‘It can’t go on like this’ – it looks to be over for PM Truss | Beth Rigby

Published

3 years ago

October 17, 2022

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It looks to be over.

Jeremy Hunt’s decision to not just junk most of Liz Truss’s tax-cutting plan but go further and ditch much of her flagship energy policy signalled the end of not only “Trussonomics”, but potentially the prime minister herself.

When the end comes is unclear: Ms Truss may have been bought some time by the fact the markets settled after the new chancellor threw her plans on the bonfire.

Hunt goes further than expected – as Tory MPs say it’s ‘when not if’ Truss goes – follow latest on politics

But with her policies demolished and her first choice of chancellor sacked, there’s no firewall left now between the PM and her fuming parliamentary party.

What’s more, the public appear to have made up their minds – Liz Truss has the worst ratings of any prime minister ever, according to polling last week.

She has reached, say many, a point of no return. From cabinet ministers to MPs, the mutterings are ominous: “It can’t go on like this,” one senior figure told me.

And an increasing number of Conservative MPs are willing to make this view public. Five MPs have now called on Ms Truss to resign.

‘I’ve just had enough – I don’t think her position is tenable’

In an interview with me earlier today, Sir Charles Walker told me he didn’t think her position was recoverable, as he laid bare some of the anguish that MPs are privately feeling behind closed doors.

“The PM has had a very torrid six weeks. Personally, I don’t think her position is tenable. She would take a different view. But if you read the mood of the parliamentary party, she has lost authority,” he said.

“You can’t lead the party if you don’t have some authority,” the former member of the 1922 executive committee told me.

He also said that the party had been “so catastrophically incompetent”, it was difficult to see the party winning an election.

“I’m just so cross. I’ve just had enough. I think quite a few of my colleagues have had enough. I’ll be dismissed as tired and emotional. Yes, I am tired and emotional. And I am angry. And I’m in the same place as many friends, family, and constituents.”

As for the future of Ms Truss, Sir Charles said the PM would either have to stand down or be forced out, as he predicted there would be a new prime minister by November.

“I think it’s her decision right now. I think if she doesn’t go right now, it will not be her decision. That agency will be taken away from her.”

When I asked Mr Walker how long he thought she had got, he said simply: “A week or two.”

So we move from a question of can she survive to what comes next. A group of former cabinet ministers, now senior backbenchers, are in discussions as to how they might end the Truss regime and what might follow.

“The country is in serious trouble, and we have to get a grip of this,” says one former cabinet minister familiar with the discussions.

Hunt, Sunak or Johnson for PM?

Some of the protagonists are plain to see and have been publicly agitating: Treasury select committee chairman, Mel Stride; former cabinet ministers Michael Gove, Grant Shapps, Julian Smith and Mark Harper, but there are plenty more operating in the shadows.

But the divisions that have riven this party remain, and MPs are already split over who should replace Liz Truss.

Two senior party figures tell me one option is to put Jeremy Hunt into the hot seat, but a Rishi Sunak supporter tells me that the role has to go to the runner-up in this summer’s leadership election, who won the support of 137 MPs in the final parliamentary ballot.

Another Sunak supporter points out that it is “Rishi’s policies that are now being implemented by a PM who disavowed them. It is entirely unprecedented”.

But for those in the party – MPs and party members – who backed Boris Johnson, Mr Sunak is an anathema.

“I just don’t think it would work,” says one senior Johnson ally.

“He brought down Boris Johnson who had an elected mandate, I don’t think people will accept him.”

Instead, these key Johnson supporters want the return of the former PM.

Nadine Dorries went on Twitter on Monday to say the only option is to stick with Liz Truss or bring back the man with the mandate, Boris Johnson.

This is a view shared by others in the party. As another Johnson supporter put it to me: “He’s the one who won the mandate and he’s the only credible option if we want to avoid having a general election in the spring.”

For his part, I hear the former PM is still pretty angry about the way he was brought down, but it is worth remembering there remains a huge chunk of the parliamentary party that would find it near impossible to accept this return.

Ms Truss supporters hope that these divisions at least help buy her time. As one cabinet minister told me today: “The appointment of Jeremy Hunt buys her some space.”

Another told me that the emergency statement and “more settled markets have helped calm nerves”.

And Ms Truss will try to fight back. As she tries to shore up support and sell her U-turn, meetings are being held with parliamentary colleagues, from the One Nation Conservative caucus tonight, to the European Research Group, which represents her main base in the parliamentary party, tomorrow.

How could Liz Truss be removed from office?

But the PM and her team will know there are various ways that she could be removed from office.

Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 committee, could visit the prime minister and tell her she no longer commands the support of the parliamentary party. The question is where does he set that threshold?

Confidence votes are typically triggered when 15% of MPs write letters to Sir Graham expressing a view that they want the leader gone, but the new prime minister is protected from a confidence vote for a year.

If enough letters go in, however, that could change. MPs have suggested to me that if 100 or more were submitted, Sir Graham Brady might feel compelled to tap Ms Truss on the shoulder.

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And if she won’t go, the party could change the rules.

Under those scenarios, the prime minister either agrees to stand down – as happened with Theresa May – or is forced out by the parliamentary party under changed rules.

In practice, as Mr Johnson himself put it as he stood down as PM, “once the herd moves, it moves” – if enough MPs and members of government withdraw support, a prime minister simply cannot stay on.

There are no good options for Liz Truss or her party. MPs can sit on their hands and let Jeremy Hunt act as de facto prime minister, or force her out with all the difficulty that entails around succession and the public mandate.

But what is clear now is that the Truss premiership failed, and she cannot lead the Tories into the next general election.

We wait for the herd to move.

UK

A year after I was surrounded in Birmingham, have community rifts healed?

Published

6 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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A year after I was surrounded in Birmingham, have community rifts healed?

As riots broke out across the country last summer following the Southport attack, fear spread in a majority Muslim part of Birmingham that far-right protesters were on their way.

Locals came out on to the streets, and as I was reporting live on air, I was surrounded by a small group of masked men, swearing and gesturing to the camera.

Afterwards, as we were trying to drive away from the area, a man with a knife followed us and attempted to slash a tyre on our broadcast van.

A year on, I have returned to the area to discuss what happened with some of those who saw their city descend into chaos.

“The local community had lost faith in the local elected members as well as the local policing units,” says Naeem Yousef, 48, who lives nearby. 

“They thought…the only way to protect themselves and the community was by coming out in force.”

‘You can’t control their behaviour’

Tanveer Choudhry, 56, agrees. “In every community we have our sort of, shall we call them… idiots, and you can’t control their behaviour,” he says. 

“I think there was a concern that the far-right group that was coming may well be armed… so I think it was just trying to counteract what they thought was coming.”

We are sitting in a cafe, not far from where the unrest broke out last summer.

‘They were looking for who they thought were the enemy’

The group I’m with were invited by community activist Naveed Sadiq, who was there that day.

As well as Naveed, there are three other local Muslim men, and two white residents, including Gerry Moynihan.

He recalls deciding to stay at home that day.

“They were looking for what they thought were the enemy – white people – and trying to find white people,” he says.

“Which is why I stayed in my house, because the intelligence I had was, don’t get involved, don’t walk around, and you know, it will pass.”

I ask the group if my team and I were targeted because we were white.

“It’s not because you’re white, it’s because they’re actually bored,” Naveed says. “They were wanting a bit of excitement.”

I ask if they think it would have happened if we were all British Asian.

“Of course,” Tanveer replies. “It wasn’t the fact that you were white… it was just the heat of the moment”.

Naeem believes it happened simply because the men involved “do not want anyone filming what they’re doing”.  

“You could have been Asian… they would still try to get you out of the area,” he insists.

‘Are we going to be accepted?’

I’m keen to understand how these men feel now and whether the sentiment that brought people out on to the streets to “protect” them has been reignited by the recent protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers.

The answer, from Joe Khann, a local Muslim man, would surprise many.

“I would like to go and join them,” he says, referring to the anti-immigration protesters who have gathered several times in Epping. 

“We have this problem within our own communities, and people don’t talk about it. We feel exactly the same and we understand how the English feel with the immigration,” he explains.

“We’re having people who are getting married back home, they get married for six months, get divorced…and the government gives them all their help to get accommodation, their national insurance numbers and all that,” he says.

“We’re getting fed up within our own community because we hear this constantly.”

However, he thinks if he did try to join in protests, people would “think I’m an immigrant”.

He says he is “born here, 58, and they look at me as a foreigner or a migrant”.

Naeem agrees. “The question is for us now, as people who are born and bred in this country, what is our identity? Who are we?” he asks. 

“As a white person born in this country, you are automatically accepted. Are we going to be accepted? How many generations will it take for us to be accepted?”

‘You have to blame someone’

Naeem is also concerned about immigration.

“We have an influx of people that we do not know about, and they have no loyalty to the area,” he says.

“I believe that the average white guy… isn’t racist, they’re just fed up,” adds Naveed. 

However, these men do have grievances, particularly with the media.

