Prime Minister Liz Truss facing fresh battle with senior Tories over benefits squeeze and public spending cuts
Liz Truss is facing a fresh battle with Conservative MPs over a potential benefits squeeze and cuts to public spending, after already being forced into making a policy U-turn.
The prime minister is under pressure to set out whether benefit payments will be uprated in line with inflation, or if they will face a real-term cut.
It is understood that Downing Street is considering increasing Universal Credit using a lower metric, such as the increase in average earnings, instead.
Politics live: Major U-turn after prominent Tories speak out
While an official decision on benefit payments has still not been made, Welfare Secretary Chloe Smith said one “will be taken in due course”.
Senior Tories have called on the PM to row back on cutting public spending in the middle of the cost of living crisis, with concerns that failing to keep pace with rising prices would leave some of the poorest households worse off.
It comes as the government dramatically dropped its plans to abolish the 45% tax rate on earnings over £150,000 following widespread criticism.
The policy was announced during the mini-budget near the end of September, which plunged UK markets into turmoil.
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Pound up after tax U-turn
What are MPs saying?
Speaking to Sky News, Conservative MP Damian Green said: “The government should uprate in line with inflation. The previous government said it was going to, so people are expecting this.”
Asked if cuts to benefits are the next battle, he replied: “Well, I hope not because I hope the government has clearly started listening.”
Former transport secretary Grant Shapps is also among the senior Tories calling for the government to be transparent about its plans.
Grant Shapps said the government must communicate clearly with the public
Asked if he would want to see benefits increased in line with inflation, he said: “Of course, every politician would want to see that.
“If there is a case whereby we are going to be going through difficult times, then the government must communicate that and be honest with people and explain how and what needs to happen next.”
Former home secretary Priti Patel is set to take aim over the government’s unfunded tax cuts, telling the Conservative Party it will “live or die” by its economic credibility.
According to The Times, she is expected to accuse the PM and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng of “spending today with no thought of tomorrow” and will call on Ms Truss to put a “ceiling” on public spending.
Read more:
First part of Truss’ reign is over – is there any way back from 45p tax rate U-turn?
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Is there any way back for Kwarteng?
‘Action was needed urgently’
Despite the discontent within the Conservative Party, Liz Truss has pushed forward with her economic policy, saying the UK must have “the courage of its convictions to put our nation on the path to success”.
Writing in the Telegraph, the prime minister said the struggling economy was a global problem caused by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and COVID and that there was “no time to waste”.
“Action was needed urgently. People forget the counterfactual of what would have happened had we not acted,” she wrote.
Read more:
Has the government lost credibility?
Truss sticks by plan but admits mistakes
‘What a day!’ – Chancellor admits ‘tough time’
While she dismissed the U-turn on the 45p tax rate cut as a “tiny part of the plan”, reports in The Sun said that the Chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady went to see her at 7pm on Sunday evening.
The PM was then said to have met Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng for crisis talks, hours before she ditched the tax promise on Monday morning.
Monday was a tumultuous day for the party, with Mr Kwarteng’s keynote conference speech altered at the last minute to acknowledge the U-turn.
Hours after his speech, it was revealed Mr Kwarteng will bring forward his medium-term financial statement from 23 November to this month, despite saying he would not earlier in the day.
Markets bounced back on Monday morning, but financial commentators cautioned that it was likely some respite only.
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‘We have a plan and we need to deliver it’
What will be happening at the Tory Conference today?
The Conservatives will be hoping for a quiet day on Tuesday ahead of Liz Truss’ speech on Wednesday.
In his first speech as foreign secretary, James Cleverly is expected to focus on the UK helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
He will also talk about finding a “mutually beneficial solution” to Brexit issues in Northern Ireland.
New Home Secretary Suella Braverman will also speak on Tuesday, setting out her plans to “redouble efforts to crack down on illegal migration”.
Education Secretary Kit Malthouse, Health Secretary and Deputy PM Therese Coffey, Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis will also address the conference in Birmingham.
World
IDF presence in Gaza ‘only issue’ still to be resolved in push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Sky News understands
Only one issue remains unresolved in the push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Sky sources.
Intense negotiations are taking place in Qatar in parallel with key talks in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations have told Sky News that disagreement between Israel and Hamas remains on the status and presence of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza.
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Gaza ceasefire deal in progress
The two sides have bridged significant differences on several other issues, including the process of delivering humanitarian aid and Hamas’s demand that the US guarantees to ensure Israel doesn’t unilaterally resume the war when the ceasefire expires in 60 days.
On the issue of humanitarian aid, Sky News understands that a third party that neither Hamas nor Israel has control over will be used in areas from which the IDF withdraws.
Benjamin Netanyahu briefed reporters on Capitol Hill about the talks on Tuesday. Pic: AP
This means that the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – jointly run by an American organisation and Israel – will not be able to operate anywhere where the IDF is not deployed. It will limit GHF expansion plans.
It is believed the United Nations or other recognised humanitarian organisations will adopt a greater role.
On the issue of a US guarantee to prevent Israel restarting the war, Sky News understands that a message was passed to Hamas by Dr Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who has emerged as a key back channel in the negotiations.
