Tory leadership – live: Liz Truss civil service anti-semitism claims ‘abhorrent’
The FDA boss which represents civil servants said the foreign secretary’s comments are ‘inflammatory’
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Liz Truss's claims that she will tackle “woke” Civil Service culture that “strays into antisemitism” are “inflammatory” and will be viewed as “insulting and abhorrent”, a union leader has warned.
The foreign secretary was blasted by the head of the FDA, which represents civil servants, for providing “no evidence for her accusation”, which he said “goes further than the usual dog-whistle politics” of the leadership election.
It comes after the Truss campaign said she would “change woke Civil Service culture that strays into antisemitism”.
In response, FDA general secretary Dave Penman said: “The Conservatives have been in Government for more than 12 years now and, for most of that time, Liz Truss has been a minister.
“A prime minister is also minister for the Civil Service, and throwing around such unfounded inflammatory accusations illustrates a lack of leadership, the very thing that she claims to be demonstrating.”
Sunak ramps up promises to tackle cost-of-living crisis
Rishi Sunak has ramped up his promises to tackle the cost-of-living crisis as he seeks to gain ground on his rival in the Tory leadership contest.
The former chancellor has said he is prepared to find up to £10 billion of extra support for those facing rising bills in the autumn – with a vision to cover the total cost for up to 16 million vulnerable people, according to The Times.
Amy Gibbons reports:
Sunak ramps up promises to tackle cost-of-living crisis
Former chancellor says people ‘need reassurance now about what we will do’ to tackle the burden inflicted by rising bills.
Brexit: Don’t rush into bad trade deal with India, business chiefs warn government
Top British business bodies have warned the government against rushing into a bad trade deal with India to meet a self-imposed deadline to get it “done by Diwali”.
Our politics correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Don’t rush post-Brexit trade deal with India, business chiefs warn
Focus on substance rather than Diwali deadline, trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told
Truss tax idea would save poorest just 76p a month, says Blair think tank
Liz Truss’s plan to reverse the recent increase in National Insurance contribution would save households on the lowest incomes an average of just 76p a month, according to the Tony Blair Institute, Adam Forrest reports.
The think tank said the tax cut would leave the richest households in the UK better off by £93 a month. Then institute also said Rishi Sunak’s proposals to cut VAT on fuel will have “little to no impact for low income households”.
Ian Mulheirn, chief economist at the Tony Blair Institute, said: “Ideas floating around in the Conservative leadership contest … will do almost nothing to help the people who are most exposed this winter.
“A serious response will require the new prime minister to extend and expand chancellor Sunak’s support package. The cost will be in the tens of billions, but there is no alternative.”
Coffey ‘insulted’ by GMB host’s claim in angry clash over energy bills
Theresa Coffey said she was insulted by a TV presenter’s suggestion that the government is playing politics with the cost of living crisis.
The work and pensions secretary, who is supporting Liz Truss in the Tory leadership contest, was asked why Ms Truss has refused to commit to offering more help with energy bills.
Ms Coffey claimed the best way to help families is to cut taxes.
Watch the exchange here:
Zahawi: Government has cost of living ‘options ready to go'
The government has a number of plans to tackle the cost of living crisis ready for the next prime minister to choose, Nadhim Zahawi has said.
The chancellor’s comments came after a government meeting with energy companies ended without any new measures to bring down rising gas and electricity bills.
He told Sky News: "My message to families today is: we will have those options ready to go.
"Yesterday I met with the industry to look at what more we can do with the industry on direct debit, on pre-payment meters, all the things that families are worried about, we're making sure we're doing the work so on September 5 the new prime minister can hit the ground running and get those things into place."
Asked if extra direct grants to families this winter are inevitable, Mr Zahawi said: "We're looking at all the options of what additional help we can deliver for families to get them through the winter - £37 billion, we're midway through that actual delivery."
More comments from the chancellor here:
Drought looms and private companies are failing us – water should be in public hands
While paying billions of pounds in dividends to their shareholders, water companies are wasting billions of litres of water every day, writes Carla Denyer.
Read Carla’s full piece here:
Opinion: Private companies are failing us – water should be in public hands
While paying billions of pounds in dividends to their shareholders, water companies are wasting billions of litres of water every day
Truss would change ‘woke’ civil service culture
Liz Truss claims she will target "woke" Civil Service culture that "strays into antisemitism" as part of efforts to protect and support the British Jewish community.
The foreign secretary has also set her sights on boosting links between the UK and Israel, with a plan to secure a free-trade deal, her campaign said.
In a written statement issued after she spoke at a synagogue in Manchester, Ms Truss insisted the culture in the Civil Service can be "changed".
She also pledged to review whether schools are doing enough to educate pupils and teachers about antisemitism, and said that university campuses must be "ridded" of the issue.
Ms Truss said: "Every organisation has its culture, but it's not fixed, it can be changed.
"That's what ministerial leadership is about: it's about making sure that the policies we represent, the values we stand for, are reflected in what we do."
PM: Public can expect more help with energy bills
Boris Johnson insisted on Friday that hard-hit households can expect extra help to tackle the spiralling cost of living and energy bills, regardless of who succeeds him as prime minister.
He also signalled that he believes the current package of measures are not enough to support British households amid a worsening economic outlook.
He said: “The price of energy we're going to bring down by investment in British supply in renewables, in nuclear and all the other.
"I'm not going to pretend that things are easy for people right now. You're right to push me because we're doing everything that we can.
"But there's more money coming anyway, as a result of the decisions being taken, there will be further help coming in October and in the new year."
Scrapping windfall tax would leave ‘black hole’ in Truss plan, says Sunak camp
The Rishi Sunak campaign has criticised Liz Truss over her comments on windfall taxes, our politics correspondent, Adam Forrest, reports.
Truss backer Therese Coffey refused six times this morning to say whether or not Truss will keep the existing windfall tax on oil and gas giants.
Truss told a hustings event last night that windfall taxes were about “bashing business”.
A Sunak campaign spokesman said scrapping the existing energy profits levy on oil and gas profits would blow “a further £5bn black hole in her plans”.
They added: “Hiding behind vague assertions will weary the public facing massive bill hikes in weeks. People need certainty now about whether they will get any extra help and when, and Truss needs to be honest about how it would be paid for.”
Boris Johnson is on holiday and the rest of the government has reached stalemate
It seems an eon since Johnson announced on 7 July – now 36 days ago – that he was stepping down and would hand over to a new Tory leader after the election of a successor, writes politics editor, Andrew Woodcock.
Read Andrew’s piece in full here:
Editor’s letter: Johnson’s on holiday and the government has reached stalemate
It seems an eon since Johnson announced on 7 July – now 36 days ago – that he was stepping down and would hand over to a new Tory leader after the election of a successor, writes Andrew Woodcock
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