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It took 10 days for the most eye-catching and controversial element of Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget to unravel.

The abolition of the top 45p rate next April is not going ahead.

And it matters not so much because of the impact the decision has on the economic plan – the tax cut was £2bn in a £45bn package of cuts – but because of what it tells us about Liz Truss and her government.

The first phase of her reign is over already.

For, as little as 24 hours ago, the prime minister insisted that she was not going to change course.

On Sunday night two Truss-backing newspapers, the Express and the Mail, had it plastered across their front pages that the chancellor was going to “stay the course”.

All evening, cabinet ministers and other government figures I bumped into at the Tory conference insisted there would be no change of policy.

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What a cabinet minister told me would happen instead, was that the government would delay the finance bill – the piece of legislation required to pass Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget – until the spring of next year to try to avoid a confrontation.

Overnight that resolve unravelled as the PM and chancellor, battered by a growing opposition led by former cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Grant Shapps, decided the policy had to go.

The cabinet were told the next morning, even as some – like Sky News – were reporting the expected U-turn.

“I think it was the cumulative effect of pressure within and without the cabinet,” said one cabinet minister.

“It was best to get this out of the way ahead of his big speech and the PM’s on Wednesday.”

But lancing the boil on the matter of the top rate of tax does not cure the malady that has beset the Truss administration.

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‘We have a plan and we need to deliver it’

This was a prime minister who built her image with the public and the party as a leader who was not for turning, and who was prepared to be unpopular in pursuit of her goals.

She has now shown her opponents that the lady is for turning and the immovable is movable.

One cabinet minister, who privately didn’t much like the policy, told me the PM should have stuck to it in order to try and maintain credibility and protect her brand.

Floodgates are open

In reversing the policy, the PM has opened the floodgates and backbenchers will try to move her on lots of other policies too.

Already in their sight is the PM’s refusal to commit to Boris Johnson’s promise to uprate benefits by inflation rather than earnings in order to make sure four million low-income families and workers don’t have to take a real-terms benefits cut.

Read more:
Truss’s U-turn on 45p tax rate for highest earners will embolden her many critics in the Tory party
Tory conference is shrouded in gloom – has Liz Truss already sealed her own fate?
Toxic impression created Truss and Kwarteng are not getting on as PM ‘throws chancellor under bus’

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What do young Tories think of Truss?

Ms Truss and her allies say the decision was the recognition of the political reality they faced with a party and a country opposed to the plan.

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Attempt to calm the choppy waters

Her allies admit that the groundwork in selling the original package has been wanting in the rush to introduce the first batch of economic reforms – the tax cuts – to try to push for that 2.5% economic growth target in time for the next election.

Their hope is that the supply side reforms, coupled with the independent Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts, and medium-term fiscal plan will calm choppy waters and buy Ms Truss time.

But the political miscalculation to announce a cut to the top rate of tax in the midst of the worst cost of living crisis since the 1970s, only to then have to U-turn, is no doubt a deep body blow for this PM.

She wasn’t initially the first choice for leader amongst her MPs and already had a battle on her hands to stamp her authority on the party. A massive U-turn designed to build bridges with a divided parliamentary party and a deeply unconvinced public.

But some MPs here are quietly asking, is there any way back?

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UK weather: New ice warnings issued and runway closure causes travel delays – as temperatures set to reach -16C

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UK weather: New ice warnings issued and runway closure causes travel delays - as temperatures set to reach -16C

The Met Office has put yellow weather warnings over snow and ice in place from this afternoon covering much of the UK.

It had a number of yellow warnings in place on Thursday across the country, but most were initially set to expire by 11am, with only a snow and ice alert in Scotland remaining until midnight.

But it has now updated its map to show yellow ice warnings for much of the Midlands, North West England, Eastern England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 4pm on Thursday until 10am on Friday, while the snow and ice warning for Scotland has been extended to 10am on Friday.

Weather warnings for Thursday
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Met office weather warnings for Thursday Pic: Met Office

Weather warnings for Friday. Pic: Met office
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Weather warnings for Friday. Pic: Met office

A separate yellow warning for ice is in force from 3am on Friday until 11am, covering South West England and parts of South Wales.

It comes as large swathes of the country deal with disruption caused by the freezing weather, with temperatures expected to fall as low as -16C on Thursday night both in the northeast of England and Scotland, the Met Office has said.

Manchester Airport has warned passengers of delays after temporarily closing its runways due to “significant levels of snow”.

In a statement on Thursday morning, the airport said: “Our runways are temporarily closed due to significant levels of snow, as our teams work hard to clear them as quickly as possible.”

