Politics

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

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

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

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 reiterate Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s plan to boost growth. And just a day after her

Liz Truss has refused to commit to raising benefits in line with inflation, despite growing pressure from a cabinet minister and senior Tory MPs. The prime minister said she was “fully committed” to raising pensions, but that “no decision” had been made on the benefit uprate promised by her predecessor Boris Johnson. Politics Hub: Truss

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

Kwasi Kwarteng is facing calls for an official inquiry following a report that he attended a private champagne reception with hedge fund managers following his mini-budget. The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the chancellor joined the gathering in Chelsea on 23 September and was said to have been “egged on” to pursue his plan of

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

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

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

The mini-budget “seemed designed to provoke the markets” when they were already vulnerable, a backbench Tory MP has said, in the latest criticism of the new government from its own side. Writing in The House magazine, Waveney MP Peter Aldous joined the criticism of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng‘s mini-budget last week. He highlighted the

Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng will meet the head of the UK’s independent fiscal watchdog today amid the fall-out from the government’s mini-budget. The talks with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) come after a week of economic turmoil following last Friday’s announcements, which saw the pound plunge, mortgages rocked and pension funds needing to