Category Archives: POLITICS

Could Boris Johnson Be About To Become Prime Minister For A Second Time?

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Boris Johnson is planning to throw his hat into the ring to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister – just six weeks after he quit 10 Downing Street.

The former PM – who was forced to quit after a wave of resignations sparked by the Chris Pincher scandal – is taking soundings from his supporters before making a final decision.

When he resigned, he described being PM as “the best job in the world”.

He is currently in the Caribbean on holiday, but is preparing to cut it short to fly back to London before making a final decision.

But critics pointed out that he still faces a privileges committee investigation into whether he misled parliament over the partygate scandal, which could potentially see him thrown out of parliament.

Truss resigned earlier today and announced that her successor would be chosen within a week.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, has hinted that an online ballot will take place, meaning party members will be given a say on the new PM.

That increases Johnson’s chances, given he is still popular with Conservative activists who remain angry at the way he was ousted by MPs in July.

Bookmakers have already slashed their odds on him being re-elected prime minister, making him second favourite behind Rishi Sunak, the man whose resignation as chancellor helped to bring him down.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt – who lost out to Truss in the last leadership contest – has already confirmed that she will stand again, while other possible contenders include Kemi Badenoch, Ben Wallace and Suella Braverman.

Several Tory MPs have already given their support to Johnson coming back, including loyalists Nadine Dorries, Michael Fabricant and Andrea Jenkyns.

But health minister Robert Jenrick, who served in Johnson’s cabinet between 2019 and 2021, told the News Agents podcast: “The Boris that I supported when he stood in 2019 was one of the greatest campaigners in modern political history, somebody who was able to galvanise people to win that incredible general election, defeat Jeremy Corbyn, get Brexit done.

“So, there was definitely a case for Boris, and I think I was right to support him in 2019. You could argue that the Conservative Party is in such a difficult place, that his formidable campaigning skills are required once again.

“On the other hand, his premiership came to an end for a reason, which is that there were serious questions about competence, credibility, and ethics and does the Conservative Party want to go back to that?.”

And Tory MP John Baron said: “I believe – rightly or wrongly – he misled parliament on a number of occasions. We have to look forward not back.”

A Labour source told HuffPost UK: “The Tories all droning on about how they need a sensible, serious person to manage the party and deliver stability, then that honking pudding turns up with his travelling circus. Delicious.”

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper called on the Tories to block Johnson’s possible return.

She said: “The fact that Conservative MPs are even considering putting Boris Johnson back in Number 10 shows how out of touch they really are. They think there’s one rule for them and another for everyone else.

“Boris Johnson was forced to resign in disgrace after countless lies, scandals and failures. He shattered public trust in the government and plunged the UK into a political crisis. He must never be allowed near Downing Street again.”

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How Will The Tory Leadership Race To Replace Liz Truss Work?

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Westminster collapsed into chaos on Thursday as Liz Truss announced she was resigning as Tory leader.

Truss lasted just 44 days in office, making her the shortest serving prime minister in history.

The government’s death spiral means there must be another leadership contest to select the next Tory party leader and prime minister.

Just minutes after her resignation, chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady announced the party would hold a contest to replace her within a week.

It follows complaints that the two-month contest to replace Boris Johnson over the summer paralysed government for too long.

Truss’s replacement will become their third leader in just two months. Brady held two brief press conferences on Thursday to explain how they would elect the next PM.

How It Will Work

Brady said the process should be concluded by Friday, October 28.

The hope is that a new prime minister would be in place in time for an important financial statement on October 31.

That crucial statement – on the following Monday – is intended to reassure the City that the government has a plan to repair the nation’s finances.

Truss will remain acting leader of the party until a successor is appointed.

Candidates to replace her will need at least 100 nominations from Conservative MPs – a considerably higher threshold than the start of the last election.

Nominations open Thursday night and will close at 2pm on Monday, October 24. There will be an indicative vote of MPs once there are two candidates.

The first ballot of MPs will then be held between 3.30pm and 5.30pm on Monday 24.

If there are three candidates, the candidate with the fewest number of votes will be eliminated.

The result will be announced at 6pm. If a second indicative vote is needed, this will be held between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Monday. The result will be announced at 9pm.

Once the parliamentary process is completed, Conservative Campaign Headquarters will begin balloting the party membership – as long as two candidates remain.

The ballot of members will be conducted via secure online voting that will close at 11am on Friday 28 – the result will be announced later that day.