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Read more from Sky News:
Trump puts pressure on Netanyahu
Netanyahu backs Trump for peace prize
Potential Gaza deal explained
The message appears to have been enough to convince Hamas that President Trump will prevent Israel from restarting the conflict.
However, there is no sense from any of the developments over the course of the past day about what the future of Gaza looks like longer-term.
Final challenge is huge
The last remaining disagreement is, predictably, the trickiest to bridge.
Israel’s central war aim, beyond the return of the hostages, is the total elimination of Hamas as a military and political organisation. The withdrawal of the IDF, partial or total, could allow Hamas to regroup.
One way to overcome this would be to provide wider guarantees of clear deliverable pathways to a viable future for Palestinians.
But there is no sense from the negotiations of any longer-term commitments on this issue.
Two key blocks have been resolved over the past 24 hours but the final challenge is huge.
The conflict in Gaza erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 20 hostages are believed to remain alive in Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
US President Donald Trump is putting “heavy” pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, two sources close to the ceasefire negotiations have told Sky News.
One US source said: “The US pressure on Israel has begun, and tonight it will be heavy.”
The source, who is not authorised to speak publicly, was referring to the White House dinner on Monday night between Trump and Netanyahu.
A second Middle Eastern diplomatic source agreed that the American pressure on Israel would be intense.
Benjamin Netanyahu gave Donald Trump a letter saying he had nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. Pic: AP
Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC in the early hours of Monday morning and held meetings on Monday with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.
The Israeli prime minister plans to be in Washington until Thursday with meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
Trump has made clear his desire to bring the Gaza conflict to an end.
However, he has never articulated how a lasting peace, which would satisfy both the Israelis and Palestinians, could be achieved.
His varying comments about ownership of Gaza, moving Palestinians out of the territory and permanent resettlement, have presented a confusing policy.
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‘Israel has shifted towards economy of genocide’
Situation for Palestinians worse than ever
Over the coming days, we will see the extent to which Trump demands that Netanyahu accepts the current Gaza ceasefire deal, even if it falls short of Israel’s war aims – the elimination of Hamas.
The strategic objective to permanently remove Hamas seems always to have been impossible. Hamas as an entity was the extreme consequence of the Israeli occupation.
The Palestinians’ challenge has not gone away, and the situation for Palestinians now is worse than it has ever been in Gaza and also the West Bank. It is not clear how Trump plans to square that circle.
Read more:
Explainer – What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
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‘Some Israeli commanders can decide to do war crimes’
Trump’s oft-repeated desire to “stop the killing” is sincere. Those close to him often emphasise this. He is also looking to cement his legacy as a peacemaker. He genuinely craves the Nobel Peace Prize.
In this context, the complexities of conflicts – in Ukraine or Gaza – are often of secondary importance to the president.
If Netanyahu can be persuaded to end the war, what would he need?
The hostages back – for sure. That would require agreement from Hamas. They would only agree to this if they have guarantees on Gaza’s future and their own future. More circles to square.
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Trump 100: We answer your questions
Was White House dinner a key moment?
The Monday night dinner could have been a key moment for the Middle East. Two powerful men in the Blue Room of the White House, deciding the direction of the region.
Will it be seen as the moment the region was remoulded? But to whose benefit?
Trump is a dealmaker with an eye on the prize. But Netanyahu is a political master; they don’t call him “the magician” for nothing.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Trump makes decisions instinctively. He can shift position quickly and often listens to the last person in the room. Right now – that person is Netanyahu.
Gaza is one part of a jigsaw of challenges, which could become opportunities.
Diplomatic normalisation between Israel and the Arab world is a prize for Trump and could genuinely secure him the Nobel Peace Prize.
But without the Gaza piece, the jigsaw is incomplete.
World
‘Widespread sexual violence’ took place during Hamas’s 7 October attacks, report by Israeli experts says
A newly released report led by Israeli legal and gender experts presents detailed evidence alleging “widespread and systematic” sexual violence during the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.
Warning: This story contains descriptions of rape and sexual violence
The findings, published by the Dinah Project, argue that these acts amount to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), and assert that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war”.
The report draws on 18 months of investigation and is based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with first responders, morgue personnel and healthcare professionals.
According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns – such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage – indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.
Reported incidents span at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, and several kibbutzim in southern Israel.
A destroyed car near the police station in Sderot, following the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Pic: AP
One section of the report describes victims “found fully or partially naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs and/or to structures such as trees and poles, and shot”.
At the Nova music festival and surrounding areas, the investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” that multiple women were raped or gang-raped before being killed.
The report’s findings are consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Read more:
What is the possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal?
Israeli soldier describes arbitrary killing of civilians in Gaza
The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict previously concluded that there were “reasonable grounds to believe” CRSV took place during the attack.
Destroyed vehicles near the grounds of the Supernova electronic music festival. Pic: AP
Significantly, the Dinah Project urges the international community to officially recognise the use of sexual violence by Hamas as a deliberate strategy of war and calls on the United Nations to add Hamas to its list of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The nature and scale of sexual violence on 7 October have been a subject of intense controversy, with some accusing parties of weaponising the narrative for political ends.
This report seeks to confront what its authors call “denial, misinformation, and global silence,” and to provide justice for the victims.
Hamas has denied that its fighters have used sexual violence and mistreated female hostages.
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