There is no way that she can survive this. Why would the next PM choose Hunt as their Chancellor?
Could he simply be setting the stage for a Mordaunt/Sunak replacement leadership with Hunt promised a decent cabinet post? At one time I would have thought that too machiavellian, now anything outlandish seems possible!
Chris Mason on the Beeb:
The Truss programme for government is dead.
Nearly every element of her prospectus has just been shredded by her new chancellor.
"We will reverse almost all the tax measures" from the mini-budget, Jeremy Hunt said. What an extraordinary thing to hear.
Not only has the planned cut in the basic rate of income tax been binned, so has the plan originally from Rishi Sunak to cut it in 2024.
The prime minister, who promised to cut taxes by more than her rival over the summer, is now keeping them higher than he planned.
And even the flagship energy support package, the crutch upon which the prime minister has leant whenever asked a tricky question in the last few weeks, has shrivelled vastly.
It is now a six month package, not a two year one. What a day.
And it’s not even lunchtime.
Indeed
Austerity v2.0 incoming.
Bloody joy.
Why would Sunak accept a return to no.11 under Mordaunt, having failed to secure the leadership? And will Hunt be interested in Home/Foreign or a return to Health? I doubt it.
I'm not even sure Sunak still wants to be PM, given the fallout from this shitshow.
What intrigues me is how does Jeremy Hunt believe that he himself will survive after he has signed Liz Truss’s death certificate?
There is no way that she can survive this. Why would the next PM choose Hunt as their Chancellor?
He knows he's no longer destined for high office and he's offered himself up as sacrifice. I imagine he'll be elevated to the Lords for services to the tory party. Nice easy job for life with a healthy salary, minimum attendance requirements and no pesky electorate to worry about.
What intrigues me is how does Jeremy Hunt believe that he himself will survive after he has signed Liz Truss’s death certificate?
Does he think that as he's swooped in to save the day (all definitions of "saving the day" may vary) he'll be the obvious choice to replace her?
Next govt announcement will be along the lines of
Truss has gone to live on a nice farm with all her fluffy friends to support her, of course we wish her well, no you can’t speak to her or go and see her.
Truss is finished. Who's going to achieve the lofty status of having a whole new STW thread named after them? This one's been amusing but didn't last long. Gone by tea time...
Nice easy job for life with a healthy salary, minimum attendance requirements and no pesky electorate to worry about.
the house of lords isn't salaried. you could get £80k if you attended every single working day (zero holiday), but given it isn't open that often, thats tough to do. Being a lord is a role, its not a job or a career.
Apparently she is doing the rounds seeing groups of PM’s all over the show today to try to keep her job
Amazed she still wants it!
Being a lord is a role, its not a job or a career.
True, (unless you get to chair a committee or the like) the salaries come from the accompanying directorships, board memberships and so on.
(also, iirc, attendance only requires you in the building to sign in, no stipulation on how long you're there, not required to be in chamber or even (demonstrably) conducting government business)
there’s no reason for him to do away with Hunt.
Oh there is. Like Sunak Hunt represents hard austerity. British voters no longer have the stomach for the austerity which they were conned into accepting in 2010, a fact which both Theresa May and Boris Johnson recognised.
And ironically even Truss also did when only a few days ago she publicly announced in parliament that there would be "absolutely" no spending cuts.
Voters are highly unlikely to back a Sunak/Hunt austerity programme during an unprecedented cost of living crisis. The Tories and Liberal Democrats were able to sell their austerity programme in 2010 under the slogan "we're all in this together" by blaming it on 13 years of Labour rule.
That argument won't wash after 12 years of Tory rule. And the clear attempt to reward rich people recently would make the "we're all in this together" slogan even more laughable than it was last time.
The only way the Tories will be able to get public support for an austerity programme is if the Labour Party back it. As long as the Labour Party remains resolute in their opposition to austerity, as long as they remain committed to the principal that working people should not pay the price for the mess created by the Tories, then austerity will be a certain vote loser for the Tories.
Being a lord is a role, its not a job or a career.
No, it's not a "job". Yet it still pays better than my job does. Or my other half's job. Or my brother's job. Or my next door neighbour's job. Or the job of the neighbour on the other side of them. Or...
It is now a six month package, not a two year one. What a day.
And Truss has been banging the "Labour only have a plan for six months" gong for the last few weeks. No, Labour proposed the quick fix of paying a large part of customers' bills in the short term (holding prices lower than the Tories are now doing just to get us though a difficult winter), stating that major reform of the sector is needed longer term. Just promising to help pay our bills, and let the fossil fuel companies keep the excess profit they make out of that, for two years... well, that wasn't designed that way to benefit us really, was it.