Only qualifying members, who have been a member for at least three months, can vote.

Brady told reporters that hustings for MPs would be held behind closed doors on Monday.

He said: “We’ve fixed a high threshold, but one that can be achievable by any serious candidate.

“We have no knowledge of who those candidates will be at the moment.”

Behind the scenes, Tory MPs have already started the horse trading ahead of the election.

For a run-through of who might throw their hat in the ring, follow our list of runners and riders.

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Yvette Cooper Has The Perfect Response To Suella Braverman’s ‘Tofu-Eating Wokerati’ Rant

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Suella Braverman has faced ridicule from her opposite number after the home secretary sounded off about a “tofu-eating wokerati” and a “coalition of chaos”.

The cabinet minister renewed her attacks on opponents of the Tory party – a habit that has made her a darling of the right – during a Commons debate on the Public Order Bill.

It includes a new offence of obstructing major transport networks, interfering with key national infrastructure – such as railways, roads and printing presses – and new powers for police to stop and search people to seize items intended for so-called locking-on.

Lock-on tactics have been repeatedly employed by groups such as Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil, and include protesters gluing or otherwise attaching themselves to roads or other areas to cause disruption.

Braverman went on the offensive in light of the Just Stop Oil protest that has seen the Dartford Crossing – the only way to cross the Thames east of London by road – blocked for the second day in a row.

She accused opposition parties of being a “coalition of chaos”, adding: “It’s the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati, dare I say, the anti-growth coalition that we have to thank for the disruption that we are seeing on our roads today.”

But Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded Braverman’s words “astonishing”, adding: “The home secretary actually talked about a coalition of chaos, we can see it in front of us as we speak.”

She continued that she understood government “concerns”.

Cooper said: “When they face issues when they’ve got a selfish minority wreaking havoc, you’ve got someone resisting all attempts to remove them, causing serious disruption, disorder, chaos, with serious consequences for the public, for business, for politics and for financial markets.

“But they’ve glued themselves under the desk. With honourable members opposite, we wish them luck with their attempts to extricate another failing Tory prime minister from Number 10.

“But I suggest it isn’t a reason to change the law for everyone else.”

Cooper was of course referring to Liz Truss and the turmoil caused by her mini-budget, which crashed the financial markets and saw the pound fall to an all-time low.

The backlash led to two major u-turns by chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, before he was eventually sacked and replaced by Jeremy Hunt, who has since torched the low-tax, free-markeeter economic plan Truss staked her leadership bid on.

Truss now faces continued humiliation as a growing number of her MPs want the PM to quit, with one even comparing her premiership to a dumpster fire. She has vowed to fight on.

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Women’s Rights Campaigners Celebrate As MPs Back Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones

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Campaigners have hailed a move that could see anti-harassment buffer zones created around abortion clinics in England and Wales.

MPs voted in favour of an amendment to the government’s Public Order Bill that would make it a criminal offence for anti-abortion campaigners to interfere, intimidate or harass women who are seeking a termination or providing the medical service.

The proposals, which were pushed by a cross-party group of MPs, passed by 297 votes to 110 — a majority of 187.

In a lengthy parliamentary debate, a number of MPs spoke in support of the 150-metre buffer zones while other raised concerns that they would hinder the right to free speech.

Labour MP Stella Creasy, who proposed the amendment, said women “in their “droves are asking for this protection” and that there needed to be an end to the “postcode lottery of protection”.

Addressing MPs who opposed the amendment on free speech grounds, Creasy said: “New clause 11 does not stop free speech on abortion, it does not stop people protesting.

“As somebody who has been regularly subjected to protests, it’d do nothing to stop the protests that I have experienced from many of the people who are involved in this.

“It simply says that you shouldn’t have a right to do that in the face of somebody — and very often these people are right up in front of people — at a point when they have made a decision.”

Caroline Nokes, the Conservative chair of the women and equalities committee, also backed the proposals, arguing that “progress has been too slow” in protecting women from street harassment.

She was supported by former justice minister Victoria Atkins, who said she agreed with the amendment.

“These are fundamental healthcare services that we provide rightly, lawfully, in the 21st century. So we must surely enable women to get the services as they need them, when they need them, so that they get the right help and advice that they need.”

The debate comes after warnings from campaigners that women are being targeted by anti-abortion protestors and bombarded with distressing leaflets and materials.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which welcomed the amendment’s passing, said there had been reports of leaflets being handed to women telling them that “rape is easier to get over than abortion”.

