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☆ Embattled British PM Truss loses 2nd minister in a week amid political and economic turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss described herself as “a fighter and not a quitter” Wednesday as she faced down a hostile opposition and fury from her own Conservative Party over her botched economic plan. And within hours of Truss’ appearance in Parliament for a regular session titled Prime Minister’s Questions, she lost a senior member of her government. Truss faced another test in Parliament later Wednesday when lawmakers vote on a Labour Party motion seeking to ban fracking for shale gas — a policy that Truss recently approved. Conservative Party whips said the vote would be treated as “a confidence motion in the government,” meaning the government would fall if the motion passed, triggering an election. Some Conservative legislators believe Truss could be forced to resign if the party agrees on a successor.

☆ China claims right to protect consulate as Britain decries assault
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Britain’s foreign secretary summoned China’s second-most senior diplomat in the U.K. on Tuesday to express the U.K.’s “deep concern” about the assault allegations and to demand an explanation for the actions of the Chinese consulate staff. The protesters had gathered at the consulate as the Chinese Communist Party opened its weeklong congress in Beijing on Sunday. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin rejected the accounts of the protester and Manchester police. Video on the BBC website showed a scuffle breaking out in front of the consulate after masked men tore down the protesters’ placards. The Chinese Consulate in Manchester did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ UK PM Liz Truss says she’s a ‘fighter not a quitter’ as lawmakers plot to oust her
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss departs 10 Downing Street for the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons in London, United Kingdom on October 19, 2022. LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss insisted Wednesday she was a "fighter not a quitter" as she was grilled by parliamentarians for the first time since being forced to scrap almost all of her flagship fiscal policies. Mortgage deals were also pulled as interest rate hike expectations rose rapidly. Full details of the government's new economic policies are expected Oct. 31, along with an independent economic forecast. "I had to take the decision because of the economic situation to adjust our policies," Truss said.

"I think it is a shambles and a disgrace," he said, in a video that a couple of other Conservative lawmakers tweeted in agreement. "I have made a mistake, I accept responsibility, I resign," she said in a letter to the prime minister. As a replacement, Truss appointed former minister Grant Shapps, who said recently that Truss faced a massive battle to survive. He also failed to offer a ringing endorsement of the prime minister. "I have been very clear that I am sorry, and I have made mistakes," Truss told jeering opposition lawmakers in parliament.

☆ Senior adviser to UK PM Truss has been suspended - BBC
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - One of British Prime Minister Liz Truss's most senior advisers has been suspended and is to face a formal investigation by the Propriety and Ethics Team, the BBC's political editor reported on Wednesday. The prime minister's Downing Street office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Farouq Suleiman, editing by Elizabeth PiperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK PM Truss to Braverman: it is important confidentiality is respected
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss leaves Number 10 Downing Street for the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain, October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - It is important cabinet confidentiality is respected, British Prime Minister Liz Truss said in a letter to Suella Braverman on Wednesday after the interior minister resigned for breaching rules about sharing sensitive government information. It is important the ministerial code is upheld and that cabinet confidentiality is respected," Truss wrote. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kylie MacLellan. Editing by Andrew MacAskillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

She will be succeeded by former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Downing Street confirmed roughly an hour after her announcement. Notably, Shapps did not back Prime Minister Liz Truss in this summer's leadership race and has criticized some of her policies. In a resignation letter posted to Twitter, Braverman said, "It is with the greatest regret that I am choosing to tender my resignation." In a letter to Braverman posted on the Downing Street website, Truss wrote: "I accept your resignation and respect the decision you have made. Braverman ran against Truss for the Conservative leadership race this summer but was knocked out in an early stage.

☆ Details on UK fracking consent mechanism expected on Wednesday, says PM
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss leaves Number 10 Downing Street for the Houses of Parliament, in London, Britain, October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - British business minister Jacob Rees-Mogg will provide details later on Wednesday on what kind of mechanism will be used to establish whether local communities agree to fracking, Prime Minister Liz Truss said. "We will consult on the robust system of local consent, give clear advice on seismic limits and safety before any fracking takes place," Truss, whose government last month lifted a fracking moratorium in England, told parliament. "The business Secretary will be saying more about this later today." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by William James, writing by Sachin Ravikumar, editing by Elizabeth PiperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Senior adviser to UK PM Truss suspended - BBC
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - One of British Prime Minister Liz Truss's most senior advisers has been suspended and is to face a formal investigation by the government's Propriety and Ethics team, the BBC's political editor reported on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Truss declined to comment on what he called individual staffing matters, but said: "The prime minister has made very clear to her team that some of the ... briefings that we have seen are completely unacceptable about parliamentary colleagues and they must stop." Over the weekend, the Sunday Times quoted a source in the prime minister's Number 10 Downing Street office as using an expletive to describe Sajid Javid, a former minister who the newspaper said had been approached to become finance minister after the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Farouq Suleiman, editing by Elizabeth Piper and William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Fighter' Truss mocked in parliament as UK PM defends her record
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Truss repeated her apology to the British people but accused Labour of not grasping "economic reality", which was met with howls of laughter from the opposition benches. Just last week, she taunted the opposition Labour Party that her two-year energy subsidy programme would help families through this winter and next. Starmer said Truss's economic plan had been built on "fantasy economics" and had ended in disaster. The Labour leader pointed out that Truss had insisted last week there would be no government spending cuts. "What's the point of a prime minister whose promises don't even last a week?"

