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Liz Truss insists it is 'unfair' to blame her for interest rate rises

Liz Truss - Carl Court/Getty Images
Liz Truss - Carl Court/Getty Images

Liz Truss has insisted it is "unfair" to blame her short-lived government for interest rate rises in her second intervention in as many days.

Ms Truss also argued the Conservative Party did not represent "fertile ground" for her economic vision after her mini-budget spooked the markets and led to a mutiny among her own MPs that saw her forced out after just 49 days.

In an interview with Spectator TV, the former prime minister said: "The reason there was a specific issue around the time we’re talking about in September, a lot of it is to do with the liability driven investments and the impact they had on the market. So I don’t think it’s fair to blame interest rises on what we did. I think that’s unfair."

She insisted that while she did not "regret" entering No 10, she had no appetite for another attempt at becoming party leader and insisted she will be "supporting" Rishi Sunak.

"I definitely want to be part of promoting a pro-growth agenda," Ms Truss added. "I definitely want to carry on as an MP. I’m positive about the future of Britain and I’m positive about the future of the Conservative Party. I think we need to start building more of a strong intellectual base. But I’m not desperate to get back into Number 10, no."


06:29 PM

That's all for today...

Thanks for joining Jack and I as another day in Westminster comes to a close, with Liz Truss on unapologetic form in her interview with Spectator TV tonight.

The former prime minister said that with hindsight, abolishing the 45p top rate of tax may have been "a bridge too far" - but remained unrepentant about her tax-cutting agenda.

Liz Truss - Spectator TV
Liz Truss - Spectator TV

In what will be seen as a swipe at some of her Conservative colleagues, Ms Truss added the Tory Party was not "fertile ground" for much of her economic vision after mutinous backbenchers and a turbulent market cut short her time in Downing Street to just 49 days.

She also insisted that while she did not regret her time in office, a return to No 10 was not on the table.

Rishi Sunak, her successor, was reminded of the scale of the task at hand tonight - as Labour's polling lead increased to 26 percentage points over that of his own party.

My colleague Jack Maidment will be back early tomorrow morning to guide you through another day.


06:15 PM

Tonight's view from Westminster (via Steve Baker)

The Northern Ireland minister has this scenic shot of SW1:


06:01 PM

Liz Truss: Tory party was not ‘fertile ground’ for tax cuts

Liz Truss has said the Conservative Party was not "fertile ground" for the tax-cutting agenda she tried to implement during her brief premiership.

The former prime minister, who was forced out of office last October, said her wing of the party’s failure to win the tax argument was why she had decided to speak out to promote a "pro-growth" agenda.

Liz Truss - Spectator TV
Liz Truss - Spectator TV

But she pledged that despite differences over tax, she would be loyal to her successor Rishi Sunak.

Daniel Martin, our Deputy Political Editor, has your full debrief


05:57 PM

Boris Johnson: Labour has no clue on border security

A certain Boris Johnson intervened during home affairs questions in the Commons today.

"Isn't it obvious from today's exhcanges that many of those who oppose the UK-Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership have no idea about Rwanda, have probably never been there, and are and are wholly wrong to condescend and to disparage Rwanda in the way that they do?" Mr Johnson said.

"And above all, they have not the ghost of an idea about how to solve the problem of cross-channel gangs putting people at sea? And the difference between our side and them [Labour] is we have a plan and they don't?"

Suella Braverman, the home secretary, replied by making clear her "thanks and appreciation to him for all he has done" on Channel crossings.

"Labour complain and they sit on the sidelines, they criticise and they post, they vote against every measure we put forward. What I urge them to do is back our Bill, back control over our borders and back the British people."


05:53 PM

Biggest Labour lead since Sunak entered No 10

Labour has recorded its biggest lead with one pollster since Rishi Sunak became prime minister, a survey showed this evening.

Sir Keir Starmer's party is currently polling at 50 per cent while Mr Sunak's Conservatives are on 24 per cent, according to Redfield & Wilton Strategies.

The Liberal Democrats are on 10 per cent, Reform UK six per cent and the Greens five per cent.