It also raised concerns that leaflets advertising so-called abortion reversal pills had been given to women despite the fact that there is “no reputable evidence” that the progesterone in the pills can “reverse” an abortion.

But Conservative MP Fiona Bruce said she believed exclusion zones had “grave implications” for “freedom of thought, conscience, speech, belief and assembly”.

She acknowledged harassment and intimidation around abortion clinics had to be “addressed”, but said there were already existing laws and “there have been relatively few if any reports of this”.

The DUP’s Carla Lockhart agreed, arguing that the amendment was “simply unnecessary” and that demonstrators offered women “alternatives” to abortion.

The Public Order Bill still has to undergo scrutiny in the House of Lords before it becomes law.

Speaking after the amendment passed, Creasy said: “Today’s vote is a victory for campaigners like Sister Supporter, women and MPs across parliament, especially Rupa Huq MP, who have fought for years for these vital protections.

“With evidence hundreds of thousands of women every year are hassled it’s right we have a national solution for a national problem.

“It’s for them we have acted so that they can access an abortion without having to run the gauntlet of protestors to seek healthcare.

“Ministers need to act swiftly to ensure that this change is implemented and guidance published to ensure that every woman is able to enjoy the protections which have been won today.”

Last week it was reported that a buffer zone was being placed around a clinic in Dorset to deter anti-abortion campaigners harassing service users and staff.

Breaching the buffer zone could result in a fixed penalty notice of £100 or a conviction at a magistrates court, the Guardian reported.

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Defiant Liz Truss Says She’ll Lead Tories Into Next Election

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Liz Truss has vowed the to lead the Tories into the next general election as she apologised for her “mistakes”.

The prime minister is battling to save her premiership after torching her economic agenda by the dismantling of her former chancellor’s landmark mini-budget.

In an interview with the BBC after new chancellor Jeremy Hunt scaled back the energy support package and ditched “almost all” the tax cuts announced by his predecessor, Truss said she wanted to “accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made”.

“I wanted to act… to help people with their energy bills to deal with the issue of high taxes, but we went too far and too fast. I’ve acknowledged that,” she said.

She said she is “sticking around” because she was “elected to deliver for this country”, adding: “I will lead the Conservatives into the next general election.”

The pressure on the prime minister gained traction on Monday evening with Tories now openly calling for her to go after just six weeks in power.

Asked whether she would lead the Conservatives into the next general election, Truss replied: “I will lead the Conservatives into the next general election.”

When pressed, she added: “Well look, yeah, (laughs) I’m not focused on internal debates within the Conservative Party.

“The important thing is that I’ve been elected to this position to deliver for the country. We are facing very tough times.

“We simply cannot afford to spend our time talking about the Conservative Party, rather than what we need to deliver. That is my message to my colleagues.”

In the interview, she also said: “I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made. I wanted to act, to help people with their energy bills, to deal with the issue of high taxes, but we went too far and too fast.

“I have acknowledged that. I have put in place a new chancellor with a new strategy to restore economic stability. Now what I am focused on is delivering for the public.”

She added: “I am somebody who is honest, I’ve said that mistakes were made. I’ve also acted to address that, to make sure the country is in a strong position. And that’s what I will continue to do as prime minister.”

Truss is fighting to save her premiership after Hunt warned that “eye-wateringly difficult” decisions were needed as he tore up her economic strategy.

Hunt scaled back the energy support package and ditched “almost all” the tax cuts announced by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng less than a month ago, as he tried to restore economic stability after weeks of turmoil on the financial markets.

Truss became prime minister after winning the Tory leadership contest on the back of promises to dramatically cut tax, and the wholesale abandonment of the policies has left her fighting for her job after just six weeks.

She sat next to her new chancellor in the Commons, staring straight ahead as he ditched huge chunks of her plan.

After around 30 minutes, she walked out without having said a word.

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Liz Truss Stares Into Middle Distance During Bizarre Commons Appearance

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Liz Truss made a fleeting, impassive appearance in the House of Commons as her premiership appeared to crumble around her.

The prime minister had snubbed Labour’s urgent parliamentary question on Truss’s decision to to appoint Jeremy Hunt as the new chancellor – and sent Penny Mordaunt, the Commons speaker, to deputise.

But the move raised more questions about the grip Truss has of her party.

