As an MP, Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, introduced legislation to repeal the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was part of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. He prioritized protecting the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, or Belfast Agreement, for peace in the British-administered region. The White House said on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden and Truss “discussed their shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement with the European Union on its protocol Northern Ireland. “ Updated 22.11 BST Important events
49 meters ago White House issues trade warning on NI protocol 4 hours ago The Queen postpones the meeting of the Privy Council on the advice of doctors 4 hours ago Process by which Truss became prime minister “is not democratic,” Putin says 5 hours ago Former Brexit Secretary Steve Baker becomes Northern Ireland Secretary 5 hours ago Younger primary school pupils in Wales start receiving universal free school meals 5 hours ago Tim Barrow replaces Stephen Lovegrove as national security adviser 6 hours ago The pound falls to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 6 hours ago Truss called for green solutions to the UK’s energy crisis 7 hours ago Robert Jenrick returns to government as health minister 7 hours ago The Truss cabinet has the most private education since John Major, the Sutton Trust says 8 hours ago Trass is accused of avoiding scrutiny as MPs said the energy bills announcement was made in a debate, not a ministerial statement 8 hours ago No dedicated Brexit opportunities minister appointed to replace Rees-Mogg, No 10 says 8 hours ago PMQs – verdict from Twitter commentary 9 hours ago PMQs – summary verdict 10 hours ago The Bill of Rights will be shelved 10 hours ago Truss says internet safety bill needs ‘changes’ so does more to protect free speech 10 hours ago Truss to face Starmer at PMQs for the first time 11 hours ago Rebates, rather than a price cap, would be a better and cheaper way to tackle the energy bill crisis, says Tony Blair’s thinktank 11 hours ago Fracking is not a solution to the energy crisis, says the chairman of the Committee on Climate Change 12 hours ago BoE governor says open to Truss plan to review mandate but rejects suggestions current system isn’t working 12 hours ago BoE governor sidesteps questions at Treasury committee on whether energy bill package could be inflationary 12 hours ago New cabinet ‘represents depth and breadth of talent’ in Tory party, No 10 says 13 hours ago Freezing energy bills helps wealthier people more, says IFS director Paul Johnson 13 hours ago 1m more people face poverty this winter, even with frozen energy bills, Tory thinktank says 13 hours ago Health and social care spending will remain ‘exactly the same’ despite scrapping health and social care levy, Coffey says 13 hours ago Deputy Prime Minister Thérèse Coffey denies claims Truss put loyalty over authority when appointing new cabinet
BETA filters Key facts (26) Liz Truss (61) Keir Starmer (9) Boris Johnson (7) Andrew Bailey (6) Rishi Sunak (6) During a Tory leadership showdown, Liz Truss said “the jury is still out” on whether French President Emmanuel Macron is “friend or foe”. This led Macron to respond that France and Britain would be in “serious trouble” if they could not tell whether they were friends or foes. Alicia Kearns, a Conservative MP who sits on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said Mr Truss’ comment was not a “very sensible move”. He said he could understand if Truss had given the same response to China, but France is a “great ally”. The new upgrade secretary will also be minister for the North, the Tory party chairman said. There was some doubt over whether Liz Truss would follow through on her reported promise to create the post, with Labor and Co-operative MP Simon Lightwood calling for clarity. In a letter to Truss, she said she hoped she had not “reneged” on her promises. The Northern Research Group of Tory MPs previously said Truss, along with other leadership contenders, had signed up to its “Northern Agenda” pledges – which included the creation of the ministerial role. Jake Berry, the party’s new chairman, later announced that Simon Clarke had taken the post. He told ITV’s Peston programme: “The prime minister has been absolutely clear that she will have a budget event later this month but, you know, we have a secretary who is raising the bar in Simon Clarke, who is also minister for the North. “ Updated 22.09 BST On the government’s economic plans, Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, has complained that it is “unfair” that households are shouldering much of the cost. Reynolds told Sky News’ The Take that it was “untrue” that the government could cut taxes and increase spending and that it would “pay for itself”. He said the UK’s recent lack of growth was due to a “lack of clear policy” and a “lack of consistency” from the government. Reynolds said the Tories believe there is a magic wand of cutting company tax and you can pay for it with supply-side reforms – which he said is “Conservative code to cut labor rights and protect the environment”. Updated 22.10 BST
White House issues trade warning on NI protocol
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said any attempts to undermine the deal with Northern Ireland would not create a favorable environment for trade talks between the United States and the United Kingdom. As an MP, Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, introduced legislation to repeal the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was part of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. He prioritized protecting the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, or Belfast Agreement, for peace in the British-administered region. The White House said on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden and Truss “discussed their shared commitment to protecting the gains of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement with the European Union on its protocol Northern Ireland. “ Updated 22.11 BST Conservative MP Theresa Villiers admitted on Sky News that there were “risks” that the Prime Minister’s approach to helping people cope with their energy bills would lead to an increase in borrowing, but added: “This is an emergency.” He said the UK had not seen such a shock to energy prices since the 1970s. “In times of emergency, public finances are affected and there is simply no way to avoid that,” he said. Villiers said she was confident the new prime minister would do everything she could to “minimize the damage” to public finances. Updated at 21.33 BST Elena Horton Global warming could be paying off, according to one of Liz Truss’ new advisers. As viewers try to read the environmental signals sent by Truss’ new appointments, there has been particular interest in the ideas of Matthew Sinclair, who published Let Them Eat Carbon in 2011. Subtitled “The Price of Failed Climate Policies and How Governments and Big Business Profit from Them,” the book aims to tackle what Sinclair calls “the burgeoning climate change industry.” In the book, he argues that climate change policies “raise electricity bills, make it more expensive to drive to work or fly on vacation, put industrial workers out of work – sometimes even make your food more expensive.” . He worries that money earmarked for climate change is going into the pockets of special interest groups around the world, into “bad projects” and “whole new agencies in the public sector”. Updated 21.19 BST Liz Truss discussed the energy crisis and the Northern Ireland protocol in a chat with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, No 10 said. A Downing Street spokesman said: “Leaders discussed the energy challenges facing the UK and its European partners as a result of [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal war. Both agreed on the importance of energy resilience and independence. “The prime minister underlined the importance of ensuring the preservation of democracy and freedom in Europe and protecting countries made vulnerable by Russia’s economic blackmail. “The UK and Germany have been important economic partners and the Prime Minister has said she is keen to expand defense cooperation between the two countries. “Discussing the Northern Ireland Protocol, the Prime Minister was clear that her priority is to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland and to uphold the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. “He emphasized the importance of finding a solution to the fundamental problems with the text of the protocol as it stands.” Updated 22.12 BST Rowena Mason Mark Fullbrook, Liz Truss’s new chief of staff, has asserted his dominance of Downing Street by bringing senior figures from his lobbying firm into No 10. The political consultant, a former long-time colleague of election strategist Lynton Crosby, was appointed to the most senior role in Truss’s team this week, having previously worked on Nadhim Zahawi’s failed leadership campaign. Mac Chapwell and Alice Robinson, both founding members of lobbying firm Fullbrook Strategies, now also have senior advisory roles in No 10. Aubrey Allegretti Gordon Brown called on Liz Truss to “stand up” for the working poor facing unpaid energy bills and warned the UK was facing “an unprecedented winter surge”. As the new prime minister prepared to unveil her emergency support package for people who will struggle to afford rising heating costs, Brown said “doing the right thing is a matter of political will”. The former Labor prime minister wrote in an op-ed for the Guardian that while charities and food banks had stepped in to help the most vulnerable, the “last lines of defence” had been breached. “Only the government has…