05:46 PM

Lib Dems brand Liz Truss 'washed up'

Liz Truss is just "another washed-up Conservative minister", the Liberal Democrats said this evening.

Daisy Cooper, the party's deputy leader, said Ms Truss "wrecked the economy [and] sent mortgages spiralling" after the release of her unapologetic video interview this evening.

"Like Boris Johnson or Matt Hancock, Truss is another washed up Conservative minister brazenly refusing to take responsibility for their actions," Ms Cooper said.

"If Liz Truss had any self-awareness she would turn down the £115,000 taxpayer-funded allowance she has pocketed for her forty days of failure."


05:42 PM

Liz Truss: I'll be supporting Rishi Sunak

From tonight's Spectator TV interview:

Katy Balls: Do you regret going for Prime Minister?

Liz Truss: No, I don’t regret it.

KB: And would you want to be Prime Minister again?

LT: No.

Fraser Nelson: I thought you were a never-say-never sort of person

LT: I definitely want to be part of promoting a pro-growth agenda. I definitely want to carry on as an MP. I’m positive about the future of Britain and I’m positive about the future of the Conservative Party. I think we need to start building more of a strong intellectual base. But I’m not desperate to get back into Number 10, no.

KB: And Rishi Sunak, you’ll be supporting him?

LT: I will be supporting him.


05:35 PM

'Trying to fatten the pig on market day'

Liz Truss has conceded she may have been "trying to fatten the pig on market day" in the hope of growing the economy.

The former prime minister said she was in a "very difficult position" by the time last year's chaotic Conservative Party conference arrived and she found herself having to row back on much of her tax-cutting agenda.

"It’s never a 'good time' to cut the top rate of tax, that’s the reality. The thing about doing the job is you never know what it looks like from the outside because you’re consumed by doing what you have to do."

Ms Truss added the decision to sack Kwasi Kwarteng, her chancellor, was "extremely difficult" amid "very serious warnings from senior officials" about a meltdown in the markets if she did not take action.

"I can see that at the time I was just thinking: how do I make sure there's not a market meltdown? So I wasn’t really focused on my long term future – I was focused on making sure the country wasn't in a serious situation."


05:27 PM

Liz Truss: Abolishing 45p tax rate may have been a 'bridge too far'

Pressed on whether she regretted putting the abolition of the 45p top tax rate in the mini-budget, Liz Truss said "we could all think different things with hindsight, and perhaps it was a bridge too far".

Ms Truss insisted it was not a "magic bullet" and there were further market wobbles as well as the "forced" reversal of her cut to corporation tax.

"So although, maybe it was a step too far, who knows?" she said. "This is my point about counterfactuals. It’s easy to say, 'I still believe it’s the right thing to do for Britain'. During the vast majority of the Labour government we had a 40p top tax rate.

"The problem is that it goes back to the point about: why have we not won the argument for the past ten years? About keeping taxes low, giving people more control of their own money, and cutting business regulation. Why have we not won those arguments?

"Because we have tried to placate a lot of the distributionists and those are people in Britain who think the pie isn’t going to get any bigger, the only economic debate is about how we divide it between different people. I fundamentally don’t agree with that. I think if you have lower taxes right across the board the country becomes more successful and that benefits everybody. I think that’s the argument we fundamentally haven’t won."


05:22 PM

'What we were talking about is not raising taxes!'

I think it's worth pointing out that the vast majority of the Mini Budget was the energy package. Plus the two measures that I’d announced during the leadership campaign: reversing National Insurance and keeping Corporation Tax low. 

And a lot of people refer to 'unfunded tax cuts'. What we were talking about is not raising taxes!

That's what we were - by and large - talking about.  And the other measures were fairly small in the general scheme of things. So the vast bulk of the Mini Budget were things that had already been heavily trailed.

The way we looked at [abolishing the 45p rate of tax] we wanted to be as clear as possible that Britain was open for business. We wanted to attract investment, we wanted to attract people to the United Kingdom, we wanted to attract business and we also wanted to make sure that everybody right across the income scale had the opportunity, had the incentive to work and to participate in the economy, that’s why we did it.