Mordaunt’s initial explanation that the PM was “detained on urgent business” prompted howls of laughter from the Opposition benches, and failed to reassure MPs.

Stella Creasy, a Labour MP, suggested that based on what they had been told, the prime minister is “cowering under her desk and asking for it all to go away”.

Mordaunt, a one-time leadership rival who is viewed as a potential successor, caused more laughter when she replied: “Well, the prime minister is not under a desk.”

Mordaunt added to the confusion by repeatedly suggesting there was “a very good reason” for the prime minister’s no-show – which even led one MP to ask if she was “on the way to the Palace” to tell the King her government is over.

But then Truss finally arrived while Mordaunt was still speaking.

She was there, it turned out, to sit alongside her new chancellor as Hunt was due to spell out the “eye-wateringly difficult” decisions that were needed as he tore up her economic strategy.

But things got even stranger from there. Truss did not contribute to the debate, and many on social media pointed out she appeared only to be staring into the middle distance and blinking frequently.

She sat next to Hunt for around 30 minutes as he ditched huge chunks of “Trussonomics”.

But as soon as Hunt finished his Commons address and took questions from MPs, Truss departed to accusations of “running off to something else”.

So where was she?

One report suggested Truss had been meeting Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, who could hold the key to her future if Conservatives revolt en masse.

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Tory MPs Go Public With Demands Liz Truss Quit As Prime Minister

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Conservative MPs broke cover on Sunday to publicly demand Liz Truss resign as prime minister, as replacements wait in the wings.

Crispin Blunt, the veteran MP for Reigate, told Channel 4′s The Andrew Neil Show that Truss should quit “now” as “the game is up”.

Jamie Wallis, the MP for Bridgend, said “enough is enough”, revealing he had written to Truss to tell her “she no longer holds the confidence of this country”.

Andrew Bridgen, who is known for calling for Tory prime ministers to resign, wrote on his blog: “Liz has sunk her own leadership”.

Behind closed doors, many Tory MPs have already decided Truss needs to be replaced in light of market turmoil and tanking poll ratings.

One backbencher told HuffPost UK before the weekend: “Last week I’d have given her till Christmas. Now I think she’ll be gone by the end of the month.”

While a former minister said: “Things are just too bad now. She has to go.”

The move by some to go public on Sunday indicates the prime minister’s decision to sack Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and replace him with Jeremy Hunt has not calmed things down.

In broadcast interviews on Sunday morning, Tory MPs stopped short of calling for Truss to resign but effectively put her on notice.

Robert Halfon, the chair of the Commons education committee, told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday the PM had been acting like like a “libertarian jihadist” but said he was not calling for her to quit “at this time”.

In a separate interview with Times Radio, Halfon suggested the PM had “hours or days” to save her job.

Alicia Kearns, the new chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, told Times Radio it was “a very difficult one” when asked if Truss should remain in office.

“I need to listen to colleagues and speak to colleagues over the coming days. But do we need a fundamental reset? Without question,” she said.

Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, when asked if Tory MPs should install a new leader told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “I don’t think we’re there yet.”

But but he added Truss needed to do three things – deliver an economically-credible plan, reshuffle her cabinet and restore trust.

In an interview on the same show, Hunt, the new chancellor, insisted Truss remained “in charge” – despite him having essentially junked her entire mini-Budget.

Truss met with Hunt at Chequers on Sunday to plan the October 31 Budget that will unstitch much of the platform on which she won the leadership.

Hunt is now considered a possible replacement Tory leader and prime minister. Rishi Sunak, who lost out to Truss in the last contest is also seen as a likely candidate, as is cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt and defence secretary Ben Wallace.

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Cabinet Ministers Dutifully Declare ‘Support’ For Liz Truss By Posting An Infographic

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Members of the Liz Truss cabinet have rallied round the beleaguered prime minister – but their efforts failed to convince.

On Friday, the plagued mini-budget struck again as the PM sacked her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as she abandoned plans to freeze corporation tax.

A desperate attempt to reset her premiership saw Truss appoint Jeremy Hunt as Kwarteng’s replacement in the Treasury, which was followed by a press conference that was as short as it was unapologetic.

But some in her top team offered support, taking to Twitter to post an infographic with a quotation from the media briefing, where she said: “We will deliver the strong and sustained growth that can transform the prosperity of our country for generations to come.”

Simon Clarke, the chief secretary to the Treasury, raised eyebrows when he simply tweeted: “The prime minister has my support.”

