Liz Truss and the Conservative Party.

[Howardh]

If Truss lasts the day I'll be very surprised. To be honest, I'm amazed she actually wants to subject herself to all this for any longer.

I want to go out today but two things are preventing me, I want to be there when Truss resigns, and Transpennine trains. Think I'll have a bus ride down the market and hope Truss goes when I get back. But I only half-heartedly want ther to go, she's doing a fabulous job for the opposition parties.

 

[GS250]

I expect Labour will wait to get in before deciding that the sensible move is to join the single market and customs union. If more moderate Tories take back control of the party, they might even do it.

Ukraine and Covid played their part but Brexit is doing much of the harm now and preventing growth, so if things ever settle down it needs to be talked about. Fingers in the ears and shouting won't work any longer.

It was arguably the effects of SM membership that was the main driver behind the brexit vote though. Any party committing to this would have to have it near the top of its agenda. Silently forcing a huge bill through (The Maastricht treaty for example) is never going to end well for any party.

 

[BrianW]

It almost makes one pine for the strong and stable government of Boris Johnson

Actually, no it doesn’t.

'Strong and stable' - wasn't that Mrs May- maybe, looking back, she was, comparatively?

 

[Howardh]

Liz Truss quits: candidates to be prime minister must have at least 100 nominations from Tory MPs – as it happened

Nominations for next Tory leader will close at 2pm on Monday before next prime minister is confirmed on 28 October

www.theguardian.com

Close the door on your way out, Liz.

Sir Graham Brady, chair of the powerful backbench 1922 Committee, has gone into No 10 to meet Liz Truss.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Oct 2022 ==

It was arguably the effects of SM membership that was the main driver behind the brexit vote though. Any party committing to this would have to have it near the top of its agenda. Silently forcing a huge bill through (The Maastricht treaty for example) is never going to end well for any party.

I disagree. Think if the vote had been to simply leave the EU but remain part of the SM and Customs Union, that could well have won the day. Narrowly, but enough.

At the time how many voters knew that the SM was even a thing? Disn't Farage mention the "Norway model" which would leave UK inside the SM?

 

[Bantamzen]

Exactly. Just because they want to point-score now, it doesn't mean they wouldn't be reasonable in government.

Would it not be better at this moment to stand aside from all the stillness and actually look like a party preparing for power? You know start using their policies to undermine the government instead of name calling? They may be way ahead in the opinion polls, but surely by now we know how unreliable they can be?

In any case I doubt they could do a worse job than the current government of chaos.

The same was said of BoJo's team....

If Truss lasts the day I'll be very surprised. To be honest, I'm amazed she actually wants to subject herself to all this for any longer.

She's meeting with the Chair of the 1922 Committee. It is very possible she will be offered the chance to fall on her sword.

 

[BrianW]

Indeed. Plus higher VAT will put people off making non-essential purchases, further harming the economy.

Taking me back. Mrs Thatcher- remember her (did she come back; is she still in office/ power?)- she criticised the Great British public for saving the money they hadn't got instead of spending what they didn't have on what they didn't need.

VAT- learning from history?: Under Margaret Thatcher's leadership, Conservative Chancellor Geoffrey Howe increased the standard rate of VAT from 8% to 15% and abolished the higher rate in June 1979.[4][7][11] The rate remained unchanged until 1991, when Conservative Chancellor Norman Lamont increased it from 15% to 17.5%.[4][7][11] The additional revenue was used to pay for a reduction in the hugely unpopular community charge (the "poll tax").[12] During the 1992 general election the Conservatives promised not to extend the scope of VAT but in March 1993, Lamont announced that domestic fuel and power, which had previously been zero-rated, would have VAT levied at 8% from April 1994 and the full 17.5% from April 1995.[8][13] The planned introduction of VAT on domestic fuel and power went ahead in April 1994, but the increase from 8% to 17.5% in April 1995 was scuppered in December 1994, after the government lost the vote in parliament

Value-added tax in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[8A Rail]

It is a very sad of affairs when we have a party that is so dis-organised, dis-functional, so much infighting that it is in charge of running the country, no wonder we are in trouble! Sorry, although almost impossible, there SHOULD be a general election before things get much worst. Currently we need a functional government to manage the country as it deserves. In simple terms The Conservative Party are a bloody disgrace!

 

[kristiang85]

She's meeting with the Chair of the 1922 Committee. It is very possible she will be offered the chance to fall on her sword.

Apparently it was at her instigation. So she could be resigning anyway.

Or, coming up with a threat of some sort, but I think that's more unlikely.

 

[BrianW]

Breaking: Graham Brady just been escorted in back door of No10

Has anyone been escorted out the back door?

Perhaps an operation Braverman- Mordaunt- Shapps- Williams- Wallace Palace coup?

 

[kristiang85]

It is a very sad of affairs when we have a party that is so dis-organised, dis-functional, so much infighting that it is in charge of running the country, no wonder we are in trouble! Sorry, although almost impossible, there SHOULD be a general election before things get much worst. Currently we need a functional government to manage the country as it deserves. In simple terms The Conservative Party are a bloody disgrace!

This is where I do wish we had a little more power for our monacrch; this chaos is effectively in his name, but he is completely impotent at stopping it. There should be a mechanism whereby the monarch can dissolve parliament and force an election if it is clear the ruling party is unfit to govern and the general public want it.

Now, it would be near impossible to facilitate this in our constitution without opening up lots of avenues for a monarch to abuse it, so it will likely never be the case.

 

[reddragon]

If she goes, Tory party collapses, if she stays, Tory party collapses.

Win win really!

 

[GS250]

If she goes, Tory party collapses, if she stays, Tory party collapses.

Win win really!

It depends on the ability of others to govern. Those seemingly rubbing their hands at the prospect of a Labour government have little justification for doing so.

