Will Liz Truss resign today?

[sunnydaytoday0]

Or maybe Tuesday at the latest? Would she really want to face the absolute public humiliation of PMQs on Wednesday?

The notion that Starmer could do any worse is risible. You are comparing him with the person who completely tanked the pound by taking steps which everyone who knew what they were talking about told her would tank the pound - and who then spent days trashing everyone who criticised her before doing a total U-turn and effectively admitting they were right (but without even having the grace to say so). This is the person whose appointees want to cut benefits, take away basic workers' rights, and trash important human rights. If there is one thing that is certain, Starmer would do none of that - so how can he not do better?

Johnson had a very credible lead just three years ago and now apparently he was no goid! Credible leads in a fickle public opinion does not speak of competance

You will see. We will get Starmer and he and his govermment will stifle every bit of enterprise in thiscountry

I doubt it, behind the scenes they are trying to find someone to take over.
The new one must be a proven character of some standing and a good speaker (to avoid a shambolic press conference like the 8minute special last Friday).
They must understand Finance so they can answer journalists in detail. Slogans and platitudes do not work.

Might be delayed until just before the budget at end of month.

Credible leads in a fickle public opinion does not speak of competance

Not but it credible leads do speak of credibility.

As I say, they may not be your preferred flavour, but it is not right to say they are not credible. They are. In the end, that fickle public opinion will be the deciding factor.

And frankly, my own personal view is that this bunch are so fucking awful. So terrible. So utterly utterly bloody shit that I am willing to gamble with anyone else but them.

You actually believe that shit?

Yes we need a general election. But who is actually up for the job ? Starmer doesn't do anything for me and the Labour party seem so wishy - washy on so many issues .

Lib dems are missing out on standing up and making themselves heard , as I think if they showed us strong values and a leader that was willing to show us that all they need is a chance to prove they could achieve something when others have failed , then the voting public might give them a chance.

We need a party , ( any party ) with strong values , no in house squabbles , and a leader that knows what they are doing .

Isn’t Hunt announcing a mini budget today?

.... Then the MPs could agree among themselves who they want as leader and have just one nomination for leader, so no need for an election and it could all be done and dusted quickly.

lolz 😂

Did you watch Starmer’s speech in Barnsley yesterday? He set out exactly what Labour plan to do. I’m getting tired of people accusing Labour of having no policies etc when they can’t be bothered to even do a quick Google search.

You left out the selling off of the NHS while our attention is diverted.

You actually believe that shit?

I don’t think anyone does, but hey, god loves a trier.

The only possible positive to come from this is that the Tories will be obliterated, PR is introduced and this sort of gaslighting nonsense we’ve all had to put up with is consigned to the dustbin of history, where it belongs. Along with JRM, Braverman, Coffey, the whole disgusting lot of them.

I'd be surprised if Labour want a GE because apparently they can't afford to campaign. Could say the polls mean they don't have to but all the 'don't knows' skewing the polls will have to decide how they'll vote or whether they will just draw a willy on their ballot paper and have done with it.

Both main parties are dreadful. Tories are out for themselves while Labour MPs wouldn't govern for our benefit but are rather led by the nose by their own children's whims - there's a reason they're so irrationally obsessed by trans and non-binary codswallop and espousing Thatcherite home ownership targets. Neither are/would be any good for normal people.

@Steakandquinoa

I hope your dh is ok 💐

Truss firstly announced the energy reforms which were needed - but expensive.

Then for some unknown reason Truss/Kwarteng announced tax cuts (or reversing increases) to corporation tax, the 45p higher tax rate and a reversal of the NI increase with “more cuts to come”.

This, together with the energy support is extremely expensive and there was no explanation of how it was all going to be funded other than through ‘growth’. Announcing such expensive schemes with no concrete means to pay for it (usually backed up by OBR forecasts) is economic suicide.

The ‘market’ was spooked because without explaining the funding, the default is that Government borrowing will increase - this in turn causes gilt prices to fall, and gilt yields to increase. Gilts are effectively investments that investors hold in the government, and basically the market was worried that the government couldn’t pay the increased interest.

