MPs will return to Westminster on Tuesday after a chaotic conference season, with the chancellor set to face questions for the first time since the fallout from his mini-budget.
Parliament has been in recess for over two weeks to allow the parties to hold their annual political gatherings, but will kick off at 2.30pm with Treasury Questions, meaning a likely early appearance from Kwasi Kwarteng at the dispatch box.
His economic policies will remain the focus of the Commons throughout the day as MPs debate his proposed reversal of the National Insurance rise – brought in earlier this year by former Chancellor Rishi Sunak to pay for health and social care.
And potential future policies are likely to be raised too, as the Conservative Party continues to argue over whether he and Prime Minister Liz Truss should raise benefits in line with inflation.
Mr Kwarteng’s economic announcements last month – which came on the final day of Commons business before the conference recess – sent the markets into turmoil.
The subsequent days saw the pound drop, mortgage products being withdrawn and the Bank of England having to step in to save some pension funds.
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Poll numbers for the Tories plummeted, with Labour recording approval ratings over 30 points ahead.
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1:22
’31m’ people to get income tax cut
Since the fall-out, which dominated the Tories’ own gathering in Birmingham, the chancellor and the prime minister have U-turned on their plan to scrap the top 45p tax rate for the wealthiest 1% and given into demands to bring forward their medium-term financial plan on how to pay for their £43bn of policy pledges.
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1:00
Moment Chancellor U-turned on tax rate
Labour has promised to “step up pressure” on the chancellor to scrap all the announcements from his “fantasy mini-budget” and is urging Tory MPs to work with them and speak out publicly to force the changes.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “This is a Tory crisis that has been made in Downing Street, and that is being paid for by working people.
“Families worried sick about bills haven’t even had so much as an apology from the prime minister or chancellor, the architects of chaos unleashed on the British economy and family finances.”
She added: “Labour have forced this Tory government to U-turn throughout the cost of living crisis and we will do all we can in our power to do so again to get them to reverse this disastrous, kamikaze budget.”
G7 meet over Ukraine
Meanwhile, the PM will take part in a virtual meeting with leaders of the G7 – the world’s seven richest nations – to speak out against continued Russian brutality in Ukraine and call for a full meeting of NATO leaders in the coming days.
Image: Prime Minister Liz Truss giving her speech at the Conservative Party’s annual conference last week
Ms Truss will urge the group not to waver in its support and is expected to say: “The overwhelming international support for Ukraine’s struggle stands in stark opposition to the isolation of Russia on the international stage.
“Their bravery in the face of the most brutal acts of violence has earned the people of Ukraine global admiration.
“Nobody wants peace more than Ukraine. And for our part, we must not waver one iota in our resolve to help them win it.”
Israel has agreed to support a “one-week scale-up of aid” in Gaza – but the United Nations has warned more action is needed to “stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis”.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher made the remarks as Israel began limited pauses in fighting across three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day to address the worsening humanitarian situation.
Image: A Palestinian man in Beit Lahia carries aid that entered Gaza through Israel. Pic: Reuters
On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said there was no evidence Hamashad stolen aid from UN agencies.
Images of emaciated Palestinian children have led to widespread criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, including by allies who are calling for an end to the war.
Mr Fletcher said one in three people in Gaza “hasn’t eaten for days” and “children are wasting away”.
He added: “We welcome Israel’s decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid, including lifting customs barriers on food, medicine and fuel from Egypt and the reported designation of secure routes for UN humanitarian convoys.
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“Some movement restrictions appear to have been eased today, with initial reports indicating that over 100 truckloads were collected.
“This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis. Across the UN agencies and humanitarian community, we are mobilised to save as many lives as we can.”
Image: An aircraft drops humanitarian aid over Gaza on Sunday. Pic: Reuters
The Israel Defence Forces said yesterday that it is halting military operations in Muwasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City daily from 10am to 8pm local time (8am to 6pm UK time) until further notice.
Combat operations have continued outside of this 10-hour window. Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 41 Palestinians overnight into Sunday morning, including 26 seeking aid.
In a statement, the IDF said it would also establish secure routes to help the UN and aid agencies deliver food and other supplies.
Image: A map showing the three areas of Gaza where military action has been paused
Israel’s announcement of what it calls a “tactical pause” in fighting comes after it resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza.
While the IDF reiterated claims there is “no starvation” in the territory, it said the airdrops would include “seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations”.
Palestinian sources confirmed that aid had begun dropping in northern parts of the territory.
Image: Palestinians in Beit Lahia carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel. Pic: Reuters
Sabreen Hasson, a Palestinian mother who travelled to an aid point near the Zikim crossing to collect supplies, said: “I came to get flour for my children because they have not tasted flour for more than a week, and thank God, God provided me with a kilo of rice with difficulty.”
But Samira Yahda, who was in Zawaida in central Gaza, said: “We saw the planes, but we didn’t see what they dropped… they said trucks would pass, but we didn’t see the trucks.”
Another Palestinian told the AP news agency that some people feared going out and having a box of aid fall on their children.
Downing Street said Sir Keir will raise “what more can be done to secure the ceasefire [in the Middle East] urgently”, during the meeting at the US president’s Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire.
Reports also suggest the prime minister is planning to interrupt the summer recess and recall his cabinet to discuss the crisis on Tuesday.
Talks in Qatar over a ceasefire ended on Thursday after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams.
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2:02
Bob Geldof: ‘Israeli authorities are lying’
Mr Trump blamed Hamas for the collapse of negotiations as he left the US for Scotland, saying the militant group “didn’t want to make a deal… they want to die”.
