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Liz Truss has pledged not to cut public spending to balance the books in her first PMQs since the chancellor’s contentious mini-budget – despite a leading economics-focused think tank warning the government is billions short of the sums needed.

The prime minister insisted she was “absolutely” not planning public spending reductions, but vowed that taxpayers’ money would be used well.

Her pledge comes as the government continues to be under pressure for the market turmoil that erupted after the government announced its £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts last month.

Speaking to Sky News after PMQs, Mel Stride, the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said that Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng should not take the reversal of some of his tax cuts “off the table”.

He said that “holding the line” on the measures announced in his mini-budget will be even more difficult following Ms Truss’ comments on public spending, and that 31 October – the date of the chancellor’s debt-cutting plan being published – is a moment for a “reset”.

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Tories ‘must get back to being fiscally responsible’

He told political editor Beth Rigby: “(Chancellor Kwarteng) has to be so careful that he doesn’t take any chances, he has to be sure the markets are going to like what they hear, that’s why I think rowing back on the tax cuts have to remain on the table.

“It’s extraordinarily important that whatever the chancellor comes forward with on the 31st, that it cuts it with the market.

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“If there is any doubt in his mind about anything he is doing, he would do well to think again, he has got to play it ultra safe.”

Truss says last thing country needs is a general election – politics latest

Economists have suggested that to gain a grip on the national finances, the government will have to make spending cuts or tax rises worth tens of billions of pounds.

The “Green Budget”, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Citi, the investment bank, warned this week that the chancellor would have to cut spending or raise taxes by £62bn if he is to stabilise or reduce the national debt, as he has repeatedly promised in recent weeks.

That shortfall is a direct consequence of the measures announced since the Truss government took office, which include its reversal of various tax increases such as corporation tax and national insurance and its energy price guarantee.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng would instead have to carry out dramatic cuts, the think tank said, potentially reducing government investment and slashing public spending on departments that have already been squeezed during the austerity years.

The cost of government spending increased on Wednesday, with the pound falling against the dollar.

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‘Will she reverse “kamikaze budget”?’

‘Kamikaze budget’

At PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer reminded Ms Truss that during her leadership campaign over the summer she had pledged: “I’m not planning public spending reductions.”

Asked if she was going to stick to that, the prime minister replied: “Absolutely… We are spending almost £1tn of public spending. We were spending £700bn back in 2010.

“What we will make sure is that over the medium term the debt is falling. But we will do that not by cutting public spending but by making sure we spend public money well.”

The Labour leader once again called for the government to reverse their “kamikaze budget”, warning Conservative MPs that voters will not forgive their party if they “defend” it.

‘Ducking responsibility’

Sir Keir also accused the prime minister of “ducking responsibility” for the consequences of her government’s economic policies and of being “lost in denial”.

“Who voted for this?” he questioned.

Ms Truss responded: “The way that we will get our country growing is through more jobs, more growth, more opportunities, not through higher taxes, higher spending and his friends in the union stopping hard-working people getting to work.”

‘No-fault’ evictions pledge

Also during PMQs, Ms Truss committed to honouring a 2019 Tory manifesto pledge to scrap “no-fault” evictions of private renters in England.

There had been reports earlier this week that the government could try and shelve the commitment.

On Tuesday, Downing Street said no decisions had been made on whether to pause a promised ban on Section 21 notices, which allow landlords to evict a tenant without giving a reason.

Labour MP Graham Stringer asked Ms Truss: “Can the PM reassure the 11 million private renters in this country that she will carry out her commitment to get rid of no-fault evictions?”

Ms Truss replied: “I can.”

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‘PM ignoring mini-budget damage’

Energy help

The prime minister also announced that Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, is working on a scheme to help households and businesses bring down their energy costs.

Last Friday, Ms Truss ruled out launching an energy-saving public information campaign after warnings from the National Grid Electricity System Operator that planned three-hour power blackouts could be imposed in some areas.

Only two days ago Downing Street had defended Ms Truss’s decision not to launch a “bespoke” energy-saving public information campaign during the energy crisis, saying it is down to individuals to decide what is right for them.

Mr Kwarteng has already dropped plans to abolish the 45% tax rate on earnings over £150,000 after internal criticism of the policy, though he has insisted he remains committed to the rest of his mini-budget.

Asked what happens after the Bank stops buying bonds on Friday, the chancellor said: “Well, it’s a matter for the governor.”

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Climate-vulnerable islands storm out of COP29 negotiation room in row over funding

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Climate-vulnerable islands storm out of COP29 negotiation room in row over funding

Representatives of dozens of climate vulnerable islands and African nations have stormed out of high-stakes negotiations over a climate funding goal.