The gilt volatility was problematic because pension funds hold gilts as investments and they ‘leverage’ them. I.e. they offer them as collateral (security) against other investments. So when gilt values plummet, pension funds have to fill the collateral (security) gap using other assets (cash) instead. But to get that cash they have to sell assets - which would’ve sparked a massive asset/equity sell off so the markets would’ve plummeted. The BoE stepped in to buy gilts (quantitative easing) when really they need to sell gilts to raise funds to support borrowing.

Hence market turmoil, because the BoE says it won’t buy any more gilts from today (they will….). Gilt prices have also been affected by the US gilt rates being attractive (for completeness).

So in short, by announcing unfunded expensive schemes, the government has caused market turmoil - which was predicted by Rishi. Truss is an accountant too - she should’ve known….. Hard for her to sack her Chancellor and stay in power herself when it was her vision.

However, almost all of the governments issues have been cause by the Ukraine conflict and Labour won’t really be any better placed (in my view).

She's just done the best thing so far since becoming PM - she's hired someone to sort her mess out - that'll give her another few days.

She's won't go until she has to, no one else is going to give her a well paid job.

We need a new PM fast though.

@Mumtofourandnomore Not defending Liz Truss, but being a management accountant via CIMA (her background) does not involve a focus on macroeconomics at all.

You know, Liz Truss has an amazing pension deal. A PM is entitled to half their final salary on leaving, regardless of how long they were in service. This can be paid right away but I think many of them choose to waive that right until age 65.

@Mumtofourandnomore I was listening to a Professor of Economics on the TV this morning and he said that pensions were never at risk and that the reason the BoE is stopping buying gilts is because hardly any of the pension companies approached them to do so ?

In answer to the question, no. Indeed I expect her to be in office but not in power for a while yet.

She will be getting a visit from the men in grey suits this week. She will go the same way as May did - the 'rules' didn't allow another VONC but Brady told her that if she didn't go they'd just change the rules anyway. Better to appear to fall on your sword than suffer the further humiliation of being publically ejected by your own party. 110+ letters in isn't something a PM can survive.

After that, we MUST have a GE. The ocuntry should not stand for the Tories inflicting another no-mark 'leader' on us without our consent.

As for 'hilarious', the only thing that's hilarious here is the fact that anyone still believes 'but Labour' is a decent argument. The Tories are a busted flush, damaging the country on a daily, hourly basis. To mis-coin a phrase - a period of silence on their part would be welcome.

country!

If they can’t afford to campaign they might want one now whilst the situation is doing a lot of the work for them.

I wouldn’t go for a GE yet though

We need a party , ( any party ) with strong values , no in house squabbles , and a leader that knows what they are doing

Yes indeedy.

We've got that - it's called Keir Starmer and the Labour Party.

Boris must be enjoying this beyond measure.

I think Graham Brady is just back from holiday today...give him a few days...she'll be gone by the end of the week.

The talk of 'no credible opposition' 'wishy washy policies' 'wokeness' and the old trope 'all entrepreneurs will leave the country' is so consistently trotted out I think the Daily Mail should be prosecuted for creating the most boring narrative known to man.

I vote for my Independent candidate as a rule, so I have no skin in the Labour game but honestly, these generalisations are so easy to challenge.

'No credible opposition' - the polls say differently, this is a minority view

'Wishy washy policies' - took me two mins to find Labour key policies: 'Britain in the world' 'A future where families come first' 'Public Services that work from the start' 'Safe and secure communities' 'Better jobs and better work' 'A green and digital future' www.policyforum.labour.org.uk/commissions

'All entrepreneurs will leave the country' - you honestly think that entrepreneurs are isolated robots who only care about their assets? They don't have families, kids in school, homes they love, hobbies they attend, communities they work in, friends they socialise with and a language and history that ties them to the place they live in? That's before you start on the process of living, residing and educating in a country you weren't born in. Come on!