the union in a potential Liz Truss government, nine former ministers in governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast have spoken out about their tussles and frustrations with Westminster in interviews with the Institute for Government.

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Lib Dems get ready for possible byelection if Michael Gove quits

Party officials prepare for contest as speculation grows former levelling up minister is set to step down

The Liberal Democrats are rushing through plans to confirm a candidate for Michael Gove’s Surrey seat amid speculation that the former levelling up secretary is considering quitting parliament, which would spark a byelection.

The party’s application window for selection for the seat, held by Gove since 2005, closes on Wednesday evening and the selection process is expected to take two weeks. Lib Dem officials are planning for a possibly imminent campaign in which the party would fight on issues including the state of local hospitals and plans to drill for gas locally.

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Tory big beasts put careers on line with aggressive criticism of Truss

Analysis: Strength of attacks suggests they come from strong belief that frontrunner’s policies are wrong

There has been no shortage of cabinet big beasts willing to place their careers on the line for the failing Tory leadership campaign of Rishi Sunak. Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Matt Hancock – not to mention Sunak himself – have not held back in their aggressive criticism of Liz Truss.

Traditionally, in the dying days of a leadership contest, some of the animosity dissipates as the likely losing candidate assesses their prospects of a job in a new administration. However, Sunak and his supporters have been vehement in their attacks on Truss’s economic policies, with the strength of their criticism increasing in recent days.

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Gove backs Sunak and says Truss is ‘taking holiday from reality’

Former cabinet minister says he does not expect to return to frontbench politics as he backs underdog in race to be PM

Michael Gove has thrown his support behind Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership contest, warning that Liz Truss’s refusal to offer more support over rising energy bills and to just focus on tax cuts marked a “holiday from reality”.

In a sometimes hard-hitting article in the Times, Gove said he did not expect to be made a minister again and that many people expected Truss to win, but he believes Sunak “makes the right arguments”.

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Liz Truss cabinet predictions: who could be in and who would lose out?

Analysis: Kwasi Kwarteng and Thérèse Coffey could be among the big winners if Truss becomes PM

Liz Truss has three weeks before she is likely to walk through No 10’s black door as prime minister, facing a difficult in-tray. Here we take a look at how senior roles could shape up.

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Tory leadership race live: Kemi Badenoch eliminated as Rishi Sunak tops poll of MPs

Candidates for next prime minister reduced to three ahead of final MPs’ vote on Wednesday

Penny Mordaunt’s supporters do believe that No 10 has removed the whip from Tobias Ellwood to stop him voting for her in the leadership ballot (contrary to what Nadine Dorries claims - see 11.21am), Newsnight’s Nicholas Watt reports.

Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary and Boris Johnson loyalist, has dismissed as “ridiculous” claims that Tobias Ellwood has had the Tory whip removed to stop him voting against the Johnson candidate in the leadership contest. (See 10.08am and 10.45am.)

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How much longer can Boris Johnson refuse to budge?

A defiant prime minister may try to hold a general election to buy himself more time

Boris Johnson already knew more of his cabinet ministers wanted him gone before he went to face his MPs at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday. Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, and Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, had told him to quit.

But the prime minister was immovable. He pressed on with the day, determined to answer questions three hours later from select committee chairs on the price of grain in the Bosphorus and the merits of road pricing at the liaison committee.

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Michael Gove sacked ‘for disloyalty’: allies reveal how it happened

Levelling up secretary fired several hours after urging Boris Johnson to vacate No 10

Michael Gove was sacked by Boris Johnson on Wednesday evening after telling the prime minister to quit earlier in the day.

Allies confirmed the levelling up secretary had been dismissed after a delegation of cabinet ministers told Johnson he should resign.

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England’s crumbling schools are a ‘risk to life’, officials warn No 10

Leak reveals that the education department is battling with the Treasury for £13bn needed for rebuilding projects

Many school buildings in England are now in such disrepair they are a “risk to life”, according to internal government documents leaked to the Observer.

Emails sent by senior officials working for education secretary Nadhim Zahawi to Downing Street show them raising the alarm on two occasions within the last six weeks.

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Tory MP says no massive need for food banks in UK and real problem is people’s cooking skills – live

Latest updates: Conservative Lee Anderson says people just need to be shown how to cook nutritious meals that cost less

Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s leader in Northern Ireland, has criticised the DUP for refusing to commit to backing the election of a speaker for the Northern Ireland assembly. (See 11.25am.) She said:

What we need to see is the positions filled - first minister, deputy first minister, all the ministerial positions filled, and let’s get down to doing business.

I don’t think it is good enough. It is not good enough for the people here that the DUP is holding society to ransom, punishing society, preventing the establishment of a speaker and an executive to actually respond to the things people are worried about.

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Lords rally to protect independence of UK’s Electoral Commission

Boris Johnson’s government faces new defeat over what critics say is democratic meddling

Boris Johnson is facing another damaging parliamentary defeat on Monday over controversial plans that would give ministers new powers to determine the remit of the independent watchdog that oversees UK elections.

A cross-party group of peers is this weekend rallying behind an amendment to the elections bill that would strike out key clauses which, they believe, would seriously undermine the Electoral Commission’s independence and open the way for political interference in the conduct of elections.

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Firms that refuse to fund cladding repairs could face trading ban

Uncooperative developers to be threatened with loss of planning permission by Michael Gove

Developers that are refusing to contribute to the fund set up to fix dangerous cladding will be warned this week they could be blocked from selling new homes.

The levelling up secretary, Michael Gove, will explicitly threaten retaliation, citing powers in the building safety bill that would stop uncooperative developers getting planning permission.

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Labour calls UK’s homes for Ukraine plan a ‘DIY asylum scheme’

Criticism follows announcement that UK householders will have to name refugees they wish to sponsor

Michael Gove’s plan to permit UK householders to shelter Ukrainians seeking to escape the Russian war machine has been compared to a “DIY asylum scheme” after it was announced that people would have to name the refugees they wish to sponsor.

The communities secretary was criticised after setting out details of the homes for Ukraine scheme in the Commons on Monday, after complaints about the government’s slow response to the worst humanitarian disaster in Europe for decades.

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UK to donate more than 500 mobile generators to Ukraine

Units will help provide power for key buildings such as hospitals, shelters and water treatment plants

Boris Johnson has announced that the government will donate more than 500 mobile generators to Ukraine to help provide power for key buildings such as hospitals, shelters and water treatment plants.

The UK government has set up a new Ukraine electricity network support taskforce, including many of the leading power suppliers. They will provide the generators from their stocks, with many expected to be delivered via neighbouring countries. In total, they should provide enough power for 20,000 homes or equivalent buildings.

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Scotland and Wales want to act as Ukrainian refugee ‘super sponsors’

Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford tell UK government they want to ‘maximise’ their contributions

Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford have said Scotland and Wales are willing to become “super sponsors” for Ukrainian refugees.

The UK government is to launch a scheme where individuals and organisations can sponsor refugees to come into the country, but the Scottish and Welsh first ministers told Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, they wanted to “maximise” their contribution and act as “super sponsors”.

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UK visa red tape distracting fighters on frontline, says Ukraine’s former PM

Volodymyr Groysman suggests worry over safety of families who have fled could disrupt those left behind to fight

Red tape holding up refugees from reaching the UK could be distracting husbands and fathers left behind to fight Russian forces as they worry about the safety of their families who have fled, a former prime minister of Ukraine has said.

Volodymyr Groysman was Ukraine’s premier between 2016 and 2019, and has been warning about the threat from the Kremlin for many years.

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