The airport announced its runways had reopened at 10am, but warned “as a result of the earlier closure, some departures and arrivals may still experience delays”.

“The safety of our passengers remains our top priority. Thank you for your understanding and patience,” it added.

Commuters wait for a tram on a snow-covered platform in Manchester.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Commuters wait for a tram on a snow-covered platform in Manchester. Pic: Reuters

Snow covers a vehicle in Buxton.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Snow covers a vehicle in Buxton. Pic: Reuters

The A30 in Cornwall was closed westbound between the A3047 junctions Avers and Tolvaddon on Thursday morning following a multiple vehicle collision, according to National Highways, after an amber warning for snow and ice was in place yesterday.

It said at 8.45am that emergency services were at the scene while traffic built on the roads.

Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon County Council Highways had earlier warned of roads closing and motorists being stationary for “long periods of time” in a joint statement.

Snow ploughs became stuck in queues of traffic caused by “minor incidents”, the statement added.

All of the warnings in place across the country are yellow, meaning there is a danger of injury from slips and falls and some disruption to travel expected.

A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for the following regions from 4pm on Thursday to 10am on Friday:

  • East Midlands
  • North West England
  • Northern Ireland
  • Wales
  • West Midlands

Get the forecast for your area

Icicles hang from the Killhope Lead Mine in Durham.
Pic: PA
Image:
Icicles hang from the Killhope Lead Mine in Durham. Pic: PA

Other yellow warnings which covered much of the country on Thursday morning have now expired.

They included a warning for snow and ice affecting Cornwall, much of Wales and parts of northwest England until 11am, an ice warning for parts of southern England and south-east Wales until 10.30am and a fog warning for Northern Ireland until 9am.

Menston, West Yorkshire
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Menston, West Yorkshire

Snow covers the Killhope Lead Mine in Durham.
Pic: PA
Image:
Snow covers the Killhope Lead Mine in Durham. Pic: PA

Travel disruption to road and rail services are likely on Thursday in the warning areas, as well as the potential for accidents in icy places, the forecaster said.

As icy conditions persist, motorists are being urged to stick to major roads that are most likely to have been gritted.

Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.

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Stuart Hogg: Former Scotland rugby captain given community payback and non-harassment orders for domestic abuse

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Stuart Hogg: Former Scotland rugby captain given community payback and non-harassment orders for domestic abuse

Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg has been handed a community payback order and a non-harassment order for abusing his estranged wife over the course of five years.

Hogg, 32, last year pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-partner, Gillian Hogg, between 2019 and 2024.

The sportsman admitted shouting and swearing, tracking her movements and sending her messages which were alarming and distressing in nature.

At Selkirk Sheriff Court on Thursday, he was given a community payback order with one year of supervision and a five-year non-harassment order.

Sheriff Peter Paterson warned Hogg the sentence was an “alternative to custody”.

Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg arrives at Selkirk Sheriff Court.
Pic: PA
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Hogg arriving at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Thursday. Pic: PA

Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg leaves Selkirk Sheriff Court.
Pic: PA
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Hogg leaving court. Pic: PA


A court heard how he berated Mrs Hogg for “not being fun” after going on drinking binges with his colleagues, and once sent more than 200 text messages to her in the space of a few hours which caused her to suffer a panic attack.

Hogg had been due to stand trial at Selkirk Sheriff Court last November, but pleaded guilty to the abuse which was said to have taken place at various locations including Hawick in the Scottish Borders and Bearsden in East Dunbartonshire.

Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg arrives at Jedburgh Sheriff Court to be sentenced after he admitted abusing his estranged wife over the course of five years. Picture date: Thursday December 5, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Hogg. Photo credit should read: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
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Hogg arriving at Jedburgh Sheriff Court in December. Pic: PA

At Jedburgh Sheriff Court in December, he was initially handed the five-year non-harassment order and fined £600 for breaching bail conditions by repeatedly contacting Mrs Hogg last June.

The former Glasgow Warriors and Exeter Chiefs, who plays for French club Montpellier, now lives abroad and is said to be in the process of getting a divorce.

Stuart and Gillian Hogg in 2017. Pic: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock
Image:
Stuart and Gillian Hogg in 2017. Pic: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Prosecutor Drew Long said the couple moved to Exeter in 2019 with their three young children, who were all under three, but Hogg’s behaviour “deteriorated” as he went out partying.

Mr Long said Hogg would “shout and swear and accuse Mrs Hogg of not being fun” for not joining in drinking, and that her family “noticed a change in her”.

In 2022, Mrs Hogg went on a night out and was bombarded with text messages from the rugby player which “caught the attention of the people she was with”, the prosecutor said.

