Jeremy Hunt says Liz Truss will still be PM at Christmas and calls on Tory MPs to ‘give her a chance’
Jeremy Hunt has said he believes Liz Truss will still be prime minister at Christmas – despite five Conservative MPs already publicly calling for her to leave Number 10.
In an interview with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby, the new chancellor called on Conservative MPs to “give her a chance”.
He also ruled out becoming prime minister himself, saying: “I rule it out, Mrs Hunt rules it out, three Hunt children rule it out.”
Politics live: Hunt urges Tories to ‘give Truss a chance’
Mr Hunt has been described by some as effectively the “caretaker prime minister” after he was brought in to restore economic stability following weeks of turmoil on the financial markets.
This morning he scaled back the energy support package and ditched “almost all” the tax cuts announced by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng less than a month ago – in a major reversal of the policies that brought Ms Truss into office.
Asked “what is the point of Liz Truss?”, Mr Hunt replied: “She’s prime minister, she has got important decisions to make.
“People who want her to go need to ask themselves whether more political instability is going to help keep mortgage rates down, keep interest rates down, calm the markets.
“I don’t think political instability is the answer. She’s been prime minister for about five weeks and we need to give her a chance.”
Pressed on why Ms Truss is still in the job, he continued: “I would rather a leader who listens, learns and changes and I think we would have more instability, much more instability, if we were to have a leadership process.”
Earlier, Sir Charles Walker became the fifth Conservative MP to call for the prime minister to go.
He told Beth Rigby that her position “is untenable”, adding: “She has put colleagues, the country, through a huge amount of unnecessary pain and upset and worry.”
He said the situation “can only be remedied.. with a new prime minister”.
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Sir Charles said the prime minister ‘has put the country through a huge amount of unnecessary pain’
Mr Hunt acknowledged some of the market turmoil seen in recent weeks was self-inflicted, telling Beth Rigby: “I want to remove the UK element.”
He has hinted at further U-turns in a bid to balance the books, telling the Commons this afternoon that he is not against the windfall tax “in principle” – something the Ms Truss is opposed to.
In a further diversion from Ms Truss’ policies, Mr Hunt also failed to commit to spending 3% of GDP on defence – a key pledge made by the prime minister during the Conservative leadership race.
He also failed to promise the triple pension lock will stay – a policy which formed part of the Conservative’s 2019 manifesto – and failed to guarantee benefits will increase in line with inflation.
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Mr Hunt told Beth Rigby he will be able to say more in two weeks time – when he gives a fiscal statement on Halloween.
He said he believes his measures will pass through parliament, adding: “I don’t think there was a single Conservative MP… who opposed the measures I announced today. When you look beneath the political rhetoric, actually there is widespread agreement.”
With her position on the line, Ms Truss met with the One Nation group of Tory MPs in Westminster tonight, where she apologised to those in attendance for the mistakes her government made.
The prime minister’s press secretary told reporters that Ms Truss said she was sorry for the market turmoil caused by the mini-budget and that she tried to do too much too quickly.
The press secretary said the PM outlined that there are no plans for any cabinet reshuffle and that Ms Truss said she wants to work with all the party and get different people’s opinions.
They also described the mood at the meeting as “determined”.
The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.
Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.
There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.
Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sir Keir Starmer and NATO boss Mark Rutte in October. Pic: PA
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A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.
They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.
“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.
“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”
The defence review will also be published in the spring.
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While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.
They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after one man died and another was critically injured in a shooting in Birmingham.
Police were called to Rotton Park Road in Edgbaston, just before 11pm on Friday, to reports that two people had been shot.
One man, in his 20s, was found in a car but was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another man, in his 30s, was found injured at a bus stop, and was taken to hospital where he remains in a critical condition, West Midlands Police added.
Firearms officers arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder just before 12.30am. He remains in custody.
Officers remain on the scene, with road closures in place. The force said reassurance patrols will also be taking place.
Detective Inspector Nick Barnes said: “This is a tragic incident, and we have worked through the night to understand exactly what happened.
“We’ve already made good progress and arrested a suspect, but I still need to hear from anyone who was in the area that we’ve not already spoken to.
“This happened near the busy junction with City Road and it may be that you’ve got dashcam footage or mobile phone footage from the area just before 11pm.
“We really need to hear from you so that we can build as clear a picture as possible of what happened.”
Officers are urging anyone with information to get in contact, with anonymous tips also taken via Crimestoppers.
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