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  • Liz Truss – 2022 Statement Resigning as Prime Minister and Leader of Conservative Party

    Liz Truss – 2022 Statement Resigning as Prime Minister and Leader of Conservative Party

    The statement made by Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, at Downing Street, London, on 20 October 2022.

    I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability.

    Families and businesses were worried about how to pay their bills.

    Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine threatens the security of our whole continent.

    And our country had been held back for too long by low economic growth.

    I was elected by the Conservative Party with a mandate to change this.

    We delivered on energy bills and on cutting national insurance.

    And we set out a vision for a low tax, high growth economy – that would take advantage of the freedoms of Brexit.

    I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.

    I have therefore spoken to His Majesty The King to notify him that I am resigning as Leader of the Conservative Party.

    This morning I met the Chair of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady.

    We have agreed there will be a leadership election to be completed in the next week.

    This will ensure we remain on a path to deliver our fiscal plans and maintain our country’s economic stability and national security.

    I will remain as Prime Minister until a successor has been chosen.

    Thank you.

  • Rosena Allin-Khan – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    Rosena Allin-Khan – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    The comments made by Rosena Allin-Khan, the Labour MP for Tooting, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    The Conservative Party has lost all authority to lead Britain. They’re wrecking the country.

    Keir Starmer is ready to govern, Labour are ready to govern. We need a General Election, now.

  • Ed Miliband – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    Ed Miliband – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    The comments made by Ed Miliband, the Shadow Business Secretary, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    The Conservative Party is unfit to govern. 12 years of failure, 5 Prime Ministers, and working people paying the price. We need a General Election now.

  • Marsha de Cordova – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    Marsha de Cordova – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    The comments made by Marsha de Cordova, the Labour MP for Battersea, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    It is right that the Prime Minister has resigned. She never had the mandate or authority to govern our country.

    Under her leadership, the country lurched from one crisis to another. In 45 days, she had crashed the economy, the pound and the reputation of the country. Many of my constituents will pay the price for her and the Tory Party’s reckless actions.

    They should be utterly ashamed of their actions over the past year, first under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and now Liz Truss. Once again, they put their interests over that of the country and caused serious long-term damage.

    Their behaviour shows the true level of entitlement and contempt they have for the people.

    We are living in a Tory crisis: made in Downing Street, paid for by the people.

    We urgently need to restore integrity and trust in our democracy. This starts with a General Election.

  • Rebecca Long-Bailey – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    Rebecca Long-Bailey – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    The comments made by Rebecca Long-Bailey, the Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    The PM is finally gone, but this chaos is crippling the country. We need a #GeneralElection now.

  • Ian Blackford – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    Ian Blackford – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    The comments made by Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    It was inevitable Liz Truss would have to go after all the damage she’s inflicted – but merely swapping leaders of a broken and chaotic Tory government is not enough.

    There must now be a general election. People will accept nothing less.

  • Mhairi Black – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    Mhairi Black – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    The comments made by Mhairi Black, the SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    It’s like the Tories subscribed for a free month trial and have just remembered to cancel it.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    Nicola Sturgeon – 2022 Comments on the Resignation of Liz Truss

    The comments made by Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.

    There are no words to describe this utter shambles adequately. It’s beyond hyperbole – & parody.

    Reality though is that ordinary people are paying the price.

    The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now.

    A General Election is now a democratic imperative.

  • Jesse Norman – 2022 Statement on the Role of the Chinese Consul General

    Jesse Norman – 2022 Statement on the Role of the Chinese Consul General

    The statement made by Jesse Norman, the Ministers for the Americas and Overseas Territories, in the House of Commons on 20 October 2022.

    I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his question and deeply aware of the strength of feeling in this House and the other place about the scenes of violence at the consulate of the People’s Republic of China in Manchester on Sunday afternoon. I am happy to provide an update on our response. You have been kind enough, Mr Speaker, to indicate that you will allow me to speak for a couple more minutes to set out the position.

    As the House will know, on Sunday afternoon officials were in touch with Greater Manchester police regarding the incident. On Monday, officials spoke to the Chinese embassy to express our very serious concerns at the reports and demand an explanation. FCDO officials were clear that all diplomats and consular staff based in the UK must respect UK laws and regulations. On Tuesday, I announced in this House that the Foreign Secretary had issued a summons to express His Majesty’s Government’s deep concern at the incident and demand an explanation for the apparent actions of the staff at the consulate general.

    Following my statement, the Chinese chargé d’affaires attended a summons at the FCDO in his capacity as acting ambassador. For the avoidance of any doubt, I should say that the Chinese ambassador is currently out of the UK and it is standard practice in such circumstances to summon the chargé d’affaires. I should also be clear that receiving an official summons from the Foreign Secretary is not, as has been described, a light rap on the knuckles but the delivery of a stern message, well understood within the context of diplomatic protocol. It is customary for senior officials to deliver such messages. These summons are not an invitation for an ambassador to have an audience with the Foreign Secretary or Ministers; in any case, given that the chargé d’affaires was involved, it was doubly appropriate that they should be delivered by a senior official.

