Daily Archives: 18 Sep 2023

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Planning applications validated by EDDC for week beginning 4 September

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Thought for the day: Truss Untrussed 

According to widespread reports, including www.politico.eu, Truss is set to make an appearance at next month’s Tory party conference.

She is widely expected to play a role in the contest for control of the Conservative Party should Rishi Sunak lose the next election. A government official said she has been seeking to establish links with prospective candidates and tapping up potential allies. A person close to Truss tells Esther: “She’s already been reselected and very much hopes to be reelected next year and to play her part in debates inside the Conservative Party and in the Westminster sphere.”

Where does this leave Simon Jupp?

Remember Simon Jupp lost no time a year ago in joining “Team Truss”, despite having followed his old mentor Dominic Raab in backing Sunak, saying:

“I have been appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. It’s an unpaid, non-ministerial role. With a new PM, there’s a lot to cover – including levelling up, national planning policy, overseeing local government, and introducing more devolution with deals being discussed in Devon and Cornwall. As your MP, East Devon will of course come first.”

As Owl commented at the time: emphasising growth through investment zone tax breaks rather than long-term investment in the infrastructure we are all crying out for; and deregulation across the board to encourage “build,build, build” housing development at all costs were Truss’ priorities at the time.

Well it all ended in tears after she and Kwarteng crashed the economy, leaving us with a shattered economy and a colossal bill.

Simon Jupp, ever the opportunist, jumped ship to Sunak. 

“I accepted a position in government because I wanted it to work. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

“Rishi Sunak has already set out his stall to the nation. He’s got the experience needed to lead the nation and the knowledge to restore economic credibility.

“I’m backing Rishi Sunak for PM.”

And was again duly rewarded within a month as a PPS to the Secretary for State for Transport, though this is a significantly more “junior” ministry, see order of precedence.

Time for more fizz with Lizz?

Perhaps Simon will share his thoughts “going forwards” with us on social media? – Owl

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Liz Truss will never give up

How many ghosts haunt the Tory party?

The failed UK prime minister is still fighting for her economic agenda — and her legacy.

Esther Webber www.politico.eu 

LONDON — Her term in office was famously shorter-lived than a salad vegetable. But that doesn’t mean Liz Truss is ready to admit she was wrong.

A year on from the pivotal event of her doomed premiership — the ill-fated “mini-budget which sent U.K. financial markets into a tailspin — one might expect the former British prime minister to mark the anniversary in silence … or perhaps in hiding. 

Not Liz Truss. On Monday Truss will try to take ownership of the narrative with a high-profile speech in Westminster to mark the anniversary, defending her economic record and setting out a “vision” for faster growth.

Truss will insist her tax-cutting policies, had they been fully implemented, would have triggered significant investment into the U.K. and sparked long-term improvements to economic growth — and only had to be junked due to intense pressure from “the political and economic establishment.”

“I was effectively forced into a policy reversal under the threat of a U.K. meltdown,” she will say. “The policies I advocate simply aren’t fashionable on the London dinner party circuit.”

Monday’s anniversary-week speech is just the latest act of defiance from a former PM who has stubbornly refused to be sidelined by the collapse of her own political career.

This month Truss also announced she’s writing a book on foreign policy, and has launched her own Westminster think tank, the Growth Commission, to advocate her policy platform.

A fighter, not a quitter

If Truss appears strangely undeterred by her disastrous spell in Downing Street, it comes as little surprise to those who have followed her career over the last 13 years. 

“She was able to rise to the top of the party because she has the skin of a rhino,” says James Heale, a journalist for Tory bible the Spectator, who co-authored her biography, Out of the Blue.

Indeed, Truss’ peculiar ability to shrug off setbacks can be traced to the earliest stages of her career.

She only ascended to high office after enduring a series of bitter and highly personal fights, from her battle to win a parliamentary seat in the late 2000s — against a local Tory faction in rural England which allies dubbed “the Turnip Taliban” — to her determination to relaunch herself after being demoted from the Cabinet in 2017.

