Liz Truss has promised that Britons will not have to ration energy this winter as Russia limits gas supply to European nations.
The prime minister said the soaring energy bills faced by Britons this winter and beyond are a “price worth paying” to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia and help secure the UK’s long-term security.
The UK and European allies have been seeking to divest from Russia’s fossil fuels, while Vladimir Putin has ratcheted up the pain by turning the taps off on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
She told reporters travelling with her to a United Nations summit in New York that Britain has “reliable supplies of energy” and rationing is not planned, though she said higher energy prices were a “strong incentive” for consumers to cut back.
The UN summit will see Ms Truss hold talks with Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and other world leaders.
She earlier revealed she does not expect to negotiate a trade deal with the US for years, depsite the claims of Brexit campaigners in her party that a deal would be forthcoming after Britain left the EU.
Biden hits out at ‘trickle-down’ economics, hours before meeting tax-cutting Truss
Joe Biden hit out at “trickle-down economics” as he prepared for a meeting with Liz Truss, who plans to slash taxes in the hope of stimulating growth.
Mr Biden said he was “sick and tired” of the theory that cutting taxes for businesses and the wealthy will see the benefits “trickle down” into the pockets of poorer workers.
His comments came as the prime minister and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng prepare for mini-budget on Friday that is expected to see previously planned increases in corporation tax scrapped and the hike in national insurance reversed, while also ending a curb on bankers’ bonuses.
While Mr Biden’s message was presumably intended for a domestic US audience, it underlines the economic and political divide between the Democrat in the White House and the free-market Tory in No 10.
The two leaders will meet in New York later, where they are both attending events as part of the United Nations general assembly.
MPs demand economic forecast at mini-Budget
MPs on the Treasury select committee have demanded an Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast alongside Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget on Friday to “provide reassurance and confidence to international markets and investors”.
“There has been a deterioration in our economic outlook since the last OBR forecast in March,” said Tory chairman Mel Stride. “Under these circumstances, it is vital that an independent OBR forecast is provided.”
But Downing Street indicated that there will be no OBR forecast for the fiscal statement. A No 10 spokesperson said: “The OBR’s forecast process usually takes 10 weeks, and whilst we could have asked the OBR to do one for this event, given the need to move swiftly this would have involved compromises in the quality and the completeness of a forecast.”
Downing Street said it remained committed to two forecasts in the fiscal year, suggesting one would come at the time of the Budget and another in the spring.
Liz Truss concedes not all her policies will be ‘popular’
Liz Truss conceded not all her policies will be “popular” as she prepares to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses while millions feel the squeeze of the cost-of-living crisis.
Instead, the PM defended measures to swell “the size of the pie” as she struck out those with “vested interests” who will oppose her policies aimed at boosting economic growth.
She pledged the lower taxes chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is set to announce in his mini-budget on Friday will “lead to economic growth, there is no doubt in my mind about that”.
Critics have taken issue with the timing of the likely lifting of the bankers’ cap introduced by European Union legislation in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. It limits annual pay-outs to twice a banker’s salary.
With the policy all but confirmed, Ms Truss pointed to Mr Kwarteng’s upcoming announcement when asked about the proposal as she flew to New York for a UN summit.
What is important is what makes Britain more competitive,” she told reporters.
UK considers joining new ‘European political community’
Liz Truss is weighing up whether to take Britain into a new “European political community” being championed by Emmanuel Macron.
The club of “democratic European nations” is due to hold its first meeting in Prague in October – a day after Tory party conference.
Jon Stone reports:
UK considers joining new ‘European political community’
Emmanuel Macron has championed the idea and says it could be a useful forum for discussion
PM insists Britons will not have to ration energy
The prime minister insisted she would not be telling Britons to ration their energy use this winter as the Russian President limits gas supplies to Europe.
Liz Truss has said soaring energy bills are a “price worth paying” to secure the UK’s “long-term security” as the fight against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine causes costs to spike.
Ms Truss’s multibillion-pound price guarantee will prevent average annual household bills going past £2,500 but the nation is already feeling the pain of rising inflation.
The UK and European allies have been seeking to divest from Russia’s fossil fuels, and Mr Putin has ratcheted up the pain as he turns the taps off on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
She told reporters travelling with her to a United Nations summit in New York that the UK “cannot jeopardise our security for the sake of cheap energy”.
“The point I’m the point that I’m making is that it’s a price worth paying for Britain, because our long-term security is paramount,” she added.
Tory MP calls for OBR forecast alongside new chancellor’s mini-budget
The Tory chair of the Commons Treasury Committee has called for a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to coincide with the new chancellor’s mini-budget later this week.
Kwasi Kwarteng will lay out his agenda on Friday.
However, Mel Stride, an ally of failed leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak, said an OBR forecast was necessary to “provide reassurance and confidence to international markets and investors”.
“There has been a deterioration in our economic outlook since the last OBR forecast in March. There have been significant fiscal interventions since then and we are told there will be further significant interventions including major permanent tax cuts to be announced on Friday,” he added.
“Under these circumstances, it is vital that an independent OBR forecast is provided.”
Liz Truss backs No 10 chief of staff caught up in FBI bribery probe
Liz Truss has offered her backing to No 10 chief of staff Mark Fullbrook after he was interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery plot.
The prime minister’s closest adviser was questioned as a witness in a US Department of Justice (DoJ) and FBI investigation, it emerged on Sunday.
Asked if Ms Truss was standing by Mr Fullbrook “100 per cent”, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Yes … He has her full support.”
Read more here:
Liz Truss backs No 10 chief of staff caught up in FBI bribery probe
Mark Fullbrook has PM’s ‘full support’, says No 10 after details of witness interview emerge
Possible Welsh tourism tax criticised by business
Plans for a tourism tax in Wales have been criticised by businesses.
The Welsh government hopes to follow countries like Greece in giving councils the ability to charge visitors staying overnight.
Finance minister Rebecca Evans has said the “small contribution” would be spent on improving beaches, pavements, parks, toilets and footpaths.
However, some have complained that the tax could deter visitors, who are already contending with the cost-of-living crisis.
Christopher Frost, the chair of North Wales Tourism, said he understood the motivation for the levy, but warned that the “the economic and social landscape has changed exponentially since the last election”.
He added that the move will “add further to the cost of doing business, will hit the confidence of an industry that has not yet overcome the challenges of the pandemic and will create further bad publicity for an industry that is already struggling”.
UK boosts funding for crackdowns in Gulf states guilty of human rights abuses
The UK is quietly boosting funding to help Gulf countries condemned for human rights abuses improve “public order” and implement crackdowns, including on children.
Saudi Arabia, which executed 81 men in a single day in March, is receiving cash for “counter terrorism” as well as for “strategic communications” and “influencer engagement”, a document shows.
The regime in Riyadh has also provoked outrage by handing a 34-year jail sentence to a Saudi student and mother-of-two at Leeds University for retweeting posts by dissidents.
Read the full report here by our deputy political editor, Rob Merrick.
