Liz Truss is expected to be announced as the new prime minister today after a grueling six-week Tory leadership campaign. Voting among the estimated 200,000 Tory MPs tasked with choosing Boris Johnson’s successor closed on Friday and either the Foreign Secretary or Rishi Sunak will be declared the winner at 12.30pm. by the chairman of the 1922 Commission, Sir Graham Brady. Whoever is next handed the keys to No 10 at Balmoral on Tuesday “will face one of the most difficult legacies of any prime minister” in 50 years, former No 10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell has warned. Several reports suggest Mrs Truss is strongly considering freezing energy bills to help households weather the cost-of-living crisis if she wins the keys to No 10, with The Times suggesting the package could be on the scale of the Covid leave scheme introduced by Mr Sunak when he was chancellor. Senior Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has urged his party to back whatever energy plan the next prime minister announces, warning that “divided parties don’t win elections”.
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Analysis | Beyond Brexit, Johnson has ticked off little of significance from history’s to-do list
In this ‘living obituary’ of Boris Johnson, our chief political commentator John Redbull argues that, apart from Brexit, the outgoing prime minister has ‘ticked little of significance off history’s to-do list’. He writes: “By the end, his life’s assumption that the normal rules didn’t apply to him, which had served him so well, served him badly. “He welcomed chaos because he thought it created opportunities. After all, it was how Brexit worked. As my colleague Tom Peck said at the time: “The darkest hour did not wait for him, so he turned off the lights himself.” “That should be his epitaph, for despite his belief that he had been betrayed, he was the author of his own downfall.” You can read his review of Johnson’s premiere in full with Independent Premium:
Boris Johnson got a lot of things wrong – but he got some things right John Redoul
John Redbull asks how the outgoing Prime Minister will be remembered. Brexit is the key to the answer Andy Gregory5 September 2022 10:21 1662368771
Truss to pay less than £2,000 for Downing Street energy bills this winter, Labor says
Liz Truss will pay less than £2,000 more on her Downing Street energy bills this winter if she wins the Tory leadership contest, according to Labor analysis. Electricity, gas and water in flats No 10 and No 11 are covered by the state as a ‘benefit in kind’ – with Mrs Truss only paying tax on the privilege of around £1,980 this winter – meaning that ‘ they will not face the same concerns’ as ordinary Britons, Labor said. Regardless of how much the energy price cap rises, the maximum amount of tax the next prime minister would have to pay to get free energy is around £3,400 each year.
Liz Truss will pay less than £2,000 on her energy bills this winter, Labor says
The next prime minister ‘will not face the same concerns’ as the public over subsidized bills in flat No 11 Andy Gregory September 5, 2022 10:06 am 1662367498
The Benny Hill theme was played outside parliament before the new prime minister was announced
Just hours before Boris Johnson’s successor is announced, campaigner Steve Bray can already be heard belting out the Benny Hill Show theme song outside parliament. The music was also used by the so-called ‘Stop Brexit Man’ as members of the media awaited Mr Johnson’s resignation in July. Andy Gregory5 September 2022 09:44 1662367165
Boris Johnson’s return is a ‘fantasy’, former communications chief says
Boris Johnson’s former communications chief, Will Walden, said he “doesn’t think there is a comeback for Boris – he will disappear to make a lot of money”. He said Johnson had given “tacit support” to the idea of another leadership push at some stage in an effort to “rewrite the historical narrative” from which it had been difficult. “I think it’s a fantasy and I think Boris will know that,” he told LBC. “I think the Tory party would have to be in a pretty weird position to go back to Boris.” Lord Marland, a former trade envoy, told the BBC last week that Johnson wants to “go and put hay in the loft” after leaving office. “As he told me the other day, he wants to go make hay in the loft, in other words build up his bank balance so he can afford to pay for the lifestyle he’s built,” he said. His immediate future as an MP is also uncertain. If the privileges committee finds that Mr Johnson lied to parliament, he could face suspension from the Commons for 10 or more sitting days and a recall petition, which, if signed by 10 per cent of his voters, would trigger a -election . Andy Gregory5 September 2022 09:39 1662366633
Truss ‘created tension and undermined confidence’ as Foreign Secretary, Irish counterpart suggests