“She’s very busy, very focused, very driven,” Kwasi Kwarteng, her friend and former Chancellor, told POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast this month. “She’s not been one to hang around and reflect. She charges ahead.”

David Jones, a long-serving Conservative MP who backed her for leader last year, added: “As she said at her last PMQs [Prime Minister’s Questions], she’s a fighter not a quitter. She will simply continue.”

Not all Truss’ fellow Conservatives regard this as a strength.

One former MP who worked alongside her in government described her as “really lacking in EQ [emotional intelligence], the way she goes about things.”

Underpinning Truss’ stubbornness is her commitment to an ideological project which she clearly sees as unfinished. 

In the domestic arena, she still wants to push deregulation and tax cuts as a path to higher growth, and on foreign policy, she argues the West must take a far more muscular approach in dealing with China. 

The last laugh?

Truss’ determination to intervene on these core issues will only be strengthened by her belief, shared by some in the Tory party, that she largely has been proven right — particularly in her analysis of the U.K.’s economic woes.

One ally of Truss remarked that “the first draft of history, as written last autumn, will be looked at as having been overly harsh.” They noted that her diagnosis of failures by the Bank of England and the pensions regulator have since gained wider traction.

“Clearly, she’s concerned about the lack of policies for growth,” added Jones. “I don’t think there’s any doubt at all that we do need to stimulate growth, and that’s something that needs to be grasped.”

Certainly, Truss’ intense focus on economic growth has become more fashionable since she left office. The issue is being trumpeted as a priority not only by some of Truss’ fellow Conservatives, but also by Labour leader Keir Starmer, who used a speech this summer to insist “growth, growth, growth” should be the focus of the nation.

Others in the party think she is claiming too much credit for a fairly unremarkable point, and that her frequent public interventions do the Tories more harm than good.

“If politics was just about having the right idea, then professors would be politicians,” said a second former colleague of Truss.

“Every time she says anything conspicuous, the public is reminded that Liz Truss was prime minister and that it wasn’t some sort of fever dream. We should be trying to push that further into the past.”

Never give in

The public seems to agree. In a survey by YouGov this month, 81 percent said she had done badly as prime minister, including 80 percent of Conservative voters.

Yet Truss shows no signs of letting up. 

She is set to make an appearance at next month’s Conservative Party conference, where she has long been a popular figure among the libertarian grassroots. The presence of a controversial ex-PM is unlikely to boost the chances of a drama-free gathering in Manchester. 

And she’s widely expected to play a role in the contest for control of the Conservative Party if they lose the next election. A government official said Truss has already been seeking to establish links with prospective Tory candidates, tapping up potential allies for the future.

The same Truss ally quoted above said the 48-year-old former leader has no intention of walking away from politics next year.

“She’s already been reselected (as a Tory MP) and very much hopes to be re-elected next year, and to play her part in debates inside the Conservative Party and in the Westminster sphere.” 

Indeed, Truss recently told the Mail on Sunday she “will not rest” until Britain undergoes the radical economic change she wants to see. There is no reason to doubt that she means it.

Aggie Chambre contributed reporting.

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Truss challenges Sunak to cut taxes and delay net zero target as she defends her mini-budget

Liz Truss will use a speech tomorrow (18 September) to defend decisions made during her short-lived tenure in Downing Street and call on Rishi Sunak to cut taxes and shrink welfare spending.

Eleanor Langford inews.co.uk 

One year on from her infamous “mini-budget”, which sparked an economic crisis and ultimately led to her reisgnation, Ms Truss will claim that the UK would be in a better economic position today if Rishi Sunak had continued her policies.

In a speech at the Institute for Government, the former prime minister will also urge her successor to embrace free market ideologies, and ditch some green commitments amid cost-of-living pressures on voters.