☆ Hong Kong protester assaulted at Chinese consulate in Britain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — British police said Monday they were investigating the assault of a Hong Kong pro-democracy protester who was beaten up on the grounds of the Chinese consulate in the city of Manchester. The man, who is in his 30s, told the BBC that unidentified Chinese men from the consulate building dragged him inside the consulate and assaulted him during a protest Sunday. The protesters had gathered as the Chinese Communist Party opened its weeklong congress in Beijing. The Chinese consulate in Manchester did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The protesters had gathered as the Chinese Communist Party opened its weeklong congress in Beijing on Sunday.

☆ Liz Truss' 'trickle-down economics' is dead. Now the UK faces an uncertain future
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss holds a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London on Oct. 14, 2022. Daniel Leal | Afp | Getty ImagesLONDON — Just six weeks into U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss' tenure and the political future of yet another Conservative leader looks to be in jeopardy. The approach has been sharply criticized by U.K. political opponents — and even U.S. President Joe Biden — at a time when Britain faces a deepening cost-of-living crisis. However, analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group assign only a 10% possibility that Truss is able to hold on as prime minister. "The consensus at Westminster is now that that the Prime Minister is so weak that she can do nothing without the assent of her Chancellor.

☆ Road near Downing St closed after suspicious package found - UK police
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A road in the centre of London's government district, near Downing Street where Prime Minister Liz Truss's office and residence is, was closed on Tuesday due to a suspicious package, a policeman at the scene said. A government official said some of the government buildings along Whitehall were being emptied. A Reuters reporter said hundreds of people were gathered at Horse Guards Parade, behind Downing Street. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Andrew MacAskill, Writing by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK PM Truss discusses deepening cooperation with France's Macron
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss makes a press statement after a meeting of the European Political Community at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct 6, 2022. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERSLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed continued support for Ukraine, as well as deepening bilateral cooperation, over a call earlier on Tuesday, her Downing Street Office spokesperson said. "They agreed the UK and France will continue to work closely together with allies to support Ukraine and coordinate our response to Russian aggression," the spokesperson said. "The Prime Minister and President Macron also welcomed the recent opportunity to meet in person at the leaders' summit in Prague, and looked forward to continuing to deepen bilateral cooperation." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Muvija M, Editing by Paul SandleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The former foreign and health minister was appointed on Friday after Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng, her close ally. Under the new policy, most of Truss's 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts will go and a two-year energy support scheme for households and businesses - expected to cost well over 100 billion pounds - will now be curtailed in April. Hunt said halting the planned tax cuts would raise 32 billion pounds ($36 billion) every year. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoBut the response from bond investors who would fund the tax cuts was violently negative and borrowing costs surged. After scrapping one of the tax cuts, Truss fired Kwarteng on Friday, saying she accepted her plans had gone "further and faster" than investors were expecting.

☆ Fact Check-Picture of man aiming gun from window is unrelated to Kyiv drone strikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image of a man aiming a gun from an apartment block window has been falsely linked to Russia’s Oct. 17 drone attacks on Kyiv. According to some social media users, the image shows a resident of Kyiv downing drones over the Ukrainian capital (here , here and here). But Reuters traced the image back to a Kyiv Police Patrol report in June 2021 which includes a video of the same scene (here). Read more about the Oct. 17 drone attacks (here). The video, filmed in Kyiv, is from 2021 and is unrelated to Russia’s drone strikes in October 2022.

Hunt, appointed on Friday to fix the public finances after Truss's economic plan hammered the value of British assets, said the country needed to generate confidence and stability before it could seek to grow the economy. He said changes to planned tax cuts would raise 32 billion pounds ($36 billion) every year. While he had been expected to reverse some of the tax cuts, the change to the energy support scheme had been unexpected. Truss had announced a two-year subsidy scheme to support households and businesses through the period of surging energy prices, costing 60 billion pounds in six months. Hunt would still deliver a fuller medium-term fiscal plan as scheduled on Oct. 31, alongside forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the Treasury said.

