The Tories lost two seats with around 20,000 majorities in by-elections on Thursday in Selby and Ainsty, to Labour, and Somerton and Frome, to the Lib Dems, while narrowly holding on to Boris Johnson’s old Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat amid a challenge from Labour.
Tory Party chairman Greg Hands claimed the 495-vote victory in Uxbridge was the “standout result” while Mr Sunak insisted the next general election was not a “done deal” despite the loss of two safe seats.
The former prime minister also warned Mr Johnson’s critics they should “never, ever, ever” write him off amid questions over whether he could seek a return to the political frontline.
The committee recommended Mr Johnson “should not be entitled to a former Member’s pass” after it concluded he had deliberately misled MPs over partygate.
One weary-sounding Conservative MP said they felt they had been in the grip of a cult over the last six weeks – and had escaped just in time. Others, however, still felt trapped, they said. “That is literally what it’s been like … It’s such a sense of relief. I just thank God it’s over.”
The victorious Daily Star 60p lettuce, which outlasted soon-to-be-ex Prime Minister Liz Truss, has made it to the House of Commons – with its face beamed onto the famous walls of at the Palace of Westminster this evening.
The long-lasting 60p salad vegetable won the race to see if Liz Truss could outlast it earlier today, as Truss finally gave up on her attempt to cling to power after days of chaos at Westminster.
The lettuce, while not in prime condition, managed to endure longer than Liz Truss – who will be the UK‘s shortest-serving prime minister ever.
It all paved the way for the Jeremy Hunt coup. That nerdy technocrat is hardly Pinochet. He’s an improbable usurper of power. Yet the political and strategic fragility of Trussism meant he could very easily sweep in and take control. He now runs the country. He has stuffed the Treasury with Osbornites and Hammondites and others who, like him, love ‘competence’ above all else. They want to steer the nation from the choppy waters of Brexit and Boris back to the safe shore of technocracy. Even though we didn’t vote for that, and don’t want it. That sappy Remainers could seize the reins of power was further proof of the infirmity of Trussism. One house of cards replaced with another.
– Liz Truss dramatically resigned as Prime Minister this afternoon after lasting just 44 days in the top job
– Her close friends said they knew she was going to quit after they began receiving texts from her at 4am
– Sir Graham Brady told her later that day she had lost the party‘s support and would lose a confidence vote
(Streamed live 9 hours ago)
Liz Truss was facing a revolt by Tory MPs opposed to fracking on Wednesday despite whips saying a crunch Commons vote was a “confidence motion in the Government”.
At least three MPs signalled that they would not back the Government in the showdown vote, including the Prime Minister’s net-zero tsar Chris Skidmore, Conservative MP for Kingswood.
Earlier today, I sent an official document from my personal email to a trusted parliamentary colleague as part of policy engagement, and with the aim of garnering support for Government policy on migration. This constitutes a technical infringement of the rules. As you know, the document was a draft Written Ministerial Statement about migration, due for publication imminently. Much of it had already been briefed to MPs. Nevertheless, it is right for me to go.
As soon as I realised my mistake, I rapidly reported this on official channels, and informed the Cabinet Secretary. As Home Secretary I hold myself to the highest standards and my resignation is the right thing to do. The business of government relies upon people accepting responsibility for their mistakes. Pretending we haven‘t made mistake, carrying on as if everyone can‘t see that we have made them, and hoping that things will magically come right is not serious politics. I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign.
The immediate cause of the resignation was the breach of security rules after Ms Braverman admitted inadvertently sending a sensitive document from her personal email.
But a letter to the PM, released by Ms Braverman on her social media feeds, amounted to an assault on Ms Truss’s five-week record in office.
Borrowing one of Margaret Thatcher’s favourite put-downs, a Labour source described the prime minister as “frit” – meaning “frightened”.
The urgent question was tabled in a bid to force Ms Truss to answer MPs’ questions after she resisted Labour demands for a statement to the Commons today to explain the reversal of the bulk of her mini-Budget in a series of massive U-turns.
New Tory prime ministers currently enjoy a year of immunity from confidence votes under the party rulebook.
But George Osborne, the former chancellor, predicts the beleaguered PM will likely be gone by Christmas, adding that „there will be a way“ for the party to remove her from Downing Street.
Here are the Conservative MPs calling for Ms Truss to quit.