British Prime Minister Liz Truss was found to have barely survived an altercation with opposition leader Keir Starmer during a question-and-answer session in parliament. But that wouldn’t turn out to be the strongest blow on Wednesday. Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigned over a security breach – she sent an official document on migration policy from a private email. But in his letter of resignation, he also made it clear that he was “concerned about the direction of the government.” And it’s not the only one.
The day, which would turn out to be chaotic, began with the information advanced by the Post on Sundaythat at least 54 Conservative MPs have already written a letter to the leader of the 1922 committee withdrawing confidence in the prime minister. This represents 15% of the party’s total deputies and would be enough to provoke a vote of censure, but during the first year in office this rule does not apply. The rules are subject to change, however, with Graham Brady Truss warning that if he reaches 50% of the delegates, it will.
Even before the prime minister was questioned by deputies in parliament, the prime minister saw one of her top advisers, Jason Stein, suspended for allegedly insulting deputy Sajid Javid. The former health minister was supposed to ask one of the questions during the debate, but ultimately did not do so.
In Parliament, Truss heard Starmer’s question: “What’s the point of a prime minister whose promises don’t last even a week?” or “Why is she still here?” In the first duel since the appointment of a new Treasury Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and recalling nearly every tax cut announced in the controversial Sept. 23 mini-Budget, Truss replied: “I’m a fighter, not a quitter” after I apologized again and insisted he’s “willing to make the tough decisions”.
The opposition leader’s attacks were not enough to take down Truss, who even contradicted Hunt – in an apparent demonstration that he will still be in control. The finance minister had said on Monday that he was not determined to increase pensions – to the value of the highest indicator: average income, inflation (which reached 10.1% in September) or 2.5%. But Truss reiterated that she kept that promise.
Minister’s resignation
The worst seemed over, but the chaos continued, with the Prime Minister’s Office to cancel a visit from Truss scheduled for noon, about an hour after it was confirmed. Truss was already dealing with the resignation of the Home Secretary at the time – breaking the record for the shortest term in office: 43 days. According to Sky News, the document Braverman sent contained sensitive information that would affect the Office of Budgetary Responsibility’s economic forecasts.
British media suspect Hunt had a hand in resigning, not least because one of his allies, Grant Shapps, former Transport Secretary, is the new holder of the portfolio. For the opposition, this resignation is a sign of “total chaos” and that the government is “falling apart”.
The minister’s departure would have been a blow, but the letter of resignation was a stab in the back for Truss. “The job of government depends on people taking responsibility for their mistakes. Pretending we didn’t make mistakes, going on as if no one saw we made them, and hoping it will magically end well is no serious politics. I made a mistake. wrong; I accept responsibility; I resign,” Braverman wrote.
The former minister also admitted these are “troublesome times” but questioned the government’s direction, speaking of “major promises that have been broken” and “serious concerns about the government’s commitment to deliver”. what is written in the conservative manifesto.
Before the end of the day, more headache for Truss. Labor had tabled a motion to ban fracking, the process of extracting oil and natural gas from shale rock. In the morning, the person responsible for maintaining voting discipline among Conservatives, Wendy Morton, ordered delegates to vote against, claiming the vote was a “vote of confidence” to the government. – and the rebels would be expelled from the parliamentary group. But just before the vote, the Secretary of State for Climate, Graham Stuart, will have denied that it was a vote of no confidence, causing confusion.
In the end, Labor lost by 326 votes to 230 (none of them Conservative), but 40 Tories (including Truss himself) abstained or were absent. In addition, the vote was marred by allegations of bullying and deputies being “physically dragged” to vote, culminating in Morton’s resignation.
Source: DN