Who’s going to achieve the lofty status of having a whole new STW thread named after them?
Perhaps it should just be "current tory PM" to keep things easy?
I would be keeping her in charge for a while if I was the tories. Gives someone to blame for all the problems before switching out next year for a "honest I am nothing to do with the previous shower" PM to go into the election with.
Amazed she still wants it!
Is there a minimal service term to get the uprated pension and other payoffs?
That said considering its been her dream for years I can see why she still wants to keep going in the hope it might improve.
I can’t believe that she actually wants to go and stand at the despatch box on Wednesday and try and explain this debacle away.
Though it’s going to make pretty compelling viewing
Her complete and utter detachment from reality is quite something to witness.
She seems to possess the same range of emotions as a house brick
If we keep reversing everything UK governments have done, at some point we'll be back in the EU, yes?
Or are we going to keep going till we are back at war with Germany? To appease the Tory party members.
I can’t believe that she actually wants to go and stand at the despatch box on Wednesday and try and explain this debacle away.
Odds are, she won't. That's why Starmer said what he said last night (posted it in the other thread).
dissonance Full Member
Who’s going to achieve the lofty status of having a whole new STW thread named after them?
Perhaps it should just be “current tory PM” to keep things easy?
Call it "Current! Tory! PM!" and I'm up for that.
Could the Tory Party change the rules so that we could have a "guest prime minister" every month?
A bit like the guest presenters on "Have I Got News For You".
Edit: That would very likely piss off Charlie Windsor though.......dear oh dear oh dear
+1
'This week's! Tory! PM!' has a nice ring to it, and will get rid of the multiple threads.
A bit like the guest presenters on “Have I Got News For You”.
As long as Brian Blessed gets to go first.
Though it’s going to make pretty compelling viewing
Probably not since as we have seen multiple times in the past it doesnt really work when the PM is either a lying toad or in an alternate reality.
About the only interesting thing would be how many tories turn up and how low the volume of support for the nonanswers are.
No, it’s not a “job”. Yet it still pays better than my job does. Or my other half’s job. Or my brother’s job. Or my next door neighbour’s job. Or the job of the neighbour on the other side of them. Or…
the average lord claimed £22.5k for attendance allowance source. Is this really more than everyone you know?
That's an entirely bogus figure, as it ignores all the peers that simply do not perform their "role" at all, and don't turn up (or just turn up for the not business high pomp occasions).
Did Bankers Bonuses cap go back on?
Guessing not but can't see it reported anywhere
No mention of cheese either.
I'm worried about British cheese
I’d not seen this until now, apologies if it’s been posted beforehand:
Did Bankers Bonuses cap go back on?
Nope.
And stamp duty changes stay as well.
I can’t believe that she actually wants to go and stand at the despatch box on Wednesday
I'm hoping Starmer opens the session with the statement "Oh, I'm sorry, I was told the PM was attending today, not a stand-in!"
So Austerity is Back baby!
They're going to be blaming all sorts of other "External factors" like Ukraine (now in it's 9th month) and the related energy cost hikes. But lets not deny Brexit played it's part, along with the best part of 6 months of governmental intransigence while they knifed one leader, had a run off (and it looks like we're maybe getting another one shortly).
This is all ultimately about the increasingly obvious rift between the Parliamentary tory party and the membership.
Tory MPs are looking more at the national/global picture and obviously thinking about their own dwindling electability at the next GE Vs the Headbangers and Membership wanting to install a Neo-Liberal/libertarian, "Brexit believer" populist as PM and see the kind of regressive, socially irresponsible smash and grab policies forced through in the 18 months before they had to go into electioneering mode...
Why would Sunak accept a return to no.11 under Mordaunt, having failed to secure the leadership? And will Hunt be interested in Home/Foreign or a return to Health? I doubt it.
I’m not even sure Sunak still wants to be PM, given the fallout from this shitshow.
It's one of those situations where anyone who would want the job (of conservative leader as well as PM) is inherently unsuitable for that role.
Lil-Rishie doesn't need it, his shot has passed, Hunt is in the best he could be right now, essentially in control of his Brief, not Truss' puppet (hopefully), but again only a maniac would be looking to move from No11 to No 10 at the moment.
Truss is now trapped in No.10, She tried to do what she was installed for, and in doing so has crashed her party's chanced in the Next GE and destroyed her own credibility. None of her 'colleagues' want her job any time soon, so she gets to be a toothless PM for a while, kicked about by her Cabinet, backbenchers and probably condemned by the Membership too.
I'd forget about identifying the next PM for now, the dust needs to settle and the electorate needs to see both the impact of the coming austerity, the damage to the economy and their cost of living. Right the ship first, then throw the captain overboard...
As a non minister hunt would be on £82k.