I think economically it was absolutely the right thing to do. I appreciate what you say about the politics and perhaps I underestimated the political impact it had.


05:18 PM

Liz Truss: My growth drive didn't find 'fertile ground'

Liz Truss said this evening the Conservative Party did not represent "fertile ground" for her economic agenda.

"What I found trying to make those arguments - that low taxes are a good thing, that they will help attract investment into Britain, that that will drive economic growth and that economic growth will benefit everybody - those arguments didn’t fall on particularly fertile ground," Ms Truss told Spectator TV.

Asked whether this extended to her own party, she responded: "Including in my own party. But, I think, broadly across the media the arguments that we might have made 20 years ago that were taken for granted are no longer readily believed."

Ms Truss added she was "surprised" when Joe Biden, the US President, weighed in to criticise her tax policy at the height of market turbulence in the wake of the mini-budget.


05:11 PM

'Why now?'

Liz Truss has insisted she "stopped a lot of businesses going out of business" with the energy support package her Government signed off in its first week.

Asked why she has chosen now to break a silence that has lasted more than three months, Ms Truss told Spectator TV she "wanted to take some time to look at what happened and look at what lessons I could learn".

"I wanted to change things, that’s why I put myself forward to be Prime Minister. That didn’t work out and though there were some things that we managed to achieve," she said.

"Namely, the energy package which prevented people facing very high bills that winter and, I believe, stopped a lot of businesses going out of business - we also were able to get rid of the Health and Social Care Levy and eliminate that from our tax system."

"I think one of the things I underestimated was the sort of scale of the orthodoxy. During the leadership election campaign I talked about the Treasury orthodoxy, I talked about the fact that we’d ended up in a situation where we had the highest taxes for 70 years: we had quite big government! So I believed it was doable. But I knew it would be tough, I just probably didn’t realise quite how tough."


05:03 PM

Breaking: Don't blame me for interest rate rises, says Liz Truss

Liz Truss has insisted it is "unfair" to blame her short-lived government for interest rate rises in her second intervention in as many days.

Ms Truss also argued the Conservative Party did not represent "fertile ground" for her economic vision after her mini-budget spooked the markets and led to a mutiny among her own MPs that saw her forced out after just 49 days.

In an interview with Spectator TV, the former prime minister said: "The reason there was a specific issue around the time we’re talking about in September, a lot of it is to do with the liability driven investments and the impact they had on the market. So I don’t think it’s fair to blame interest rises on what we did. I think that’s unfair."

She insisted that while she did not "regret" entering No 10, she had no appetite for another attempt at becoming party leader and insisted she will be "supporting" Rishi Sunak.

"I definitely want to be part of promoting a pro-growth agenda," Ms Truss added. "I definitely want to carry on as an MP. I’m positive about the future of Britain and I’m positive about the future of the Conservative Party. I think we need to start building more of a strong intellectual base. But I’m not desperate to get back into Number 10, no."


04:51 PM

10 minutes to go...

... until Liz Truss's interview with Spectator TV goes live.

It is the former prime minister's second public intervention since she left Downing Street, following her Sunday Telegraph article published over the weekend.

I will be bringing you all the latest from the interview, plus reaction and analysis.


04:27 PM

Nicola Sturgeon ‘can’t recall’ when she found out husband had lent £100,000 to SNP

Nicola Sturgeon has said she "can’t recall" when she found out that her husband had lent more than £100,000 to the SNP to help it address "cashflow issues".

The First Minister claimed that the sum, which Peter Murrell – who is also chief executive of the SNP – gave to the party as an interest-free loan was "his resources" as she was asked about the "unusual" financial arrangement.

Nicola Sturgeon - Jane Barlow/Pool/Getty Images
Nicola Sturgeon - Jane Barlow/Pool/Getty Images

However, she declined to categorically state that she had not been a part owner of all or some of the cash lent to the party she leads.

Ms Sturgeon was challenged over the loan after she published her tax returns, which suggest she has no significant income beyond her salary as First Minister – which stood at £140,496 in 2021-22.

Daniel Sanderson, our Scottish Correspondent, has more here


04:12 PM

Could Boris surpass Churchill in his return from the wilderness?

