Labour’s Rachel Reeves says Conservatives are ‘playing blame game’ for UK’s economic problems
Liz Truss has been accused of being “deeply irresponsible” for threatening to tinker with the Bank of England’s mandate on the brink of a recession.
The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, attacked the Tory leadership frontrunner after Truss and her allies repeatedly questioned the performance of the Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, and said she would review the institution’s remit.
Continue reading...Tory leadership rivals disagree on how to turn economy around and avoid predicted downturn in Sky news debate
Liz Truss has claimed her tax cut plans could avert the looming recession, after the Bank of England forecast 13% inflation and a downturn lasting more than a year.
In a televised leadership interview, the foreign secretary was challenged about gloomy projections made by the Bank on Thursday, as it increased interest rates by 0.5 percentage points.
Continue reading...Tory hopefuls face questions from party members and are interviewed by Kay Burley as interest rates go up sharply. This blog is now closed.
The NHS has been “absent” from the Conservative leadership contest, the former health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said at a time when “staff shortages and morale have never been worse” in the health service.
Hunt, who is backing Sunak in the race, warned that “after energy bills the biggest issue facing the new prime minister will be a looming winter crisis”.
If the NHS continues this spiral of decline with ambulances, A&Es & GP surgeries all in serious crisis, we’ll see avoidable deaths mount up this winter. Staff know there’s no silver bullet, but they need to know there’s a plan.
Make flexible working automatic across the NHS so we don’t drive staff with young families to become locums or agency nurses, which is often the only way they can juggle work and home life.
Continue reading...UK foreign secretary calls US House speaker’s trip ‘perfectly reasonable’ and urges China to de-escalate
Liz Truss has criticised China’s “inflammatory” response to a senior US politician visiting Taiwan and called for a de-escalation ahead of military drills expected over the coming days.
Hours after the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, ended a historic trip to the island about 100 miles east of China, the UK foreign secretary said her meetings with human rights activists and others were “perfectly reasonable”.
Continue reading...YouGov poll gives Truss large lead against Sunak as hopefuls prepare for third hustings in Cardiff
Rishi Sunak’s proposals to strengthen the government’s anti-terrorism programme risk “straying into thought crimes” and are potentially damaging to national security, a former senior police chief has said.
The former chancellor announced measures to beef up the Prevent programme on Tuesday night, as part of a bid to boost his flagging campaign to succeed Boris Johnson as the next prime minister.
The widening of Prevent could damage its credibility and reputation. It makes it more about people’s thoughts and opinions.
It is straying into thought crimes and political opinions.
Political opposition is not where police should be, it is those who pose a serious threat and risk of violence, not those opposed to political systems.
You can’t afford to make those sorts of judgmental errors. And I think that’s one of the reasons I think it’s actually going to turn out to be good that the polling is delayed slightly by a week because people have more time to see with both candidates whether they think their judgement is good, whether they think their instincts are good.
And that, I think, will favour my candidate.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary forced to abandon policy amid widespread criticism from within Conservative party
Liz Truss suffered a humiliating setback in her bid to become the next prime minister on Tuesday, as she was forced into a U-turn on civil service pay after a backlash from within her own party.
The foreign secretary swiftly abandoned the cornerstone of her plan for a “war on Whitehall waste” when it was revealed it could lead to pay cuts for millions of teachers, nurses and police officers.
Continue reading...Polls suggest leadership race may be going further than even Conservatives might want on immigration, economy and climate
It is a thread running through the Conservative leadership campaign, as shown through the apparent desire to be toughest on asylum seekers, the biggest advocate of tax cuts, sceptical about net zero measures: this is a party that feels like it has shifted decisively to the right.
Some argue the arms race of populist policies from Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak exemplifies a new Conservatism, one fundamentally altered by Brexit and Boris Johnson, which has gradually absorbed the priorities of those who used to support Ukip.
Continue reading...His team told his general-election style campaign too slick and unfocused as time runs out to sway electors
Rishi Sunak’s team is being urged to overhaul his “general election-style” campaign in favour of a grassroots effort speaking directly to Tory members in a last-ditch attempt to beat Liz Truss to the Conservative leadership.
With some supporters of the former chancellor in despair over the apparent grip Truss has assumed over the contest to replace Boris Johnson, allies have warned that there has been too much focus on polished social media content, TV appearances and visits to swing voters that have not won over Tory members.
Continue reading...Sacked Labour frontbencher says rail workers had the right to expect Labour to stand with them
Boris Johnson’s reluctance to leave Downing Street in the face of opposition from ministers and Tory MPs seemed a bit “let’s storm the Capitol, chaps”, according to a former senior No 10 aide, likening it to the January 6 insurrection in Washington DC.
The comparison was made by Cleo Watson, a former special adviser to Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings in an article for Tatler magazine.
These workers are being forced to take industrial action. I’m a Labour MP so I’m a member of the Labour trade union. When the call comes out from CWU for solidarity to join the picket lines, of course I respond positively.
The actions of the Labour leadership is disgraceful. We will have to deal with that. I think what will happen is that people will see through Labour unless they change their position because it seems to me that Labour want to win an election without any principles or any policies and people won’t accept that.
Continue reading...Tory leadership candidates have clashed bitterly but many pressing matters have been overlooked
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have clashed vehemently over tax and spending, immigration and the UK’s stance on China in their acrimonious battle to become prime minister – but have had little to say about many other pressing issues. Here are some largely overlooked key issues of the contest so far.
