Politics

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has cut short his trip to the International Monetary Fund in Washington and is returning to the UK earlier than planned, as another major mini-budget U-turn is expected. Mr Kwarteng was due to attend a final day of meetings at the IMF’s annual gathering today. Instead, after a hasty briefing with journalists

The chancellor has insisted he is “not going anywhere” amid the economic turmoil – and when asked if he was about to do a U-turn on corporation tax he said: “Let’s see”. Speaking earlier in the US where he is attending IMF meetings, Kwasi Kwarteng told reporters that he remains “totally focused” on delivering the

The foreign secretary has refused to commit to the government seeing through all the tax cuts proposed in the chancellor’s contentious mini-budget. James Cleverly told Sky News “the package the chancellor put forward is pro-growth and is the right answer”. He refused to rule out further changes, however, dodging multiple questions on whether the government

UK government borrowing costs have hit a 20-year high after the Bank of England confirmed its emergency bond-buying programme will end on Friday as planned. On Wednesday morning, it said all temporary and targeted purchases of UK government bonds, known as gilts, would stop. This has been the position throughout and has been “made absolutely

Renewable energy generators and nuclear power plants face having their revenues capped as part of new government legislation. The Energy Prices Bill will be introduced in the commons on Wednesday to bring into law its plan to help households and businesses with soaring energy costs over the winter and beyond. But late on Tuesday, the

Kwasi Kwarteng has promised his upcoming economic plan will be “relentlessly upbeat” as some of his own MPs seemed doubtful of his direction. Speaking in the Commons for the first time since unveiling his mini-budget, the chancellor would not reveal more detail of his next financial announcement, set for Halloween. But he promised it would

Therese Coffey has said Britons should “be assured” by the UK’s finances – as the Bank of England made its second intervention in the markets in two days. The deputy prime minister and health secretary told Sky News the UK has “the second lowest debt to GDP ratio in the G7” and that the actions

How do you keep a party fresh and maintain political momentum after 15 years in power when public services are struggling and your core aim looks very difficult to achieve? That was Nicola Sturgeon‘s central challenge going into today’s speech, and she responded with attacks on both the Tories and Labour, by announcing new support

Liz Truss has handed a government job to a Rishi Sunak ally in a move that appears to signal her intention to bridge the divides in the Tory party. The prime minister appointed Greg Hands as a minister in the Department for International Trade, replacing Conor Burns who was sacked from his post following a

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

Four cabinet ministers have urged their colleagues to rally behind Liz Truss or risk election defeat amid infighting in the Tory party. Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi, Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt and Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena have all written articles calling on the party to unite around the

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

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 Bank of England has confirmed it intervened to stabilise the pensions market following the chancellor’s mini-budget as multiple firms which schemes were reliant on faced the prospect of being wound up within hours. Responding to a letter from Treasury Select Committee chairman Mel Stride asking for greater clarity on why the Bank intervened at

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 vowed to “get Britain through the tempest” and insisted “everyone will benefit” from the result of her economic policies in her keynote party conference speech during which she was heckled by climate activists. Addressing Conservative members at the event in Birmingham, as she battles to save her premiership, the prime minister acknowledged that

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

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has attacked Tory MPs who she claims “staged a coup” against the prime minister over her plan to scrap the 45p tax rate. Speaking at a Telegraph event at the Conservative Party conference, Ms Braverman said she had been “in favour” of the policy and was “disappointed” by the government’s U-turn.