The following year, the couple moved to Hawick in the Borders, but Hogg used an app to track his wife and “questioned her whereabouts” while she was dropping the children off.

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In 2023, she decided to leave the sportsman and sought advice from a domestic abuse service.

Mr Long said in September of that year, Hogg “sent in excess of 200 texts in a few hours despite being asked to leave her alone”, which led to Mrs Hogg having a panic attack.

On 21 February 2024, police were called due to Hogg “shouting and swearing”.

He was taken into custody and thereafter placed on a bail order stipulating not to contact Mrs Hogg or to enter the family home.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said “no one should have to live in fear of a partner or former partner”.

Lynne Barrie, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, added: “Stuart Hogg has now been convicted and held accountable for subjecting his estranged wife to years of domestic abuse.”

Hogg made his Scotland debut in 2012 and went on to make 100 appearances for his country.

He also made two appearances for the British and Irish Lions and was made an MBE for services to the sport in last year’s New Year Honours list.

Following his guilty plea, Mrs Hogg thanked all those who had shown support.

She praised her family and friends, and also singled out those who had given her “a hi, a smile, a hug or even just a look to show they care”.

Mrs Hogg said she had thought “long and hard” about posting on Facebook, but added: “Now, it’s time to start my next chapter.

“To move on and to keep showing my kids every day that strength comes from unconditional love and support around you, and even when it hurts, love wins.”

Following the court case, Scottish Women’s Aid said coercive control – including stalking and micromanaging how women mother, where they go, what they wear and what they’re allowed to say – can be “more traumatic than a physical assault”.

Dr Marsha Scott, chief executive of the charity, added: “The sentence in this case, like so many handed down in Scotland, hardly meets the test of being proportionate when compared to the harm this man has caused.”

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Liz Truss sends cease and desist letter to Sir Keir Starmer over claims she ‘crashed the economy’

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Liz Truss sends cease and desist letter to Sir Keir Starmer over claims she 'crashed the economy'

Liz Truss’ lawyers have sent a cease and desist letter to Sir Keir Starmer over his claims she “crashed the economy”.

The letter says Sir Keir’s continued claim the former Conservative prime minister crashed the economy with the September 2022 mini budget is defamatory and will “likely continue to cause serious harm to her reputation”.

It focuses on the Labour leader’s claims made in June last year during the general election campaign, and says accusations she crashed the economy were made with the purpose of damaging public opinion of Ms Truss as she stood as a parliamentary candidate.

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Ms Truss, who stepped down as prime minister in under two months in charge, lost the South West Norfolk seat she had held since 2010 to Labour’s Terry Jermy in last year’s election.

Sir Keir’s spokesman said the prime minister has no plans to “moderate his language” based on the letter.

He also questioned whether Ms Truss will be writing to the “millions of people up and down the country” who shared Sir Keir’s view.

More on Liz Truss

The letter also says it is “false” to claim the mini budget crashed the economy and provides details of a definition of “crash of the economy” by Dr Andrew Lilico, an expert from right-wing thinktank the Institute of Economic Affairs and managing director of economic consultancy Europe Economics.

Market movement following the mini budget did not constitute a “crash”, the letter says, and accuses Sir Keir of displaying an “ignorance of basic economics” by doing so.

LETTER
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The letter calls for Sir Keir Starmer to stop saying Liz Truss crashed the economy

Following the mini budget, which included £45bn of unfunded tax cuts, the UK government’s long-term borrowing costs rose sharply by 0.3 percentage points over a day.

The pound then fell to record lows against the dollar, and there was another sharp rise in the cost of long-term government borrowing by 0.5 percentage points after then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng hinted there would be further tax cuts.

This led to rising mortgage rates, with hundreds of products withdrawn, and an impact on UK pension funds.

Ms Truss’ lawyers blamed the interest rate changes on the Bank of England, “in particular by its poor handling of the liability-driven investment bonds (LDI) crisis, and its regulatory failures”.

It points out the Bank of England is independent of government and says: “Thus the relevant rate changes were not ’caused’ by our client.

“These facts were clear as early as May 2024, if not before.”

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‘Do you take any blame for your premiership?’

The letter argues there was “no rise in unemployment…no sustained loss of wealth”, and no “enduring economic impacts”.

It says Ms Truss and the mini budget did not play “a significant causal role in the financial market volatility of September/October 2022” and said almost everything, in fiscal terms, had been announced before the mini budget.

The letter requests Sir Keir “immediately cease and desist” from repeating she crashed the economy on an “amicable basis”.

“This request is made in the context of the basic levels of civility which is due between senior politicians, and we trust that you will respond accordingly,” the letter says.

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