Ms Truss will claim that “25 years of economic consensus” have caused the UK to experience a “period of stagnation”.

She will blame Britain’s poor growth in recent decades on a shift from free-market capitalist economics to a “corporatist social democracy”, and is set to argue that Conservatives have allowed the “left to frame the economic debate for the last quarter of a century”.

The former PM will argue that she “sought to take on this consensus to try and get the British economy on a better trajectory” during her stint in No 10 through tax cuts, supply-side reform and freezing public spending.

She will claim Mr Sunak’s Government has spent £35 billion more than she would have as prime minister, arguing that if the policies included in her growth plan had been followed, growth would have eventually been higher.

“[Centre for Economics and Business Research] analysis at the time suggested that if the policies had been kept in place, GDP growth would have been 2 per cent higher than otherwise by 2030, and investment would be up 10 per cent and could even have been stronger,” Ms Truss will say.

“This would have been even greater in the longer term. The 20-year GDP impact is normally three to four times bigger. And we can see from evidence on the ground the impact the policies would have had.”

Her staunch defence of her economic approach has been criticised by opposition parties, with Labour calling on Mr Sunak to block her resignation honours list.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth criticised reports that up to 14 people “who crashed the economy, who left millions to pay more for their mortgage and who undermined our economic institutions could receive an award”.

He said suggestions that Mr Sunak would be following convention by approving her list showed “weak leadership and lack of grip over your own party”.

Commenting on Ms Truss’s speech, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said: “Liz Truss giving a speech on economic growth is like an arsonist giving a talk on fire safety.

“The Conservatives blew a hole in the nation’s finances, added hundreds of pounds to people’s mortgages and are still fighting like rats in a sack as our economy flatlines.

Her party has also called on the government to strip her of the annual allowance which can be claimed ex-PMs towards office costs and security measures.

“Allowing Truss continued access to this taxpayers’ cash is a slap in the face for every family still suffering the consequences of her disastrous economic experiment,” Ms Cooper added.

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Boris Johnson: Officials discussed raising concerns about former PM to Queen

Senior government officials spoke to Buckingham Palace at the height of the pandemic to express their concern about Boris Johnson’s conduct in office, the BBC has been told.

By Laura Kuenssberg www.bbc.co.uk

Officials even discussed suggesting to the Queen she raise the concerns with Mr Johnson during private audiences.

The revelation comes in episode two of the BBC documentary series, Laura Kuenssberg: State of Chaos.

It explores the turmoil in Westminster and Whitehall over four years.

Based on interviews with key players at the top of government, the series covers the period between 2016 and the departure of Liz Truss as prime minister in 2022.

In May 2020, as the government was grappling with the pandemic, there were significant tensions between Mr Johnson’s political team and the Civil Service.

Now, sources have revealed that senior officials expressed their fears about the former prime minister’s conduct in government to Buckingham Palace.

There were a number of clashes between Dominic Cummings, the former prime minister’s controversial chief of staff, and the head of the Civil Service, who subsequently left, Sir Mark Sedwill.

It’s understood officials expressed their worries to the Palace in the hope the Queen could raise concerns in her private conversations.

It’s understood there were a number of phone calls and communications over and above routine communication between Number 10 and the Palace.

One source said the then-prime minister “had to be reminded of the constitution”.

Another source described the atmosphere in Downing Street during that period as “utterly grim, and totally crazy”, saying relationships had been “just toxic” and the links between Mr Johnson’s team and the Civil Service “broke down”.

There had already been worries at Buckingham Palace about Mr Johnson’s government’s behaviour after the Commons had been kept closed the previous summer – the so-called “prorogation” in 2019 which had been technically carried out by the Queen.

That move that was subsequently judged by the Supreme Court to have broken the law. A source has told the BBC that raised “acute concern”.

Speaking in the documentary, the former deputy cabinet secretary, Helen MacNamara, refused to discuss the calls to Buckingham Palace.