Ireland’s foreign secretary said he hoped “the direction of travel” of UK-Irish relations could change if Liz Truss entered No 10 – essentially accusing her of “creating a lot of tension and undermining trust” as foreign secretary. Speaking on RTE Morning Ireland, Simon Coveney said he and Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin were in Oxford at the weekend to meet British ministers and that “everyone was talking about what a Liz Truss premiership would be like”. “Whether the tough way she has pushed through the Northern Ireland Protocol legislation in the UK, which has, of course, created a lot of tension and undermined trust, whether that will continue to be her strategy as prime minister or not.” Mr Coveney described Ms Truss as a “talented, very energetic politician”, adding: “She will be the next prime minister and we will work with her and her team, but I hope we can change the direction of travel for the British people – The Irish relations that we’ve seen over the last couple of years, which have been really tense and confrontational on very important issues – mainly related to Northern Ireland.” Andy Gregory5 September 2022 09:30 1662366081
New prime minister’s first day ‘scary’ and chaotic’
Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports: Lord O’Donnell, who was cabinet secretary when David Cameron took over from Gordon Brown, said the new prime minister’s first hours in office would be “terrifying” and “a bit of a chaotic day”. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is an incredibly exciting day for this person walking through the door at No 10, it’s the pinnacle of his career and this could be the biggest moment of his life.” The new prime minister is applauded by staff before going into the cabinet room, he said, adding: “It’s that moment I remember – David Cameron putting his head in his hands and thinking, ‘Oh my God, what have I allowed myself for?’ He said the new prime minister was receiving the nuclear codes, “pretty scary” security and intelligence briefings and phone calls from world leaders and people “claiming to be your mum or your dad”. Andy Gregory5 September 2022 09:21 1662364356
Next prime minister faces ‘one of the most difficult legacies’ of 50 years, former No 10 chief of staff says
The next prime minister “will face one of the most difficult legacies of any prime minister in my lifetime”, warned a former No 10 chief of staff under Theresa May. His predecessor Boris Johnson “inherited the huge Gordian bond of Brexit, but the rest of the political environment was (relatively) favorable”, while – by contrast – his successor “faces challenges on almost every front”, according to Gavin Barwell. In a lengthy Twitter thread detailing the myriad problems facing the next prime minister, Mr Barwell warned that targeted energy bill support for those on the lowest incomes “will not be enough”, with businesses and people on average income to also need help in a package he estimated could cost north of £100bn. Referring to the “widespread strikes over pay”, he added: “Ministers may think it’s good policy to take on the unions, but they need to be careful – there is strong public support for some professions.” Andy Gregory5 September 2022 08:52 1662363277
Truss plans to cut taxes will fuel inflation, warns IFS chief
Liz Truss’ plans to cut taxes to boost growth will further fuel inflation, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned. “He’s clearly absolutely right that we’ve had tremendous growth over the last 15 years,” Paul Johnson said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “The ‘but’ is that simply cutting taxes, cutting National Insurance contributions, for example, it is not a growth strategy. “And it’s clearly pumping a large amount of money into the economy on top of the £30 billion we’ve already had to support energy bills, on top of the probably many, many tens of billions more that will come from that, and on top of which will need to be more money for public services. “Now put all this together and it will lead not only to extremely high borrowing in the short term, but also to additional inflationary pressure.” Andy Gregory5 September 2022 08:34 1662362225
Truss ‘considers price cap freeze’ bundled ‘on scale of Covid leave scheme’
Liz Truss is reportedly strongly considering freezing energy bills in a bid to ease the burden on households this winter if she wins the keys to No 10 today, in plans said to have been discussed with civil servants and potential cabinet ministers . “The plan is to introduce some sort of artificial price cap for consumers combined with a mechanism to compensate suppliers,” a source told The Times. “Plans have progressed quite well and include not only civil servants but also ministers lined up for Truss jobs.” Businesses struggling with…
