James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng wanted to shake things up. They were radicals in a hurry, keen to show that Britain was under new economic management. Theirs would be an unapologetic pro-growth agenda: no more genuflection in front of failed orthodoxies, no more being paralysed by fear or criticism. As a sign of this, they
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Liz Truss has today delivered her speech to the Conservative Party Conference where she set out the vision for her government. It was arguably the best moment of a difficult week for the party. Has she succeeded in calming Tory nerves? Who are the ‘anti-growth coalition’ that she is taking on? Isabel Hardman speaks to
Liz Truss’s speech was a reminder that she regards ‘freedom’ as the defining Tory value. Her emphasis throughout was on economic growth, and her belief that cutting taxes would help deliver it. The speech was a straightforward elucidation of what Truss believes: it had an argument. But the challenge for her now is twofold. First,
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Liz Truss is coming under pressure over another of her policies. Should she increase benefits payments in line with inflation, or in line with earnings, as she would prefer? Will the PM change her mind again? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth. Produced by Max Jeffery.
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Kwasi Kwarteng has just spoken at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham defending his mini-Budget, despite having u-turned on the cut to the 45p tax rate this morning. Will his speech have calmed his fellow Tories and, more importantly, the markets? Katy Balls speaks with James Forsyth, Kate Andrews and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Max
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The Prime Minister has abandoned her plan to scrap the top 45 per cent rate of income tax. Why? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth. Produced by Max Jeffery.
The U-turn on the abolition of the 45p tax rate marks the end of the first phase of the Truss premiership. Truss came in declaring that she was prepared to do ‘unpopular’ things, that she was going to smash through the consensus and put economics ahead of political optics. Her retreat on 45p signals the
In a tetchy performance on The Andrew Neil Show, Tory party chair Jake Berry repeatedly insisted that everyone would have to wait until the Chancellor’s unveiling of his fiscal plan on 23 November to find out whether or not there would be spending cuts and when the government believes it will hit its 2.5 per cent growth
There is a slightly odd atmosphere at Tory conference in Birmingham. Those who should be striding around triumphantly are instead rather nervous. One of Liz Truss’s closest ideological allies was quick to stress to me that while they might have shaped the thrust of the new Prime Minister’s ideas, they weren’t responsible for their execution
Is there a way for the government to get out of the mess that it is in? This is the question obsessing ministers and Tory MPs. If the government doesn’t set out how it intends to square the circle, it’ll be risking more market mayhem. But as I say in the Times today, it is
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Despite rejecting the Office for Budget Responsibility’s offer of a forecast to accompany last week’s so-called fiscal event, this morning it appears that the government have u-turned. What can we expect from the OBR’s statement ahead of the November budget? Also on the podcast, after last night’s YouGov poll put Labour ahead by 33 points,
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Liz Truss broke her silence this morning and embarked on a pre-Tory conference media round of regional stations across the UK. In a brutal set of interviews, the Prime Minister faced questions on tax cutting the rich at the expense of the poor, fracking and bankers’ bonuses. With conference just three days away, what will be
This year’s Conservative party conference was supposed to be a moment of celebration for the new Tory leader. Instead there is a sense of mounting alarm. Liz Truss’s radicalism has been met with something approaching panic by both the markets and the public. The Bank of England has had to intervene in the gilts market
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The Bank of England has today announced a major intervention into gilts to prevent a ‘material risk’ to financial stability as a result of government policy. How unprecedented is this move? Will Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng break their silence? Are we heading for another leadership election? Kate Andrews speaks with Fraser Nelson and James
In a dramatic about-turn, the Bank of England is now intervening in the gilts market to try and calm the reaction to Friday’s fiscal event. It will buy long-dated government gilts for the next two weeks, which will lower the cost of government borrowing. It is also postponing quantitative tightening (i.e. selling the securities it
Neither the Danes nor Nato have made a direct attribution for yesterday’s pipeline damage. But the fingers are pointing at Russia. The thinking goes that Putin was trying to trigger panic in the energy markets by showing that there’ll be no rapid resumption of gas supplies to Europe and by demonstrating how vulnerable this energy
Tonight’s YouGov poll in the Times is brilliant news for Keir Starmer ahead of his conference speech tomorrow. It has Labour 17 points ahead, its biggest lead since the company started polling in 2001. These numbers, following the market reaction to the statement, are an awful start To be sure, the numbers reflect more voter
The Treasury has just released a statement saying that a medium term fiscal plan will be delivered by Kwasi Kwarteng on 23 November, accompanied by an Office for Budget Responsibility forecast. This plan will, the Treasury says, set out the government’s fiscal rules and how it intends to ensure debt falls as a percentage of GDP
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Following Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘mini’ budget, the pound has fallen to a record low against the dollar, fueling speculation that the Bank of England will hike interest rates. How worrying are these figures? ‘I think the pound falling is a bit of a distraction from the real problem’ – James Forsyth Katy Balls speaks to Kate
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Kwasi Kwarteng has today announced what has been dubbed as his mini-Budget, but looking at the scale of the package it is far from small. The Coffee House Shots team take us through what has been revealed. Who are the winners and who are the losers? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and