☆ UK finance minister seeks to stem bond rout by rushing forward tax plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The chancellor will make a statement later today, bringing forward measures from the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan that will support fiscal sustainability," the finance ministry said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSterling was up about 1% against the dollar in trading in Asia. Hunt met Truss over the weekend to overhaul her original economic proposals. No chancellor should seek to do that," the former foreign and health minister told BBC television in an interview broadcast on Sunday. Goldman Sachs said on Sunday it expected Britain's economy to shrink by 1.0% in 2023, a more severe contraction than its previous forecast of a 0.4% shrinkage, as Truss's tax cuts were reversed.

☆ UK's Hunt says he will raise 32 bln pounds more in tax, limit power subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain October 17, 2022. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt, seeking to quell a bond market rout, listed on Monday tax changes that he said would raise an extra 32 billion pounds ($36.16 billion) a year and scaled back the government's energy price cap scheme. "Taken together with the decision not to cut corporation tax and restoring the top rate of income tax the measures I've announced today will raise every year around 32 billion pounds," Hunt said. A cut to the rate of National Insurance and a cut to the stamp duty tax on property purchases will go ahead as planned, Hunt said. ($1 = 0.8849 poundsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by William James Writing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK Prime Minister Liz Truss faces serious pressure to resign after failed budget
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss is facing calls to resign from within her own Conservative Party just six weeks after entering Downing Street. Truss and her former Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced a fiscal package – a so-called "mini-budget" – on Sept. 23. The latest plans were announced Monday by Jeremy Hunt, just three days into his tenure as finance minister. Angela Richardson, Conservative MP for Guildford, said it was "no longer tenable" for Truss to remain as prime minister, speaking on Times Radio on Monday, while Jamie Wallis, Conservative MP for Bridgend, wrote to the prime minister telling her to resign. "I ask you to stand down as Prime Minister as I believe you no longer hold the confidence of the country or the parliamentary party," Wallis' letter said.

Just three months after he all but admitted his ambitions to get the top job in politics had ended, Hunt was appointed finance minister, propelled into the job to clean up the market mess created by his boss, Prime Minister Liz Truss. "No one camp of the other candidates who went further can feel too sore and bad about not having their man or woman as prime minister," he told BBC radio. In a room on the so-called Committee corridor in parliament, Hunt told colleagues that tough decisions would have to be made to balance the books. Another joked: "It was good to hear from the new prime minister." Some are still not convinced his latest appointment will bring him the prize he has pursued for so long - to become prime minister.

☆ Sterling rebounds on UK fiscal policy U-turn; yen struggles
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, British GDP £1 coins and bank notes are pictured in Bath, England. The news came hours after she sacked former finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, with Jeremy Hunt replacing him. All eyes are now on how the UK government bond market will trade, after the Bank of England on Friday concluded its emergency gilt market support. The U.S. dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen, firmed at 113.02. Elsewhere, the euro gained 0.26% to $0.9748, while the Australian and New Zealand dollars bounced mildly from recent losses.

☆ New UK finance minister faces market verdict after gutting Truss's plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Britain's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt faces an early test of his attempt to stem the crisis of confidence in Prime Minister Liz Truss on Monday when the bond market delivers its verdict on his weekend overhaul of her economic programme. No chancellor should seek to do that," Hunt told BBC television in an interview broadcast on Sunday. The Sunday Times reported Hunt would delay by a year a cut to income tax for workers which Truss had promised for April. "MEETING OF MINDS"Any bond market respite is likely to prove fragile before Hunt announces a new budget plan on Oct. 31. The budget will aim to narrow a hole in public finances that the Sunday Times reported is as big as 72 billion pounds ($80.4 billion), including the 45 billion pounds of tax cuts originally planned by Truss, only about 20 billion pounds of which have so far been reversed.

☆ Lawmakers will try to oust UK PM Truss this week, Daily Mail reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 16 (Reuters) - British lawmakers will try to oust Prime Minister Liz Truss this week despite Downing Street's warning that it could trigger a general election, the Daily Mail reported. Britain, engulfed in a political crisis, has lost three prime ministers since it voted to leave the European Union in 2016. Separately, The Times reported that some lawmakers have held secret discussions on replacing Truss with a new leader. Truss, who won the Conservative Party leadership last month after promising to slash taxes, is fighting for her political survival after ditching key parts of the programme. read moreThe chaos has fuelled discontent in the party, which is falling behind the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls.

"I can tell you that there was a very clear and immediate meeting of minds between us about the importance of fiscal sustainability and the importance of taking measures to do that," Bailey said. Truss criticised the BoE during her leadership campaign, saying she wanted to set a "clear direction of travel" for the central bank. "We will not hesitate to raise interest rates to meet the inflation target," Bailey said. "And, as things stand today, my best guess is that inflationary pressures will require a stronger response than we perhaps thought in August." "In these difficult times, we need to be very clear on this framework of intervention," Bailey said.

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