The political comeback is a contradictory concept: it's an essential topic for columnists and political correspondents, and yet one for which their audience have little sympathy, writes Tom Harris.

Offering party leaders a second or even third chance at glory seems today to be an old fashioned idea, and one that finds very little favour among voters.

This is a departure from previous decades, when tolerance of defeat and failure, and therefore support for having another go, was far greater.

Take Winston Churchill, rejected as prime minister the first chance the public were given a say on the matter in 1945, but who stayed on as Leader of the Opposition and became prime minister for a second time six years later.

Read more: Why Johnson's return to No 10 cannot be ruled out


04:04 PM

Good afternoon

Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph's Political Reporter, taking you through the rest of today.

There is less than an hour to go until Liz Truss's first sit-down interview since departing Downing Street as she speaks to The Spectator's Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about her time in office.

Meanwhile Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, will take part in the first of a series of monthly phone-ins on LBC from 7pm as she answers questions from listeners on Labour's vision for the economy.


03:56 PM

UK search and rescue teams to arrive in Turkey by 11pm UK time

A UK team of search and rescue specialists is expected to arrive in Turkey by 11pm UK time this evening, according to the Government.

Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, responding to an urgent question in the House of Lords, told peers: "A UK international search and rescue team will be deployed and will commence lifesaving activity within the critical 72 hours.

"They will depart via a charter flight from Birmingham at 1800 today and will arrive in Turkey by 2300 UK time tonight."


02:58 PM

Liz Truss's first interview since leaving No10 out at 5pm

After penning a 4,000 word essay on her time in Downing Street for The Telegraph, Liz Truss has given her first sit down interview since leaving No10 to The Spectator.

The interview is due to be broadcast at 5pm.


02:23 PM

Sir Keir Starmer's 'thoughts are with everyone affected' by earthquake


02:10 PM

Steve Barclay 'keen to hear' from Liz Truss

Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, said he agreed with Liz Truss's point that economic growth is key and he is "keen to hear" from the former prime minister after her return to the political frontline on Sunday.

When asked whether he welcomed Ms Truss’ intervention in The Telegraph, Mr Barclay said: "I think Liz is focusing on the importance of growth and I agree that it is absolutely key, we’ve got to get growth in the economy.

Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, is pictured during a visit to Kingston Hospital in south west London today - Stefan Rousseau /PA
Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, is pictured during a visit to Kingston Hospital in south west London today - Stefan Rousseau /PA

"It’s only through having a strong economy that we can pay for our NHS, pay for our public services. So it is right to focus on growth and it is right that through focusing on growth that we’ll then get the investment into the wider public sector."

He added: "I’m keen to hear from Liz, she brings huge experience as a former Cabinet minister, she was one of the longest-serving Cabinet ministers and I think it’s good to hear from colleagues including former prime ministers."


01:10 PM

UK sending 'immediate support' to Turkey

The UK is sending "immediate support" to Turkey after the country was hit by a massive earthquake, the Foreign Office has announced.

A total of 76 UK search and rescue specialists are being sent to the country along with four search dogs and rescue equipment, arriving in Turkey this evening.

James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, said: "The UK is sending immediate support to Türkiye including a team of 76 search and rescue specialists, equipment and rescue dogs.

"In Syria, the UK-funded White Helmets have mobilised their resources to respond. We stand ready to provide further support as needed."


01:04 PM

'No plans' for UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights - No10

Downing Street said there are "no plans" to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) after reports that such a move could be considered.

Asked whether there were any circumstances in which the UK would consider leaving the ECHR, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: "There are no plans for Government to take that approach. The policy both in terms of this and elsewhere will be compliant with our international obligations."


12:44 PM

Health Secretary insists big pay rise for NHS staff would be inflationary

Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, has made clear that the Government is not willing to reopen the pay settlement for health workers for the current financial year - a key demand of unions in the ongoing dispute.

He said the two sides should be "looking forward" to the settlement for the next financial year.

He said he does not think "it is right to go back to last year, to last April, retrospectively, we should be looking forward to the pay review body that is taking evidence now and working constructively with the trade unions ensuring that the evidence that goes to the pay review body reflects the wider pressure that the NHS has been under".