That’s an entirely bogus figure, as it ignores all the peers that simply do not perform their “role” at all, and don’t turn up (or just turn up for the not business high pomp occasions).
Indeed, of the 565 members who put in claims for this march (23 sitting days) the mean claim was £4441. [£4845 median]
Plus travel expenses (£630 mean for those same members. Several who made no claim for attending did claim travel, lord mcfall of alcuith claimed £3594 in travel in March this year but 0 attendance, though he was recorded present 23 times).
Lord Caine, who is an "unpaid minister" claimed £7106 so at that rate £85k in Lords attendance.
What's a (non MP) minister on? £75k.
The Lords isn't a bad gig if you can get it.
For what it's worth I can see Truss holding out to be offered her seat in return for her resignation and an orderly departure too. Cabinet reshuffle, palatable deputy, a week in the job, resign, deputy takes the reigns.
(last March it was 18 days, 539 members, £2607 mean, £2104 median, some of those claimed a supplementary allowance too, up to £3230 over the same period, but only attended for 13 days. Not a penny for parliamentary business between the whole lot though)
to try to keep her job
Anyone thinking she still has a job should watch Friday's press conference again in full. PMQs is the day after tomorrow. I think it will be her last. That performance was not PM material, regardless of all those polished hustings. Cringeworthy is too good for it.
according to this a person attended every year and claimed £50k. if you assume 1/3 of that is travel expenses, you're on an income of under £35k. The pay per hour may be reasonable, but total earnings is not a lot compared to what most lords can probably earn in the private sector.
but total earnings is not a lot compared to what most lords can probably earn in the private sector
Poor them. Now, imagine they are also "working" in the private sector... show me a peer that doesn't have income from other sources.
Poor them. Now, imagine they are also working in the private sector…
not sure what your point is? that they get paid for taking time to perform a function? that they should all do it for free? having working people in the lords is probably preferable as it brings industry feedback into the chamber, compensating those people for time off their day job seems reasonable to me.
did a bit more reading on "sitting days" - it appears to be around 150 days per year, which works out at a smidge under 50k. so you can ignore my 35k comment earlier..
https://www.parliament.uk/about/faqs/house-of-lords-faqs/lords-sittings/
if you assume 1/3 of that is travel expenses,
To get to their normal place of work.
compared to whatmost lords can probably earn in the private sector.
But they *do* often earn it in the private sector.
The attendance is hugely weighted to those who live and work within easy distance of Westminster.
Attendance needs you to be there briefly but nothing more.
Walk out of the office at lunch. Sign in, have (free) lunch, go back to office. On an evening leave the office, sign in, have a (free) drink in the bar, go home. £366 pounds plus travel please.
Need a hotel because you're going to be in again tomorrow and Woking is just a bit too much of a commute? £350 night, maximum, but yeah, expense that.
Some (despite attending) claim nothing, some claim only travel.
There are those who do very well out of it and probably some who actually feel like they've a duty to perform and a responsibility to fulfil, but don't think for a second the cow isn't milked for all its worth by those who want to do so.
It'll be a lovely bonus for Liz on top of the hefty pension and directorships she'll doubtless find her fall from number 10 cushioned by.
That performance was not PM material, regardless of all those polished hustings. Cringeworthy is too good for it
I actually went back and rewatched it in full over the weekend and it absolutely defies belief, it’s just so appallingly bad.
That’s why I’m really looking forward to the same ‘malfunctioning robot’ approach she will inevitably take on Wednesday at PMQ’s, because she won’t be able to just turn on her heels and run away like she did last week
I bet the benches behind her will be completely deserted
Mad Nad thinks Wee Alex should return.
https://twitter.com/NadineDorries/status/1581947841626640384?s=20&t=CcaJnicsfdLia2MGK9Hpiw
Well, who’d have thunk it?
Mad Nad thinks Wee Alex should return.
Labour MP Jess Phillips was on HIGNFY on Friday, there was a joke from her about how much Nadine Dorries adores Boris.
Mad Nads thinks GE spells salughter.
I hope someone with better photoshop skills than me will chop bozza onto Jack Nicholson poking his head through the door in the shining
Mad Nads thinks GE spells salughter.
Not that mad after all then eh?
So do we think Truss will announce a windfall tax before PMQ so she has something to talk about beyond her resignation or afterwards, so it's not yet another Jeremy Go Round to talk about?
(I'm fairly confident predicting it will happen before the energy support runs out, it's just if it's given to Truss to row back on or her replacement as an easy early win, I'm guessing Truss so the incumbent won't be accused of stealing Labour policies and can lay the blame for it with Liz but leave it be)
I actually went back and rewatched it in full over the weekend
You need to get out more.