It also brought to mind footballer Victor Anichebe’s “tweet something like” classic.

Therese Coffey, Ranil Jayawardena and Jake Berry followed.

But Tom Tugendhat, minister of state for security who attends cabinet, resisted adding a message of support to the graphic – while Kemi Bandenoch resisted adding the graphic to her message of support.

The international trade secretary, who came fourth in the Conservative party leadership contest earlier this year, wrote: “To say it’s been a difficult day would be an understatement. We knew the scale of the challenge this autumn given multiple global headwinds would be unprecedented. Our Prime Minister is working flat out to get the country through these turbulent times. She has my full support.”

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A Bad Day For Liz Truss – But Twitter Has Been Very Good

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Another day, another round of Tory chaos.

But while the pound bounces around the bottom and mortgage rates surge, the slither of a silver lining is the quality of the content on Twitter.

On Friday, the catastrophic mini-budget struck again as Liz Truss sacked her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as she abandoned plans to freeze corporation tax.

Part of a desperate attempt to save her premiership saw Truss appoint Jeremy Hunt as Kwarteng’s replacement in the Treasury, which was followed by a press conference that was as short as it was unapologetic.

Many political reporters, speaking to Tory MPs, suggested the media briefing – eight minutes, just four questions – made things worse. You can see why they might say that.

Speaking of time, here’s a handy refresher.

For reference, the UK has now had four chancellors since July.

Meanwhile, the new chancellor didn’t get off to the best start.

And there was a reminder not to stand too close to either of the top two in government …

… especially if they are indulging in a spot of campanology.

And Britain appeared to be living up to its ‘Normal Island’ nickname.

Back in his constituency, Truss critic Michael Gove was getting on with business.

No, there was absolutely no trolling going on as the former cabinet minister referred to “trip hazards”, “strong leadership”, “funding pressures” and “recruitment and retention”.

And Ed Miliband had been saving one in the chamber for seven years.

As ever, The Thick Of It got there first.

And soon came the memes.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg Suggests Kwarteng Could Ignore OBR While Trashing Watchdog

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Jacob Rees-Mogg has taken aim at the independent fiscal watchdog that analyses government budgets despite the huge market unrest.

On the day the pound plunged again, the business secretary trashed Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting and even suggested chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng could ignore them if they were overly negative.

OBR assessments of the UK economy will accompany the chancellor’s plan to pay for his economic measures and reduce debt on October 31.

A lack of such forecasts during last month’s seismic mini-budget are thought to have contributed to the recent chaos in financial markets – with the cost of government borrowing soaring and the Bank of England forced to intervene.

In a pre-recorded interview on ITV’s Peston, the cabinet minister said: “Let’s see what the Office for Budget Responsibility has to say rather than guessing what it may say.

“But its record of forecasting accurately hasn’t been enormously good.

“So, the job of chancellors is to make decisions in the round rather than to assume that there is any individual forecaster who will hit the nail on the head…

“There are other sources of information. The OBR is not the only organisation that is able to give forecasts.”

His comments are unlikely to reassure investors seeking a firm commitment from the Government to get the nation’s finances under control.

Rees-Mogg also lashed out at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after it called for the UK’s economic support package to be more targeted and for fiscal policy to be tightened.

He said: “I think the IMF is wrong on both counts. I think it’s particularly wrong on energy, and frankly doesn’t know what it’s talking about…

“The IMF is not holy writ and the IMF likes having a pop at the UK for its own particular reasons. I’m afraid I would never lose too much sleep about the IMF.”

Earlier, the senior Conservative accused Today programme presenter Mishal Husain of failing to meet the BBC’s impartiality standards after she suggested the mini-budget had unleashed the market turmoil.

Rees-Mogg sought to claim that the Bank of England’s decisions on interest rates had caused the turbulence, rather than Kwarteng’s plans to borrow more to fund tax cuts.

Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden said: “Even now, Tory cabinet ministers do not appear to have learned lessons since their disastrous mini budget.

“The more they publicly trash economic institutions like the OBR, the more they undermine market confidence in their plans and their management of the UK economy.

“The Tories are out of control and working people are being made to pay the price with higher mortgage payments.”

Financial experts have roundly rejected the business secretary’s analysis that interest rates were to blame for the market turmoil.

Gillian Tett, Financial Times US editor-at-large, told Channel 4 News: “To use a non-technical term, that’s pretty much bollocks.”

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