The Health Secretary also defended the Government’s position that awarding a large pay rise could make inflation worse.

He said: "Just a few days ago, the Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said that wages are a factor in the bank’s approach in terms of inflation and interest rates."


12:35 PM

'No plans' for Rishi Sunak to intervene on NHS union pay talks

Downing Street today said there are "no plans" for Rishi Sunak to personally intervene in pay talks with unions to avert further NHS strikes.

Unions have called for the Prime Minister to get involved in order to break the deadlock but No10 said "there is no plans for that".


12:22 PM

No10: No update on when Rishi Sunak will publish his tax returns

No10 said there is no update on when Rishi Sunak will publish his tax returns after Nicola Sturgeon published hers this morning.

Mr Sunak said last week that the documents would be published "shortly".


12:20 PM

'Of course we wouldn't accept that'

Downing Street has rejected the Royal College of Nursing's claim that Rishi Sunak is "punishing" nurses (see the post below at 08.07).

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: "Of course we wouldn’t accept that. The Government has responsibility across the entirety of the UK and indeed across all public sectors and to consider the impact any decisions on public sector pay has on all taxpayers, the majority of whom work in the private sector."


12:18 PM

Downing Street: NHS strike action 'deeply regrettable'

Downing Street said today's strike by nurses and ambulance workers is "deeply regrettable" as it repeated its call to unions to call off industrial action.

The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman said: "It is accurate that the decision by unions to take the strike action will cause disruption in the NHS. Obviously that feeds into our efforts to tackle the backlogs and that is deeply regrettable.

"It is unions that have the capability to call off these strikes and that is within their gift and we would continue to urge them to do so so they can talk to us about this year’s pay, talk to us about some of the reforms that we think can be achieved to both help them and help the NHS."


12:08 PM

No10 unable to say if Rishi Sunak has read Liz Truss's essay

Downing Street was unable to say at lunchtime whether Rishi Sunak has read Liz Truss's 4,000 word essay on her time in No10.

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said that Mr Sunak listens to "all former prime ministers" when they make interventions but that he has already set out his main priorities.


11:32 AM

Truss intervention 'the last thing the country needs right now' - Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, claimed Liz Truss's return to the political fray is the "last thing that this country needs right now".

Speaking to broadcasters in Bristol, Sir Keir said: "I have to say, my heart sunk at the idea of former prime ministers taking the stage to tell us about what they did. They did huge damage to our country and to our economy.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is pictured during a visit to a school in Bristol today - Matthew Horwood /Getty Images Europe
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is pictured during a visit to a school in Bristol today - Matthew Horwood /Getty Images Europe

"And there are millions of people across the country still paying the price for the failures, well, 13 years failure of this Conservative government, so what the country needs is for us to move forward. We’re not going be able to do that until we have a general election now and a fresh start under Labour.

"But the former prime ministers' contest of who was the biggest failure is just about the last thing that this country needs right now."


11:19 AM

Sir Keir Starmer on NHS strikes: Ministers are 'sitting this one out'

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Government of "sitting this one out" when it comes to negotiating with striking nurses and ambulance staff.

Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Airbus in Filton, near Bristol, the Labour leader said: "The widespread strikes today are a badge of shame for the Government. Nobody wants to see these strikes, nobody wants to be on strike - the last thing nurses want to do is to be on strike.

"What they do want is a Government that can show leadership, get around the negotiating table and settle this dispute. Before Christmas, the nurses made clear that if the Government was to get in the room and talk to them about pay, they wouldn’t be on strike.

"I think many people listening to this will be absolutely flabbergasted that the Government is still sitting this one out, not showing any leadership in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, making the situation much worse than it otherwise would be."


11:12 AM

David Lammy: 'UK must play its part' after earthquake in Turkey and Syria


10:41 AM

Nicola Sturgeon publishes tax returns

Nicola Sturgeon has published her tax returns for the last six years.

The Scottish First Minister said in a statement: "I previously committed to being open and transparent to the people of Scotland about my own earnings. Today's publication makes good on that commitment.