Saying that though...there should be an election now.

 

[reddragon]

It depends on the ability of others to govern. Those seemingly rubbing their hands at the prospect of a Labour government have little justification for doing so.

Saying that though...there should be an election now.

I've never been a Tory but this is worse than the disaster Corbyn could have been!

Cameron was spinless but OK, May decent, Boris a liar & cheat & crook, Miss Trust a Putin puppet. No Labour Government could possibly be worse than this whatever your politics

 

[dosxuk]

Think if you asked the opposition which Tory they most want as PM they've nailed it!

Or as Tim Farron put it yesterday

Honestly, when we sent her in undercover, we never thought it would work this well. As we celebrate/mourn today 100 years since the last Liberal PM, Agent Liz is ensuring that the Conservatives now get their opportunity to have a century out of power…

https://twitter.com/timfarron/status/1582691423463165952

Although this reply is almost as good

The second she got in to power, she broke all her promises and her support base collapsed in an instant and on current polling she could lose eighty per cent of her MPs. That’s how you know she’s definitely still a Lib Dem.*

(*sorry. genuinely sorry.)

 

[kristiang85]

I've never been a Tory but this is worse than the disaster Corbyn could have been!

Cameron was spinless but OK, May decent, Boris a liar & cheat & crook, Miss Trust a Putin puppet. No Labour Government could possibly be worse than this whatever your politics

A Corbyn government would have had just as much infighting and division as this one, with the differing factions trying to get the most influcence whilst in power.

It seems Starmer's Labour might be a bit more settled, although the focus has been off them for a while. But there is a dearth of talent there ,as there is an all parties.

 

[Howardh]

How many "unity candidates" are there splitting the party?

 

[AM9]

I've never been a Tory but this is worse than the disaster Corbyn could have been!

Cameron was spinless but OK, May decent, Boris a liar & cheat & crook, Miss Trust a Putin puppet. No Labour Government could possibly be worse than this whatever your politics

She might have been a convenient thicko for some of the oligarchs tied in with the extreme right wing libertarians in the UK, but her prime role as PM was to promote the whole Tufton St agenda which is why we were given such a stupid mini budget.

 

[duncanp]

This is where I do wish we had a little more power for our monacrch; this chaos is effectively in his name, but he is completely impotent at stopping it. There should be a mechanism whereby the monarch can dissolve parliament and force an election if it is clear the ruling party is unfit to govern and the general public want it.

Now, it would be near impossible to facilitate this in our constitution without opening up lots of avenues for a monarch to abuse it, so it will likely never be the case.

A similar situation arose in Australia in 1975, and the Governor General (acting on behalf of The Queen) did dismiss the Prime Minister without warning.

This was hugely controversial and led some people to call for Australia to become a republic.

King Charles is no doubt aware of this, but he can try and persuade and exert influence behind the scenes, possibly at his next weekly audience with Liz Truss, if she hasn't resigned by then.

Whether you have a monarchy or a republic, you need to have a written constitution which defines the circumstances under which the head of state can dismiss the Prime Minister.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I see the Independent has launched a petition calling for a general election now.

I can't help thinking that the time would probably be right for some non-party-political group to form and organise public campaign for an election. I can imagine a public demonstration/march calling for one would attract huge crowds.

 

[Simon11]

Statement from Downing Street coming at 1.30pm as per BBC news

 

[Howardh]

Statement from Downing Street coming at 1.30pm as per BBC news

Truss to go after the budget statement to be replaced by Sunak?

 

[Cowley]

Please let this be it…

 

[JamesT]

A similar situation arose in Australia in 1975, and the Governor General (acting on behalf of The Queen) did dismiss the Prime Minister without warning.

This was hugely controversial and led some people to call for Australia to become a republic.

King Charles is no doubt aware of this, but he can try and persuade and exert influence behind the scenes, possibly at his next weekly audience with Liz Truss, if she hasn't resigned by then.

Whether you have a monarchy or a republic, you need to have a written constitution which defines the circumstances under which the head of state can dismiss the Prime Minister.

The bar is set as being able to command the confidence of the House of Commons. It’s arguable that whilst Truss is still able to win votes that we haven’t reached a point that would justify an intervention by the monarch. In Australia they were unable to pass budget bills, which would cause the Government to fall in Westminster.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I think we’re up to 16 Tory MPs publicly calling for her to go.

But top marks for Truss’s spokesman for keeping a straight face when they said Truss had called the meeting with Brady so she could keep in touch with the mood of the party

 

[WatcherZero]

3 strikes, shes out!

 

[yorksrob]

I see the Independent has launched a petition calling for a general election now.

I can't help thinking that the time would probably be right for some non-party-political group to form and organise public campaign for an election. I can imagine a public demonstration/march calling for one would attract huge crowds.

They would have been better off promoting the existing petition.

 

[duncanp]

The bar is set as being able to command the confidence of the House of Commons. It’s arguable that whilst Truss is still able to win votes that we haven’t reached a point that would justify an intervention by the monarch. In Australia they were unable to pass budget bills, which would cause the Government to fall in Westminster.

The Prime Minister doesn't actually have to be the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons, or indeed the leader of any party.

There was a precedent for this in 1940 when Winston Churchill was appointed following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain.

Sky News have just said, according to "a number 10 source", that Liz Truss is going to resign.

 

[Howardh]

Please let this be it…

It is.

Stealing from the poor to give to the rich might not have been the best policy she could have chosen.

 

[Kite159]

Farewell Dizzy Lizzy!

 

[WatcherZero]

One week leadership election.
Will there only be one candidate to allow a coronation despite the rules previously being changed to prevent that?

Official briefing Conservative Leadership wanted her to last until the Economic statement on the 31st but decided she cant even last two weeks.