Patience is wearing thin and negotiations have boiled over at the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan, which were due to finish yesterday but are now well into overtime.

After two weeks of talks, the more than 190 countries gathered in the capital Baku are still trying to agree a new financial settlement to channel money to poorer countries to both curb and adapt to climate change.

Talks have now run well into overtime at COP29, but a deal now feels much more precarious.

The least developed countries like Mozambique and low-lying island nations like Samoa say their calls for a portion of the fund to be allocated to them have been ignored.

Samoa’s minister of natural resources and environment Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster is one of the representatives who walked out.

“We are here to negotiate but we have walked out… at the moment we don’t feel we are being heard in there,” he said on behalf of more than 40 small island and developing states, whose shorelines are being lost to rising sea levels.

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Shortly after he made a veiled threat of leaving COP29 altogether, saying: “We want nothing more than to continue to engage, but the process must be INCLUSIVE.

“If this cannot be the case, it becomes very difficult for us to continue our involvement here at COP29.”

Evans Njewa, who chairs a group of more than 40 least developed countries, said the current deal is “unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do.”

The last official draft on Friday pledged $250bn a year annually by 2035.

This is more than double the previous goal of $100bn set 15 years ago, but nowhere near the annual $1.3trn that experts say is needed.

Sky News understands some developed countries like the UK were this morning willing to bump up the goal to $300bn.

Developing countries are angry not just about the finance negotiations, but also on how to make progress on a pledge from last year to “transition away from fossil fuels”.

A group of oil and producing countries, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, have tried to dilute that language, while the UK and island state are among those that have fought to keep it in.

Mr Schuster said all things being negotiated contain a “deplorable lack of substance”.

He added: “We need to see progress and follow up on the transition away from fossil fuels that we agreed last year. We have been asked to forget all about that at this COP, as though we are not in a critical decade and as though the 1.5C limit is not in peril.”

“We need to be shown the regard which our dire circumstances necessitate.”

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At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities say

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At least 11 killed in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities say

At least 11 people have been killed and 63 injured in an Israeli strike on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.

Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dug through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.

State-run National News Agency (NNA) said the attack “completely destroyed” an eight-storey residential building in the Basta neighbourhood early on Saturday.

Footage broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed station also showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.

The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut, where four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike
Image:
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut, where four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike

Map of Lebanon and Israel

The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack – the fourth targeting the centre this week.

At least four bombs were dropped in the attack, security sources told Reuters news agency.

The blasts happened at about 4am (2am UK time).

A seperate drone strike in the southern port cuty of Tyre this morning killed one person and injured another, according to the NNA.

The blasts came after a day of bombardment of Beirut’s southern suburbs and Tyre. The Israeli military had issued evacuation notices prior to those strikes.

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.

Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.

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‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike

US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.

Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, Israel has killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon and wounded more than 15,000.

It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.

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Vladimir Putin vows to increase production of Russia’s ‘unstoppable’ missile – as NATO and Ukraine to hold talks

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Vladimir Putin vows to increase production of Russia's 'unstoppable' missile - as NATO and Ukraine to hold talks

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will ramp up the production of a new, hypersonic ballistic missile.

In a nationally-televised speech, Mr Putin said the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was used in an attack on Ukrainian city Dnipro in retaliation for Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.

Referring to the Oreshnik, the Russian president said: “No one in the world has such weapons.

“Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development.”

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Putin’s warning to the West

Russia war latest: Long-awaited US air defences arrive in Ukraine

He added: “We have this system now. And this is important.”

Detailing the missile’s alleged capabilities, Mr Putin claimed it is so powerful that using several fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with nuclear weapons.

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General Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s strategic missile forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with either nuclear or conventional warheads – while Mr Putin alleged Western air defence systems will not be able to stop the missiles.

Mr Putin said of the Oreshnik: “There is no countermeasure to such a missile, no means of intercepting it, in the world today. And I will emphasise once again that we will continue testing this newest system. It is necessary to establish serial production.”

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Testing the Oreshnik will happen “in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia“, the president added, stating there is “a stockpile of such systems ready for use”.

NATO and Ukraine are expected to hold emergency talks on Tuesday.

Meanwhile Ukraine’s parliament cancelled a session as security was tightened following the strike on Dnipro, a central city with a population of around one million. No fatalities were reported.

EU leaders condemn Russia’s ‘heinous attacks’

Numerous EU leaders have addressed Russia’s escalation of the conflict with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying the war is “entering a decisive phase [and] taking on very dramatic dimensions”.

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Russia’s new missile – what does it mean?

Speaking in Kyiv, Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky called Moscow’s strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe”.

At a news conference, Mr Lipavsky gave his full support for delivering the additional air defence systems needed to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks”.

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