"These documents show clearly that my sole source of income is my job as First Minister - the office which I have the immense privilege of holding.

"I hope other party leaders - including the Prime Minister - will follow suit in an effort to promote transparency in public office."

The most recent return lists a total income of £140,496 from her employment as an MSP and First Minister.

The decision will put pressure on Rishi Sunak to name a date for publishing his tax returns. The Prime Minister has pledged to release the information.


10:39 AM

Union chief claims Rishi Sunak 'choosing strikes over talking'

Rishi Sunak is "choosing strikes over talking", the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing has claimed.

She told Times Radio: "Patients in the NHS are getting a raw deal every day of the week. Care is unsafe and it's at risk... the support for our nursing staff is strong.

"The Government should not expect this to diminish and our members are willing to forgo another day's pay to get this Government to do the right thing, and it cannot be in vain.

"This is in the hands of the Prime Minister. I sent that out in a letter to him on Saturday night, and I await his response, but he really really needs now to put an urgency to this, get round a table, negotiate and call off these strikes. He's choosing strikes over talking."


10:32 AM

Government has made it 'loud and clear' it will not discuss pay - RCN chief

Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said the Government had made it "loud and clear" that it is not willing to discuss pay for the current financial year.

She told Times Radio: "The Government needs to meet me halfway... I've had three meetings with [Health Secretary] Steve Barclay. On the three occasions, he has made it loud and clear, we will discuss anything but pay.

"It's been weeks now, weeks since I've heard from any government minister, knowing that there's two days of action happening."

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen, speaks to workers on the picket line outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London - Kirsty O'Connor/PA
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen, speaks to workers on the picket line outside the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London - Kirsty O'Connor/PA

10:23 AM

Pictured: Nurses at a picket line outside the Royal Marsden Hospital in London

Nurses protest at a picket line outside the Royal Marsden Hospital in London this morning - Kevin Coombs/Reuters
Nurses protest at a picket line outside the Royal Marsden Hospital in London this morning - Kevin Coombs/Reuters

10:21 AM

Liz Truss set to reignite China row with Rishi Sunak

Liz Truss will call for a tough approach to the threat posed by China in her first speech since leaving Downing Street, in a fresh challenge to Rishi Sunak.

The former prime minister is due to deliver a speech in Japan on February 17, in which she will warn that the threat posed by China is not being taken seriously enough.

It is set to reignite a Tory leadership campaign row between Ms Truss and Mr Sunak over who would take the toughest stance against Beijing.

You can read the full story here.


09:58 AM

Rishi Sunak pledges UK help after earthquake in Turkey and Syria


09:47 AM

Dominic Raab is 'at the top end of the robustness scale', says Sir Robert Buckland

Sir Robert Buckland, the former Cabinet minister, said he would put Dominic Raab "at the top end of the robustness scale" after the former acknowledged they had a "disagreement" about the Justice Secretary's proposed British Bill of Rights (see the post below at 08.44).

Asked where he would put Mr Raab on a one to 10 scale, Sir Robert told LBC Radio: "Well, I think he is at the top end of the robustness scale, I don't think anybody would deny that in dealings with him.

"I don't know. I have not been a minister in the same department with Dominic. I can't comment about the substance of these allegations, we have got to let due process take its course and he will be judged according to that, I am sure."


09:32 AM

Minister' 'Extremely difficult' to revisit nurses' pay for this year

Health minister Maria Caulfield suggested it would cost "billions of pounds" to reopen this year’s pay settlement for nurses in England because the Government would then have to do the same for other public sector workers.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the "door is firmly open" to further talks with health unions regarding next year’s pay process.

Asked whether there is a "possibility" that negotiations could include looking at 2022/23 pay, she said: "The Secretary of State and the Prime Minister have been clear that that would be extremely difficult to do because it wouldn’t just be for nurses – you would have teachers saying ‘Could we open this year’s pay settlement?’, you’ve got ambulance drivers, rail workers…

"There is a range of public sector workers who would also want the same request. Across the board, you’re talking about billions of pounds to pay for that, and we want to put that into frontline services, as we are doing now."