“We feel that we have a two-tier journalists system where when the colour is like mine we get different justice and when the colour is a bit paler it’s different,” Naveed says.

‘We have become the bogeyman’

“When there’s criminality, and it’s on the news, a Muslim has to be identified by his religion,” Naeem says. 

He believes Muslims have become the “bogeyman” in many people’s minds.

“Where you don’t have housing for example, where the crime has increased, you have to blame someone,” he says.

“Prior it was the Irish community, now it’s the Muslim community.

“It’s a distraction from the actual real issues and how you can resolve them but let’s just put it on to the Muslim community for now, let’s just distract the whole nation and say look it’s the problem with asylum, it’s a problem with Muslims,” he says.

After leaving, I head over to the spot on the roundabout where my team were targeted last year.

As I stand there, my colleague sees a man imitating pulling the trigger of a gun at me from his car.

This is Britain, in broad daylight. 

UK

UK-France migrant returns deal comes into force

Published

6 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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UK-France migrant returns deal comes into force

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron’s migrant deal comes into force today, with detentions set to begin by the end of the week.

The “one in, one out” pilot scheme – which allows the UK to send some people who have crossed the Channel back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with ties to Britain – was signed last week, and has now been approved by the European Commission.

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It comes as 2025 is on course to be a record year for crossings.

Approximately 25,436 people have already made the journey this year, according to PA news agency analysis of Home Office figures – 49% higher than at the same point in 2024.

The prime minister and the French president hailed the deal as a “good agreement” when it was first announced during the latter’s visit to the UK last month.

The scheme also means that anyone arriving in a small boat can be detained immediately, with space set aside at immigration removal centres in anticipation of their arrival.

Sir Keir said the ratification of the treaty will “send a clear message – if you come here illegally on a small boat you will face being sent back to France”.

Ministers have so far declined to say how many people could be returned under the deal, however, there have been reports that under the scheme only 50 people a week will be returned to France.

Analysis: Deal will need to go much further to work

Sky News political correspondent Rob Powell said while it was a “policy win” for the government, the numbers must eventually “go a lot higher” than 50 per week if it is to work as a deterrent.

“The average crossing rate is about 800 a week, so this will need to go up by a sizeable factor for that message to start seeping through to people trying to make that crossing,” Powell added.

The aim will be to make asylum seekers believe the “risk of going back to France is so big that they shouldn’t bother parting with their cash and paying smugglers” to make the crossing.

The Conservatives have branded the agreement a “surrender deal” and said it will make “no difference whatsoever”.

Under the terms of the agreement, adults arriving on small boats will face being returned to France if their asylum claim is inadmissible.

In exchange, the same number of people will be able to come to the UK on a new legal route, provided they have not attempted a crossing before and subject to stringent documentation and security checks.

The pilot scheme is set to run until June 2026, pending a longer-term agreement.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will face questions on the agreement on Sky News Breakfast this morning.

UK

Police warn of mass arrests if Palestine Action protest goes ahead

Published

6 hours ago

August 5, 2025

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Police warn of mass arrests if Palestine Action protest goes ahead

Police are warning of mass arrests if a protest in support of the banned group Palestine Action goes ahead on Saturday.

Hundreds of people are expected to turn out for the demonstration, which is understood to be planned for London.

However, the Metropolitan Police said “anyone showing support for the group can expect to be arrested.”

“We are aware that the organisers of Saturday’s planned protest are encouraging hundreds of people to turn out with the intention of placing a strain on the police and the wider criminal justice system,” said a spokesperson.

The organisers, a pressure group called Defend Our Juries, denied their protest will try to overwhelm the police and justice system.

“If we are allowed to protest peacefully and freely, then that is no bother to anyone,” said the group in a statement.

Palestine Action was banned under terrorism laws after two aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton on 20 June.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the vandalism of the planes was “disgraceful” and accused the group of a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.

The ban means membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

More than 200 people supporting the group were arrested at Defend Our Juries protests across the UK last month, many of whom held placards with the message: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Downing Street has urged people not to attend this weekend’s protest.

It comes after around 40 people gathered outside Labour HQ on Monday to protest the party’s stance on Gaza.

They were watched by a small group of police officers as they chanted phrases including: “Shame on Keir Starmer, shame on the Labour Party, shame on David Lammy.”

Separately, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has also confirmed it will protest this weekend, with community organisations marching through central London to Downing Street on Sunday.

They are calling for the government not to recognise the state of Palestine without all hostages taken by Hamas being released.

Last week, Sir Keir Starmer said he planned to recognise Palestine by the UN General Assembly meeting in September, unless Israel met certain conditions including agreeing a ceasefire and improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza.