Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as chancellor after Kwarteng sacking October 14, 2022 Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as the new chancellor after prime minister Liz Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng today following weeks of market turmoil triggered by last month’s mini budget. Hunt is the fourth chancellor this year. According to bookmaker Betfair, Truss is now odds on to step down as prime minister. Kwarteng wrote to Liz [...]
Trade minister says Truss ‘deserves the confidence of the country’, as PM announces press conference October 14, 2022 Newly-appointed trade minister Greg Hands has come out fighting for prime minister Liz Truss, saying she “deserves the confidence of the country”, as Liz Truss announces a press conference today at 2pm. The cabinet official defended the embattled resident of Number 10 who is facing the prospect of an embarrassing U-turn on corporation tax. It [...]
UK borrowing costs tank as mini budget U-turn rumours gather pace October 14, 2022 UK borrowing costs fell sharply today driven by chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and prime minister Liz Truss reportedly set to U-turn on more parts of their mini budget. The chancellor has today cut short his trip to the International Monetary Fund’s Washington meetings to hold emergency talks with Truss in London. Rumours of a second U-turn [...]
Kwarteng returns from US early for crisis talks with Truss amid speculation of U-turn and a Tory coup October 14, 2022 Kwasi Kwarteng is to cut short his visit to the United States, to hold crunch talks with the Prime Minister before an expected mini-budget U-turn. The embattled finance chief left the International Monetary Fund gathering and headed home overnight, following a fiery briefing with journalists. This comes as The Times reported that a group of [...]
Cleverly blasts Tory MPs for attacking Truss and wanting ‘quotable tweets’ October 13, 2022 Britain’s foreign secretary James Cleverly has hit out at Conservative rebels for publicly criticising Liz Truss over her spending plans, accusing them of being concerned with “having quotable tweets”. Cleverly’s comments comes after Tory MPs began to publicly call into question Liz Truss’ policies yesterday. A frenetic meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee last night [...]
‘Back again? Dear oh dear’: King Charles greets PM Liz Truss October 13, 2022 King Charles appeared to mutter ‘dear oh dear’ as he met Prime Minister Liz Truss in his first audience with her since he became the new monarch. In a video widely shared online, Truss is seen entering the room in Buckingham Palace and being introduced before bowing, and saying: “Your Majesty, great to see you [...]
Bank of England warns of ‘severe risks’ to market stability and financial crisis debt levels October 12, 2022 The Bank of England’s emergency £65bn bond buying scheme – that its chief Andrew Bailey last night confirmed will end on Friday – has been fighting “severe risks” to UK financial stability, the central bank said today. Turmoil in UK gilt markets since the government’s mini budget threatened to trigger “an excessive and sudden tightening [...]
Deutsche Bank slams Kwarteng’s targets as ‘impossible’ amid NIESR warning ‘guerrilla tactics’ unsettle markets October 12, 2022 Deutsche Bank’s chief UK economist said this morning Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” to trigger the financial turmoil. Sanjay Raja told the Commons Treasury Committee there is “absolutely a global component” to the issues but he said there is an “idiosyncratic UK-specific component”. He said the “trade shock” because [...]
Exclusive: Ex Tory chair Baroness Warsi says PM Liz Truss should call a General Election October 12, 2022 A former chair of the Conservative Party has said Prime Minister Liz Truss should call a General Election. Speaking exclusively to City A.M., Baroness Sayeeda Warsi said prime minister Liz Truss either “had to just carry on with the 2019 manifesto – or go to the electorate” upon entering Number 10. “Because neither of those [...]
Bank of England steps up bond market support again to tame ‘risk to financial stability’ October 11, 2022 The Bank of England today stepped up its emergency bond buying scheme to tackle “a material risk to UK financial stability”. It is the second time in as many days the Bank has ramped up support for the UK bond market, underscoring the scale of volatility it is grappling with. The monetary authority led by [...]