Boris Johnson told public to buy £20 kettle to save £10 a year on energy bills
Liz Truss is expected to be announced as the new Prime Minister today after a grueling six-week leadership campaign.
Both the Foreign Secretary and Rishi Sunak have spent the past few weeks crisscrossing the country taking part in hunts in a bid to win over the 200,000 party members tasked with electing the next Tory leader.
Voting closed on Friday and the competition will end when Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, makes the formal announcement at lunchtime.
Before the results were announced, several reports suggested Ms Truss is strongly considering freezing energy bills to help households weather the cost of living crisis.
The Times reports that the package could be on the scale of the permit scheme introduced by the then chancellor Sunak.
The new leader is expected to make a speech after the leadership announcement, before spending the rest of the day finalizing his cabinet picks and wider ministerial posts and writing his first prime minister’s speech.
Johnson and his successor will go to Balmoral for the appointment of the new prime minister on Tuesday.
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Truss to consider ‘freezing energy bills due to economic squeeze’
Liz Truss is strongly considering freezing energy bills in a bid to ease the financial burden on households this winter.
Tipped to win the Tory leadership race, the foreign secretary remained tight-lipped on Sunday about the type of support package she might introduce as residents face the prospect of rising energy bills.
Reports in The Daily Telegraph and The Times suggest Ms Truss is likely to introduce a freeze on energy bills in some form. The package could be linked to the sale of the leave scheme introduced by then chancellor Rishi Sunak when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, The Times reported. However, the details of this policy are still being debated, according to the Telegraph.
Foreign Secretary and Conservative leadership hopeful Liz Truss arrives to speak during the latest Conservative leadership meetings at Wembley Arena on August 31, 2022 in London, England.
(Getty Images)
Mrs Truss had used a BBC interview on Sunday to insist she would reveal new support for struggling households within a week, but repeatedly refused to explain what those support measures might look like.
Before you’ve been elected prime minister, you don’t have all the resources to get things done. That’s why it will take us a week to work out the exact plans and make sure we can announce them. That’s why I can’t go into details at this stage. It would be wrong.
Liz Truss
Namita Singh September 5, 2022 4:47 am
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Boris Johnson: 21 of the outgoing prime minister’s biggest gaffes, from letterbox burkas to hiding in the fridge
Boris Johnson is finally stepping down as Prime Minister after almost three tumultuous years in power.
The MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip is being banished to the backbenches, at least for now, after the two candidates to replace him – Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak – ruled out giving him a cabinet job.
But the same Mr. Johnson, never one to shy away from the spotlight, recently refused to rule out some form of political “comeback”.
And there has already been speculation that he could have another “Trump-style” tilt at conservative leadership in the future.
Like Donald Trump, his political career so far has been full of gaffes, some more catastrophic than others.
From insulting entire cities, countries and cultures, the Etonian schoolboy has offended many during his time in the spotlight.
Here The Independent takes a look at some of Johnson’s most damaging and humiliating mistakes.
Burqas, kippers and Peppa Pig: twenty one of Boris Johnson’s biggest gaffes
Taking a look back at some notable moments in the historic career of the “greased pig”
Joe Middleton September 5, 2022 02:57
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Where does Boris Johnson rank in the pantheon of modern British Prime Ministers?
He is clearly not in Churchill’s or Thatcher’s first class, and his personal failings and precipitous fall from power mean he has relegated below Blair and Wilson to the second division. However, Brexit and his electoral success put him above May and Cameron, writes Sean O’Grady.
Where does Boris Johnson rank in the pantheon of modern British Prime Ministers?
He is clearly not in Churchill’s or Thatcher’s first class, and his personal failings and precipitous fall from power mean he has relegated below Blair and Wilson to the second division. Yet Brexit and his electoral success put him above May and Cameron, writes Sean O’Grady
Joe Middleton September 5, 2022 1:58 am
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Sadiq Khan calls for ‘Covid-style’ emergency support to ease energy bill pain
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged Boris Johnson’s successor to immediately introduce a “Covid-style” support package to help families facing poverty due to rising bills energetic
The Labor mayor said the next prime minister, whether Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak win the Tory leadership contest on Monday, needs to understand the scale of intervention needed on the cost of living crisis.
