Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to return to London from Washington early as major mini-budget U-turn expected
Kwasi Kwarteng will return to the UK from Washington earlier than planned, as another major mini-budget U-turn is expected.
The chancellor was due to attend a final day of meetings at the International Monetary Fund’s annual gathering in Washington today.
Instead, after a hasty briefing with journalists late on Thursday, he announced he would fly home overnight.
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A source close to him dismissed suggestions that this represented a sign of panic and insisted that the chancellor’s focus was the medium-term fiscal plan.
Mr Kwarteng had been due to return to the UK from the annual IMF meeting later on Friday, but hasty changes were made.
Pressed on why there was a need for a last-minute schedule change, a Treasury source insisted that it was for talks on “the medium-term fiscal plan”.
The source said that the IMF trip had “put everything in a global context… a global set of challenges…”
On his return, the chancellor is likely to find a significant section of his mini-budget re-drawn following days of open revolt among Tory MPs and an expectation that another major U-turn is on the cards.
It comes amid speculation in Westminster about the fate of Mr Kwarteng, only a few weeks into the job, if his financial plans are scrapped in the coming days.
However, Mr Kwarteng has insisted that his position is safe, telling broadcasters: “I am not going anywhere.”
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Pressure builds on Kwarteng
PM’s key pledge could be next casualty
Meanwhile, mounting pressure has been placed on Prime Minister Liz Truss to reassure the UK’s financial markets and rescue her administration, with her key pledge to scrap the planned increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25% widely seen as a likely casualty.
Former home secretary Priti Patel became the latest senior Tory to suggest the government could be forced into another U-turn, telling Sky News “market forces” could make a reversal on corporation tax cuts unavoidable.
Downing Street has not denied the policy could be reversed, despite it being one of Ms Truss’s landmark promises.
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak gave no comment when asked about the Truss government tax cuts
Several reports have also suggested that senior Conservatives are plotting the possibility of replacing Ms Truss with a joint ticket of Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt.
The Times newspaper said party grandees are among those considering replacing her with a “unity candidate”.
Sky News understands Downing Street held talks on abandoning more elements of the £43bn tax-cutting mini-budget on Thursday, with proposed changes to corporation tax and dividend tax among the policies being considered.
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‘There are difficult choices’ to be made
Speculation surrounding the proposed changes have been fuelled by the chancellor following an interview he did with The Daily Telegraph.
Asked about the expectation that the government could ditch its corporation tax promise, Mr Kwarteng simply replied: “Let’s see”.
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‘Don’t prolong the pain’
He also insisted there would be “no real cuts to public spending”, but added that “there are difficult choices” to be made.
“You have to make sure that you know the public is getting value for money. And I make no apologies for that, there has to be some sort of fiscal discipline,” he said.
Since his mini-budget announcement at the end of September, the UK’s financial markets have been reeling, with the Bank of England forced to intervene to restore some sense of stability.
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Mini-budget caused ‘some turbulence’
‘Get on and do it – we all know it’s coming’
Not only did his policies spook markets, but they also caused anger among the Conservative Party, with some senior Tories calling for changes to be made.
Newly elected Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Alicia Kearns told LBC’s Tonight With Andrew Marr that she wanted the PM to succeed, but added her voice to calls for a change of course on the mini-budget.
She said: “The markets are not woke, the markets are not left. The fact they are not lefty, anti-government, the fact they have been spooked, is something that should be taken incredibly seriously.”
Former chancellor Ken Clarke told Sky News he has “never known a government to make such a catastrophic start”.
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‘Catastrophic start’ – Ken Clarke slates Truss
Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer also tweeted that the situation “needs a course correction” from Number 10.
“Get on and do it – we all know it’s coming,” he wrote.
The government’s plans revolve around securing an increase in economic growth – with a target of an annual rise of around 2.5% in gross domestic product.
The crucial date will be 31 October, when the forecasts presented by the Office for Budget Responsibility alongside the chancellor’s statement will give an assessment on whether such a plan is realistic.
Comedy writer Bill Dare, – who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers – has died after an accident overseas, his agent said.
Described as a “super producer” by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image.
Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020.
Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024.
Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels.
In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.
“Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
Oasis depicted on Spitting Image in 1996. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent.
Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: “It’s impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill’s family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say.”
David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: “Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP.”
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “devastated” and that her “entire comedy career was down to Bill”.
She wrote: “When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career – I ran into Bill in the corridors – He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes.
“He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House – afterwards Bill said ‘Why have I never met you – you’re going to have a big career’.
“He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill.”
Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: “This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind.
“He’d argue but always listen and you’d always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more.”
Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: “I am utterly devastated by Bill’s death. I still can’t believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I’ll miss him.”
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Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill’s wife, family and friends.
“Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows.
“Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.
“He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.
“I’ve known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can’t believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts.”
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