Tory party conference live: Kwasi Kwarteng to set out debt plan earlier than planned as under-fire Liz Truss is told to ‘get a grip’ as she refuses to rule out more U-turns
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Prime Minister Liz Truss has been seen leaving her hotel for the second time this morning, now with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in tow.
An announcement is expected later today on when Mr Kwarteng will publish the government’s spending plans.
The Chancellor previously said the fiscal plans would not be published until November 23, but they are expected later this month following the backlash to his mini-budget.
Speaking to the Conservative conference yesterday, he admitted the budget had caused ‘turbulence’ in the markets but insisted the government must ‘stay the course’.
Several major speeches will be delivered at the conference today as Liz Truss remains under pressure from party colleagues following the Chancellor’s mini-budget.
Six members of the new cabinet will have a chance to address the convention on delivering better public services between 4pm and 6pm – including Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary Therese Coffey, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Education Secretary Kit Malthouse, Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis will also be speaking.
James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, will deliver a speech on foreign affairs.
Tomorrow morning, Conservative Party Chairman Jake Berry will address members, followed by Nadhim Zahawi and Liz Truss.
Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt has publicly called for benefits to rise in line with inflation amid reports Liz Truss is considering a real-terms cut to benefits payments.
The Prime Minister is facing a revolt from her Cabinet over suggestions she could raise benefits in line with earnings rather than inflation as she seeks to balance the books.
Under Boris Johnson, the Conservative government committed to increase benefits by the rate of inflation.
Penny Mordaunt said this morning she was not in favour of the plan. She told Times Radio: ‘I’ve always supported, whether it’s pensions, whether it’s our welfare system, keeping pace with inflation.
‘We are not trying to help people with one hand and take away with another.’
Jacob Rees-Mogg shrugs off noisy protesters who heckled him
Jacob Rees-Mogg shrugged off protesters who called him ‘Tory scum’ and instead applauded how having the freedom to peacefully protest is ‘marvellous.’
The Business Secretary, who required a police escort as he made his way to the Conservative Party conference, seemed unbothered by the demonstrators who chased and heckled him when he arrived in Birmingham on Sunday.
Mr Rees-Mogg, speaking at the convention Monday night, referred to the hostile reception of shouting protesters as a ‘warm welcome’ and said he ‘didn’t mind’ being insulted by the crowd.
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Prime Minister Liz Truss has been spotted leaving the Hyatt Hotel in Birmingham on the way to the third day of the Conservative conference.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister insisted she was ‘listening’ to the public following the backlash to the Chancellor’s mini-budget last month.
She added she was ‘committed to supporting the most vulnerable’ amid claims benefits could see a real-terms cut.
Ms Truss will address Conservative Party members in her first conference speech as leader tomorrow morning following the government’s U-turn on the 45p rate of tax.
Liz Truss faces Cabinet revolt on plan to cut benefits
Liz Truss is facing a Cabinet revolt on plans to cut benefits to balance the books – as Kwasi Kwarteng U-turns again by bringing forward his spending blueprint and OBR forecasts to this month.
The PM is set to defy dozens of Tory MPs by uprating benefits in line with earnings rather than inflation, meaning a real-terms cut.
She will argue it would be unfair to go beyond what workers are receiving, and the move will save the government around £7billion.
One Cabinet minister told MailOnline: ‘Who has been briefing this stuff? Are we really going to do it? I can’t see how it is possibly going to happen.’
Read the full story on MailOnline here:
Home Secretary eyes crackdown on student visas
Speaking at a fringe event, Home Secretary Suella Braverman pledged to ‘look at’ low-quality colleges offering a route to Britain through student visas.
Mrs Braverman said she would take a ‘more discerning’ approach to the number of student visas being issued.
Home Office figures show there were more than 485,000 sponsored study visas granted in the 12 months to June this year.
This was 71 per cent more than in 2019, which was the last full year before the Covid pandemic, and the highest on record.
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Following the Chancellor’s speech to the conference yesterday, it emerged the government’s spending plans will be unveiled earlier than expected.
Kwasi Kwarteng initially said the fiscal plans would be published on November 23, but it is expected they will be released later this month, with a date set to be confirmed today.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a U-turn on the plan to abolish the 45p rate of tax for top earners after a backlash from Tory MPs.
He said the plan in his mini-budget last month had become a ‘distraction from our overriding mission to tackle the challenges facing our country.
The conference in Birmingham was locked down yesterday afternoon for over an hour over a ‘potential security alert’, with access in and out temporarily blocked.
Business minister Jacob Reese-Mogg unveiled plans for Britain’s first prototype nuclear fusion power plant in Nottinghamshire.
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