“With the spiraling cost of living hitting those on lower incomes hardest, it is essential the government takes urgent action to help make ends meet,” Khan told The Independent.
Sadiq Khan calls for ‘Covid-style’ support package to ease energy bill pain
Exclusive: Next Prime Minister’s ‘pandemic-style’ package needed, London mayor says, as new survey shows positive impact of intervention during Covid crisis
Joe Middleton 5 September 2022 00:58
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Truss promises action on energy bill “within a week” if he becomes prime minister
Truss promises action on energy bill “within a week” if he becomes prime minister
Joe Middleton September 4, 2022 11:59 p.m
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Refugee minister quits government, declares job ‘essentially complete’
Lord Harrington, who was appointed refugee minister in the wake of the war in Ukraine, has left government ahead of a new leader taking over.
In government since March, Lord Harrington stressed that his resignation is not a reflection of either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak and instead sees it as the right time to leave a “temporary” position.
Boris Johnson was among those to pay tribute to his efforts, with the outgoing prime minister saying his “wealth of experience” would be missed by the government.
Refugee minister quits government, declares job ‘essentially complete’
Lord Harrington says the process is already underway “which means a minister like me won’t necessarily be needed”.
Joe Middleton September 4, 2022 11:00 p.m
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Liz Truss warns she will make unpopular decisions as PM, defends tax cuts for the rich
Liz Truss has warned she will make unpopular decisions as prime minister and has defended tax cuts that benefit the rich as “fair”, despite growing calls to ditch them.
He promised immediate action on rising household bills if, as expected, he wins the keys to No 10 on Monday, promising a plan in his first week.
But despite the gathering storm clouds and warnings his response to the crisis could have to run into tens of billions of pounds, he said: “Britain has been through worse, frankly.”
Truss warns he will make unpopular decisions as PM, backs tax cuts for rich
On cost of living crisis, likely new PM says ‘Britain has been through worse’
Joe Middleton September 4, 2022 10:00 p.m
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Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky praises Boris Johnson as ‘true friend’ leaves office
Volodymyr Zelensky has praised his “true friend” and ally Boris Johnson, as the prime minister enters his final days in office.
In an indication of the Ukrainian president’s esteem for Johnson, Zelensky has written an article in the Mail on Sunday and spoken to the Sunday Times about his gratitude to the outgoing British prime minister.
In both, Zelensky expressed his hope for future “close relations” with Johnson’s successor, who could be in line for an invitation to visit Kyiv.
Zelensky praises Boris Johnson as ‘true friend’ leaves office
Ukraine’s president says he was “worried” when he heard there would be a new administration
Joe Middleton September 4, 2022 9:00 p.m
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Where does Boris Johnson rank in the pantheon of modern British Prime Ministers?
He is clearly not in Churchill’s or Thatcher’s first class, and his personal failings and precipitous fall from power mean he has relegated below Blair and Wilson to the second division. However, Brexit and his electoral success put him above May and Cameron, writes Sean O’Grady.
Where does Boris Johnson rank in the pantheon of modern British Prime Ministers?
He is clearly not in Churchill’s or Thatcher’s first class, and his personal failings and precipitous fall from power mean he has relegated below Blair and Wilson to the second division. Yet Brexit and his electoral success put him above May and Cameron, writes Sean O’Grady
Joe Middleton September 4, 2022 8:30 pm
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Truss says the tax cuts which could give high earners close to £2,000 are “fair”.
Liz Truss has described tax cuts that could hand nearly £2,000 to high earners as “fair” as a former Tory chancellor warned they would stoke already soaring inflation.
Lord Hammond said the cuts were “simply not the answer” and “wasn’t the right thing to do”.
Many Tory MPs also privately admit they fear Ms Truss’s plans will exacerbate inflation at a time when experts are already predicting it could reach as high as 22 per cent.
Kate Devlin has the details.
Truss says the tax cuts which could give high earners close to £2,000 are “fair”.
Former Tory chancellor warns inflation will rise
Joe Middleton September 4, 2022 8:00 p.m