09:03 AM

Pictured: Nurses on a picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in central London

Striking nurses are pictured on a picket line outside St. Thomas' Hospital in central London today - Carlos Jasso/Bloomberg
Striking nurses are pictured on a picket line outside St. Thomas' Hospital in central London today - Carlos Jasso/Bloomberg

08:59 AM

Nation faces 'constant cycle' of NHS strike action

There will be a "constant cycle" of NHS strike action until the Government commits to proper negotiations on pay, a union boss has said.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said: "What we need is the talks to happen with Rishi Sunak or/and Stephen Barclay on pay, we can get an offer and then we can put that off to the members.

"That’s what needs to happen. Until that happens, we are in this constant cycle of having strike action, which obviously nobody wants.

"Our members do not want to be on strike. They want to be at work serving the country."


08:57 AM

NHS boss predicts 'hugely disrupted' day across the health service

NHS services will be "hugely disrupted" today as a result of nurses and ambulance workers both walking out, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers said.

Saffron Cordery told Sky News: "I think it’s going to be a hugely disrupted day across the NHS, it’s going to be incredibly challenging.

"With both nurses and ambulance staff out on strike today, and nurses again tomorrow and we’ve got physiotherapist later in the week and some ambulance staff again on Friday, We’re planning for an incredibly disrupted week."

She added: "What we previously had with industrial action has been, for example community nursing staff being able to plug the gaps left when ambulance staff are out on strike, but obviously with nurses and ambulances out today, that’s going to be incredibly difficult."


08:52 AM

'There is always a risk'

Health minister Maria Caulfield said patients could be put at risk "the longer that strikes go on".

Asked on Sky News whether nurse and ambulance staff striking in England were "putting lives at risk", Ms Caulfield said: "There is a risk to patients the longer that strikes go on. So if your operation is cancelled the first time, there is probably a minimum risk. If that’s cancelled time and time again because of ongoing strikes, then patients become more poorly and there is always a risk.

"And with ambulance strikes, if someone’s having a heart attack or a stroke, that does increase someone’s risk the longer that response time is."


08:47 AM

Pictured: Boris Johnson braces the cold for a morning run

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, is pictured running in central London this morning - Jeremy Selwyn /Selwyn Pics
Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, is pictured running in central London this morning - Jeremy Selwyn /Selwyn Pics

08:44 AM

Sir Robert Buckland acknowledges 'disagreement' with Dominic Raab

Dominic Raab allegedly tried to get Sir Robert Buckland sacked as Welsh secretary in August last year after the latter publicly criticised the former's proposed British Bill of Rights in an article for The Telegraph, according to a story in The Times today.

Sir Robert this morning acknowledged that he had "a disagreement" with Mr Raab over the article but they have "moved on now".

When asked whether it was true that Mr Raab said Mr Buckland would have to be sacked or resign if the article were published, the Tory MP told LBC Radio: "I don’t want to rake back through the coals of what happened last summer. Dominic and I have a disagreement about his bill of rights, clearly he wasn’t going to agree with the article that I did write in The Telegraph.

"I was talking about the Government to come – that is the Government post-Boris Johnson, and felt that it was entirely appropriate to do that.

"There are robust disagreements in politics. I’m old enough and ugly enough to hold my own corner, and Dominic is known for his robustness as well. There was a disagreement, but we’ve moved on.

"I very much hope that the bill of rights is radically reformed, by the way, and that we have a more measured set of reforms, and that debate will carry on."


08:31 AM

Government cannot afford 'inflation-busting pay rises' for NHS staff - minister

The Government cannot afford the "inflation-busting pay rises" being demanded by health unions, a health minister has said.

Maria Caulfield, who is a nurse, told GB News: "I’m an RCN member myself, so I sit in both camps, if you like. Absolutely, I have a lot of sympathy.

"But we also have a responsibility to the taxpayer and we’ve followed an independent process with the pay review body that unions signed up to and were very happy with the settlement last year.

"And it is difficult for us now if we are to give a pay (rise) to nurses, we would have to look at teachers, ambulance drivers. We just can’t afford inflation-busting pay rises that the unions are currently demanding."