“There were definitely times after the prime minister came back from his illness [he contracted Covid and required hospital treatment] when the kind of the perception amongst the political team at Number 10 about the failings of the system and the failings of the Civil Service and the failings of different institutions, it was just so extreme the way that they were articulating that, they were in absolutely kind of smash everything up, shut it all down, start again… we were systematically in real trouble,” she said.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

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Kwarteng turns on Truss and says she was ‘not wired’ to be PM

Kwasi Kwarteng has said Liz Truss was “not wired” to be prime minister, as the former chancellor turned on his old boss on the anniversary of their mini-Budget disaster.

Adam Forrest www.independent.co.uk

It comes as it emerged a radical “flat tax” that would have seen all workers pay only 20 per cent was considered for their autumn statement which sparked economic and political turmoil.

One year on from Ms Truss’s spree of unfunded tax cuts, the former PM is set to launch an astonishing attack on Rishi Sunak’s government – claiming it has spent £35bn more than she would have if she had remained at No 10.

The short-lived premier will use a speech on Monday to defend her time in charge, nearly a year on from the ill-fated mini-Budget that helped end her premiership after only six weeks.

In his most frank interview yet, Mr Kwarteng questioned Ms Truss’s temperament and claimed she would have “blown up” something – even if the pair had escaped the mess of the autumn statement.

“I love her dearly, she’s a great person, very sincere and honest,” he told the Telegraph’s political editor in a new book. “But if it hadn’t been the mini-Budget, she would have blown up on something else.”

The former chancellor added: “I just don’t think her temperament was right. She was just not wired to be a prime minister.”

Mr Kwarteng revealed in a new book by Ben Riley-Smith, The Right to Rule, that he thought his sacking by Ms Truss only six days before her own exit was “completely insane”.

Summoned to her office after a trip to Washington DC amid economic turmoil, Ms Truss was said to be in tears at having to fire him. “They’re going to come after you now,” Mr Kwarteng said.

He added: “They’re going to ask you: If you’ve sacked him for doing what you campaigned on, why are you still there?”

Told Jeremy Hunt was going to replace him, Mr Kwarteng fumed: “Hunt?! He’s going to reverse everything!” Before leaving he told the PM: “You’ve got three weeks.”

It also emerged that the Truss government considered a radically right-wing proposal for a flat tax on income of 20 per cent, submitted by the then business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg. The idea was reportedly referred to as “full Estonia” by senior Tories – but was rejected by Mr Kwarteng.

Despite a fresh round of scrutiny and criticism of the mini-Budget, Ms Truss is set to defend her ideas at a speech at the Institute for Government and criticise Mr Sunak’s economic policy.

Ms Truss will reportedly point out that under her plans £18.4bn would have been saved in 2023-24, with another £17.1bn in 2024-25.

She will claim the PM was wrong to put more into public services since taking office and will say she wanted to save money by increasing benefits with wages rather than the higher rate of inflation.

“Even those modest savings did not command the support of the parliamentary party,” Ms Truss is expected to say. “It is a very serious issue for those of us who want to see smaller government that currently making significant changes to spending simply doesn’t have enough political support.”

The comments are set to spark another round of infighting, with some on the Tory right keen to see spending cuts to pay for tax reductions.

Andy Street, the influential Tory mayor of the West Midlands, warned Mr Sunak against the idea of a real-terms cut to benefits – thought to be under consideration. He told The Observer a rise in line with inflation “has to happen again because that’s a real symbol”.

Meanwhile, Labour said Britain’s homeowners have taken a hit of more than £300bn in the year since the Truss mini-Budget.

The party pointed to a fall of around 5 per cent in house prices since September 2022, saying it meant UK households have seen £336bn wiped off the value of their property in the last year.

Pat McFadden, shadow Cabinet Office minister, said families continued to suffer “thanks to Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous casino economics”.