From 36m ago
Good morning. MPs return to the Commons after the party conference season today and, although Liz Truss has performed potentially quite a significant reset after the most disastrous first month in office of any prime minister in modern times, her problems still seem near impossible.
A report today from the Instute for Fiscal Studies highlights quite how dire the situation is. It says that the government will need to find ?60bn of savings by 2026 to fill the gap left by the unfunded tax cuts in the mini-budget. My colleague Phillip Inman has the story here.
This morning Th?r?se Coffey has been giving interviews. As well as health secretary and deputy prime minister, she seems to have been designated “minister for the Today programme” (No 10’s first choice for a broadcast round, when someone sounding calm and sensible is needed – previous holders of the post include Grant Shapps and Michael Fallon). On Sky News she was asked about the IFS report, and she responsded as if it were a moderately interesting academic excercise. Crucially, though, she did not at any point try to suggest that what the IFS was saying was wrong.
When Kay Burley asked about the IFS’s claim that there is a ?60bn black hole in the government’s accounts, Coffey replied:
The IFS obviously does its own modelling. The government works with the Bank of England and the OBR on these measures and that is what the Treasury has been working on …
But I think the IFS also pointed out, if we don’t grow, then this problem will get worse and worse. And that’s why, very clearly, the prime minister and chancellor set out a plan for growth.
Asked again how the government would fill this “black hole”, Coffey again said this was IFS modelling. Asked if it was right, she replied:
That’s not for me to say. That’s their forecasts. The chancellor will be speaking at the end of the month with the medium-term fiscal plan.
Burley tried again. She said the IFS said all government departments, except the NHS and defence, might have to face budget cuts of 15% to fill this “black hole”. Coffey replied:
I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals, Kay. The chancellor is working on that …
Later we will hear from Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, himself on this. He is taking questions in the Commons.
Here is the agenda for the day.
8.45am: Liz Truss chairs a meeting of political cabinet, followed by a normal cabinet.
10.30am: The supreme court starts hearing the case brought by the Scottish government arguing that it has the right to hold an independence referendum.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
1pm: Truss takes part in a virtual G7 summit, which will also be addressed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
2.30pm: Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3pm: Peers begin debating the second reading of the Northern Ireland protocol bill.
After 3.45pm: MPs begin debating the health and social care levy (repeal) bill.
4pm: Lord Frost, the Tory former Brexit minister, and Lord Mandelson, the Labour former Northern Ireland secretary and former trade secretary, give evidence to the Lords European affairs committee about Brexit.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com
The number of working-age adults in Britain who are not in the jobs market because they are long-term sick has increased to a record high, official figures show. My colleague Richard Partington has the story here.
The IFS report is not the only fresh blow to the credibility of the mini-budget around this morning. As my colleague Richard Partington reports, the Bank of England has stepped in with another emergency intervention in the markets in an attempt to stave off a “fire sale” of UK government bonds by pension funds.
My colleague Graeme Wearden has further coverage on his business live blog.
Good morning. MPs return to the Commons after the party conference season today and, although Liz Truss has performed potentially quite a significant reset after the most disastrous first month in office of any prime minister in modern times, her problems still seem near impossible.
A report today from the Instute for Fiscal Studies highlights quite how dire the situation is. It says that the government will need to find ?60bn of savings by 2026 to fill the gap left by the unfunded tax cuts in the mini-budget. My colleague Phillip Inman has the story here.
This morning Th?r?se Coffey has been giving interviews. As well as health secretary and deputy prime minister, she seems to have been designated “minister for the Today programme” (No 10’s first choice for a broadcast round, when someone sounding calm and sensible is needed – previous holders of the post include Grant Shapps and Michael Fallon). On Sky News she was asked about the IFS report, and she responsded as if it were a moderately interesting academic excercise. Crucially, though, she did not at any point try to suggest that what the IFS was saying was wrong.
When Kay Burley asked about the IFS’s claim that there is a ?60bn black hole in the government’s accounts, Coffey replied:
The IFS obviously does its own modelling. The government works with the Bank of England and the OBR on these measures and that is what the Treasury has been working on …
But I think the IFS also pointed out, if we don’t grow, then this problem will get worse and worse. And that’s why, very clearly, the prime minister and chancellor set out a plan for growth.
Asked again how the government would fill this “black hole”, Coffey again said this was IFS modelling. Asked if it was right, she replied:
That’s not for me to say. That’s their forecasts. The chancellor will be speaking at the end of the month with the medium-term fiscal plan.
Burley tried again. She said the IFS said all government departments, except the NHS and defence, might have to face budget cuts of 15% to fill this “black hole”. Coffey replied:
I’m just not going to get into hypotheticals, Kay. The chancellor is working on that …
Later we will hear from Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, himself on this. He is taking questions in the Commons.
Here is the agenda for the day.
8.45am: Liz Truss chairs a meeting of political cabinet, followed by a normal cabinet.
10.30am: The supreme court starts hearing the case brought by the Scottish government arguing that it has the right to hold an independence referendum.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
1pm: Truss takes part in a virtual G7 summit, which will also be addressed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
2.30pm: Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3pm: Peers begin debating the second reading of the Northern Ireland protocol bill.
After 3.45pm: MPs begin debating the health and social care levy (repeal) bill.
4pm: Lord Frost, the Tory former Brexit minister, and Lord Mandelson, the Labour former Northern Ireland secretary and former trade secretary, give evidence to the Lords European affairs committee about Brexit.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com
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