    In the summons the official set out that peaceful protest is a fundamental part of British society and that everyone in the United Kingdom has the right to express their views peacefully and without fear of violence. He reiterated our clear expectation that diplomatic and consular staff should conduct themselves in accordance with UK law. We have made it absolutely clear to the Chinese embassy that the apparent behaviour of consulate general officials during the incident, as it appears from the footage—more of which is coming out, even as we discuss this—is completely unacceptable.

    The independent police investigation is now under way. Greater Manchester police have been clear that there are many strands to what is a complex and sensitive inquiry and that it may take some time. As the Foreign Secretary has said, we await the details of the investigation, but in the meantime I have instructed our ambassador to deliver a clear message directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing about the depth of concern at the apparent actions by consulate general staff. Let me be clear that if the police determine that there are grounds to charge any officials, we would expect the Chinese consulate to waive immunity for those officials. If it does not, diplomatic consequences will follow.

    Finally, allow me to reiterate to the House the value that we place on the Hong Kong community in the UK. When the national security law was imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, this Government acted immediately in announcing the scheme for British national overseas status holders and their dependants. Since then, more than 100,000 people and their families have made the decision to move to the UK to live, work and make it their new home. I want to put on the record, here, now, again and officially, a reaffirmation of our unwavering support for them and our commitment to their safety. They are most welcome here. Recognising the interest that this issue has across the House, the Government will seek to update the House on this matter next week.

  • Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Departure of the Home Secretary

    Yvette Cooper – 2022 Speech on the Departure of the Home Secretary

    The speech made by Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 20 October 2022.

    I notice that the Home Secretary is not in his place this morning, unless the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Brendan Clarke-Smith), has been appointed Home Secretary in the last few hours. To be honest, nothing would surprise us at the moment, because this is total chaos. We have a third Home Secretary in seven weeks. The Cabinet was appointed only six weeks ago, but the Home Secretary was sacked, the Chancellor was sacked and the Chief Whip was sacked and then unsacked. We then had the unedifying scenes last night of Conservative MPs fighting like rats in a sack. This is a disgrace.

    The former Home Secretary circulated a letter, and that seems to contradict what the Minister said. She said that the document was

    “a draft Written Ministerial Statement…due for publication imminently”

    that had already been briefed to MPs. Is that not true? Will he explain the answer to that? At what time did the former Home Secretary inform the Cabinet Secretary of the breach? Has a check been made of whether she sent other documents through personal emails, putting security at risk? Was there a 90-minute row about policy between the Prime Minister and the former Home Secretary? Given the huge disagreements we have seen in the last few weeks between the Prime Minister and the former Home Secretary on drugs policy, Rwanda, the India trade deal, seasonal agriculture, small boats—and with a bit of tofu thrown in over the lettuce for good measure—is anything about home affairs agreed on in the Cabinet?

    What we know is that the former Home Secretary has been running her ongoing leadership campaign while the current one is too busy to come to the House because he is doing his spreadsheets on the numbers for whoever he is backing to come next. But who is taking decisions on our national security? It is not the Prime Minister, nor the past or current Home Secretaries. Borders, security and policing are too important for that instability, just as people’s livelihoods are too important for the economic instability that the Conservative party has created. It is not fair on people. To quote the former Home Secretary, this is indeed a total “coalition of chaos”. Why should the country have to put up with this for a single extra day?

    Brendan Clarke-Smith

    I am sure that the right hon. Member is aware that breaches of the ministerial code are a matter for the Cabinet Office, not the Home Office, and that is why I, not the Home Secretary, am here to answer the urgent question. The Prime Minister took advice from the Cabinet Secretary, as we saw from her letter, and she is clear that it is important that the ministerial code is upheld and Cabinet responsibility is respected. The Prime Minister expects Ministers to uphold the highest standards. We have seen her act consistently in that regard.

    These were breaches of the code. The Prime Minister expects her Ministers to uphold the ministerial code, as the public also rightly expect, and she took the requisite advice from the Cabinet Secretary before taking the decision.

    I am mindful that it is not usual policy to comment in detail on such matters, but, if some background would be helpful—I appreciate that much of this is already in the public domain—the documents in question contained draft Government policy, which remained subject to Cabinet Committee agreement. Having such documents on a personal email account and sharing them outside of Government constituted clear breaches of the code—under sections 2.14 and 2.3, if that is helpful to look at. The Prime Minister is clear that the security of Government business is paramount, as is Cabinet responsibility, and Ministers must be held to the highest standards.