08:28 AM

Minister responds to Liz Truss: 'Where we can cut tax, we will'

Westminster continues to react this morning to Liz Truss's return to the political frontline after the former premier penned a 4,000 word essay for The Telegraph about her time in No10 (you can read the full piece here).

Her defence of her tax-cutting agenda has sparked much debate in Whitehall and has put the pressure on Rishi Sunak over his aversion to cutting taxes in the immediate future.

Maria Caulfield, a health minister, was asked for her opinion this morning and she told GB News that the Government will "look at reducing tax further" only when inflation has fallen.

"I think as Grant Shapps said yesterday I think as Conservatives we are all wanting to see people keep more of the money they earn through low taxation and if you look when we first came into government in 2010 we raised the tax threshold, it was around £6,000 now you have to be earning over £12,500 before you pay tax, the same with National Insurance," she said.

"So where we can cut tax, we will. But the biggest enemy to every household at the moment is inflation and whether you get a five per cent pay rise or a ten per cent pay rise that is completely swallowed up at the moment by inflation and inflation busting pay rises will not fix that.

"So we have to get inflation down, it is one of the PM’s top priorities to halve that, just as Margaret Thatcher did when she came into government and once we get inflation down we can absolutely look at reducing tax further."


08:18 AM

Health minister suggests NHS strikes will put lives at risk

Maria Caulfied, a health minister, has appeared to concede that today's NHS strike action will put lives at risk.

Asked the question during an interview on GB News this morning, Ms Caulfield said the walkout will make things "very difficult" and strikes always "have an impact on patients".

She said: "I think it is going to be very difficult. Obviously we have put in as much preparation as possible, working with NHS Trusts again to minimise disruption to patients and to make sure that for urgent and emergency care that there are backup services in place.

"But obviously any time that there is disruption to NHS services it does have an impact on patients, particularly with ongoing strikes."


08:16 AM

Pictured: Ambulance workers strike in Liverpool

Striking ambulance workers picket outside Fazakerley Ambulance Station in Liverpool this morning - Adam Vaughan /Shutterstock
Striking ambulance workers picket outside Fazakerley Ambulance Station in Liverpool this morning - Adam Vaughan /Shutterstock

08:14 AM

NHS losing 'significant numbers' of nurses to agencies over pay - RCN chief

Poor pay levels in the NHS are prompting "significant numbers" of staff nurses to quit and go to work for an agency instead, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said.

Pat Cullen accused the Government of "short-termism" as she criticised ministers for failing to make more money available for pay rises.

Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, is pictured this morning outside St Mary's Hospital in London - Belinda Jiao
Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, is pictured this morning outside St Mary's Hospital in London - Belinda Jiao

Asked if the NHS is losing nurses to agencies, she told ITV's Good Morning Britain programme: "Yes, we are. Significant numbers. For a number of reasons. Simply because they can earn an extra few pounds we are losing those nurses out of the NHS, giving up their NHS contracts to do that.

"And again, that is the short-termism of this Government who pushed nurses to that position."


08:11 AM

Rishi Sunak must 'step up and step out' to resolve NHS strikes

Rishi Sunak must "step up and step out" to stop further strikes in the NHS, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said this morning.

Pat Cullen told ITV's Good Morning Britain programme: "They are standing up for their patients and listen, today the Prime Minister must step up and step out and resolve these strikes for the people of this country and for nursing staff."


08:07 AM

Royal College of Nursing chief accuses Rishi Sunak of 'punishing' nurses

Pat Cullen, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, has accused Rishi Sunak of punishing nurses as tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance workers in England walkout today in what is expected to be the biggest strike in NHS history.

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain programme, Ms Cullen said: "I wrote to him on Saturday and again I am waiting on a response and I haven’t got one and I think that says a lot given that he knows that we are taking strike action today and tomorrow.

"I said to him look, that he can stop the strikes happening, he can get round a table and start talking to me. It is now weeks since I have heard from anyone in his government, knowing that today and tomorrow is happening.

"I did say clearly to him that he must start to talk to me. He is punishing nurses now in England. These nurses are now paid the worst across the UK when you look at what has happened in Wales and Scotland. Is that fair? It most certainly isn’t."