Continue reading...Leadership rivals bid to win members’ support in foreign secretary’s home town
Drug-related deaths in Scotland fell by nine in 2021, according to the latest figures released by National Records of Scotland, the first decrease since 2013 but falling well short of the significant reduction that campaigners are calling for.
The latest figure of 1,330 is still the second highest annual total on record, and Scotland continues to have by far the highest drug death rate recorded by any country in Europe and five times the rate in England.
We’ve had a raft of reports, policies and strategies that say what needs to change, and families are more likely to be included round the table, but it’s much harder to track their influence on the ground. We don’t understand what’s getting in the way of good words becoming good deeds.
1,330 of our fellow Scots have died entirely preventable deaths and we should not be celebrating this as an achievement ... The solutions are no secret. We need action, not reports with recommendations that are never implemented.
Continue reading...Tory leadership hopefuls set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls, as Labour’s Stella Creasy welcomes Truss U-turn
Liz Truss has vowed to make street harassment a crime months after a similar move was blocked by Boris Johnson, while Rishi Sunak pledged to outlaw “downblousing” – taking a photo down a woman’s top without consent.
Both Tory leadership candidates set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls, which has been the focus of a longstanding campaign by opposition MPs and feminist activists, especially after the killings of women including Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and Zara Aleena.
Continue reading...As Leeds prepares to host hustings, residents of leafy suburb where Truss grew up take issue with her claims about the area
As Leeds prepared to host the first of the Conservative leadership regional hustings on Thursday evening, people who grew up alongside candidate Liz Truss have found much to disagree with her on.
Truss went to Roundhay school, an Ofsted “outstanding” comprehensive in the leafy suburb in the north of the city. She caused outrage and indignation among local leaders with her comments about her former school, which she said “let down” children.
Continue reading...Aslef members voted for action in August, while the RMT chief, Mick Lynch, is calling for a general strike
Unions warned the UK could face a general strike this year as rail workers voted for fresh action set to intensify a summer of industrial unrest.
The vote for further transport strikes came as Keir Starmer sacked shadow transport minister Sam Tarry who conducted broadcast interviews alongside striking RMT workers at Euston station – a move that is likely to increase divisions between Labour and trade unions.
Continue reading...Labour would, however, stick to plans to nationalise the railways if it won the next election, Starmer says
Polling from YouGov suggests that Liz Truss was perceived by Tory members to have outperformed Sunak on every issue covered in last night’s debate.
In particular, she led on Ukraine, cost of living and levelling up, although her lead was weaker on Brexit, the environment and taxation.
There are some lines on PA from Robert Buckland, the Wales secretary who is supporting Rishi Sunak for the Tory leadership, defending last night’s fierce TV showdown as “robust debate”.
There’s this balance to be struck between having a vigorous debate and being sort of almost too polite to each other.
I think it’s inevitable that you’re going to have candidates disagreeing, and frankly, we need to hear what the arguments are.
Continue reading...Analysis: Poor strategy in Tory leadership race has allowed former chancellor to be painted as timid, fear supporters
Monday’s debate was supposed to be a turning point for Rishi Sunak, a moment billed as his chance to change his fortunes after polling suggested he was trailing Liz Truss in the Tory leadership contest.
Her awkwardness, her less fluent grasp of detail could be shown up in the head-to-head – similarly to how poorly she performed in the last two debates. “The more they see of her, the more they like him,” was the refrain from Sunak supporters.
Continue reading...Leadership candidates ignored calls from fellow Conservatives not to ‘tarnish the brand’ as they wrangled over tax cuts, inflation and relations with China
The battle to become the UK’s next prime minister descended into fierce clashes on Monday night as Rishi Sunak launched repeated attacks on the economic policies of the favourite Liz Truss in their first head-to-head TV debate.
The two Conservative leadership hopefuls traded blows over tax cuts, China and inflation, with the former chancellor Sunak accusing the foreign secretary of seeking “a short-term sugar rush” by cutting national insurance.
Continue reading...Labour dismisses Conservative leadership hopeful’s plan for minimum service levels as unworkable
Liz Truss has promised a further crackdown on trade unions, widening restrictions to a significant new number of industries, but her proposals were immediately criticised as the “biggest attack on civil rights” since the 19th century.
Truss said she would legislate for minimum service levels on critical national infrastructure in the first 30 days of government under her leadership. The pledge would go further than the Tories’ 2019 policy, which promised a minimum service should operate during transport strikes.
Continue reading...Analysis: claims by ex-chancellor about Foreign Office weakness towards Beijing look like an attempt to head off a similar attack on him
Rishi Sunak’s pre-emptive strike attacking Liz Truss over alleged Foreign Office pusillanimity towards China looks to have been a daring attempt to fend off an imminent assault from his Tory leadership rival.
But it locks the contestants into a potentially uncontrollable dogfight as they seek to prove their credentials as the truer enemy of authoritarianism.
Continue reading...Latest updates: final two candidates exchange blows over plans for cost of living, levelling up and China
Starmer says Labour’s approach to levelling up will be based on a practical plan, unlike the government’s.
And he says he was impressed by the approach of Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, whom he met in Berlin recently. Starmer suggests Britain could learn from the way new battery factories are located in poor regions in Germany.
There will be no magic money tree economics with us.
Continue reading...