Meanwhile the exiled head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al Hayya, has warned ceasefire negotiations with Israel were “meaningless under continued blockade and starvation”.
In a recorded speech, he added: “The immediate and dignified delivery of food and medicine to our people is the only serious and genuine indication of whether continuing the negotiations is worthwhile.”
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0:51
Israel intercepts Gaza aid boat
During a meeting with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, Mr Trump emphasised the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza.
He said: “They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision.
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1:17
Starmer says UK will help drop aid to Gaza
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said.
Mr Trump also repeated claims, without evidence, that Hamas was stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Israel has begun a pause in fighting in three areas of Gaza to address the worsening humanitarian situation.
The IDF said it would halt fighting in three areas, Muwasi, Deir al-Balah and Gaza City, from 10am to 8pm local time until further notice, beginning today.
In a statement, the IDF said it would also establish secure routes to help the UN and aid agencies deliver food and other supplies.
Image: Palestinians carry aid supplies. Pic: Reuters
Israel’s announcement of what it calls a “tactical pause” in fighting comes after it resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza.
While the IDF reiterated claims there is “no starvation” in Gaza, it said the airdrops would include “seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations”.
Reports suggest aid has already been dropped into Gaza, with some injured after fighting broke out.
He told Sky News: “This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”
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On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said there was no evidence Hamashad stolen aid from UN agencies.
The IDF’s international spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, described such reports as “fake news” and said Hamas thefts have been “well documented”.
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3:49
Malnourished girl: ‘The war changed me’
Airdrops ‘expensive and inefficient’
It comes as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said as of Saturday, 127 people have died from malnutrition-related causes, including 85 children.
They include a five-month-old girl who weighed less than when she was born, with a doctor at Nasser Hospital describing it as a case of “severe, severe starvation”.
Health workers have also been weakened by hunger, with some putting themselves on IV drips so they can keep treating badly malnourished patients.
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2:10
Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza
On Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza – but the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned this will not reverse “deepening starvation”.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini described the method as “expensive” and “inefficient”, adding: “It is a distraction and screensmoke. A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.
“Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.”
UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for permission to enter Gaza, he added.
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1:17
PM says UK will help drop aid to Gaza
MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned on Friday that 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished, and said the lack of food and water on the ground was “unconscionable”.
The UN also estimates Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food, the majority near the militarised distribution sites of the US-backed aid distribution scheme run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
In a statement on Friday, the IDF had said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians”, and reports of incidents at aid distribution sites were “under examination”.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has also previously disputed these deaths were connected with its organisation’s operations, with director Johnnie Moore telling Sky News: “We just want to feed Gazans. That’s the only thing that we want to do.”
Bob Geldof has accused the Israeli authorities of “lying” about starvation in Gaza – after Israel’s government spokesperson claimed there was “no famine caused by Israel”.
Earlier this week, David Mencer claimed that Hamas “starves its own people” while on The News Hour with Mark Austin, denying that Israel was responsible for mass hunger in Gaza.
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11:30
Israel challenged on starvation in Gaza
Sir Trevor asked the Live Aid organiser: “The Israeli view is that there is no famine caused by Israel, there’s a manmade shortage, but it’s been engineered by Hamas.
“I guess the Israelis would say we don’t see much criticism from your side of Hamas.”
In response, Geldof said “that’s a false equivalence” and “the Israeli authorities are lying”.
The singer then added: “They’re lying. [Benjamin] Netanyahu lies, is a liar. The IDF are lying. They’re dangling food in front of starving, panicked, exhausted mothers.
“And while they arrive to accept the tiny amount of food that this sort of set up pantomime outfit, the Gaza Humanitarian Front, I would call it, as they dangle it, then they’re shot wantonly.
“This month, up to now, 1,000 children or 1,000 people have died of starvation. I’m really not interested in what either of these sides are saying.”
He added: “If the newsfeeds and social feeds weren’t so censored in Israel, I imagine that the Israeli people would not permit what has been done in their name.”
Asked about the UK government’s reaction, Geldof said it was “not enough”.
“This is a distraction thing about ‘let’s recognise the state ‘ – absolutely, it should have been done ages ago, but it’s not going to make any material difference,” he said, referring to calls for Sir Keir Starmer to recognise Palestine as a state.
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7:41
Gaza: ‘This is man-made starvation’
In the Sky News interview earlier this week, Mr Mencer added: “This suffering exists because Hamas made it so. Here are the facts. Aid is flowing, through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Millions of meals are being delivered directly to civilians.”
He also claimed that, since May, more than 4,400 aid trucks had entered Gaza carrying supplies.
It comes after MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned 25% of young children and pregnant women in Gaza are now malnourished.
The charity said Israel’s “deliberate use of starvation as a weapon” has reached unprecedented levels, and said that at one of its clinics in Gaza City, rates of severe malnutrition in children under five have trebled over the past two weeks.
MSF then described the lack of food and water on the ground “unconscionable”.
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2:10
Aid waiting to be distributed in Gaza
In a statement to Sky News, an Israeli security official said that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.
It then blamed other groups for issues delivering aid. They said: “Over the past month, we have witnessed a significant decline in the collection of aid from the crossings into the Gaza Strip by international aid organisations.
“The delays in collection by the UN and international organisations harm the situation and the food security of Gaza’s residents.”
The IDF also told Sky News: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation (GHF) to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned.
“The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”