Category Archives: kwasi kwarteng

Treasury Minister Dunked On For Premature Celebration Of Rising Pound

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The chief secretary to the Treasury has faced online ridicule after celebrating the rise in the pound – just before it repeatedly dropped to a 37-year low.

Chris Philp, second in command to chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, seemed thrilled as sterling rose against the US dollar briefly as his boss unveiled his mini-budget.

He tweeted: “Great to see sterling strengthening on the back of the new UK Growth Plan.”

But once the markets digested what amounted to tax cuts costing up to £45 billion annually, the currency went in reverse.

At its lowest point on Friday afternoon £1 could buy just 1.0896 US dollars – the worst exchange rate for Britons since 1985.

It was a drop of over 3%, and means the pound has lost more than 7% of its value against the dollar in just a month.

Twitter was in unforgiving mood.

Appearing on the BBC later, Philp said the markets will see that the government has a “credible and responsible” economic plan

He told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: “I think when the chancellor sets out his medium-term fiscal plan, which includes getting debt to GDP falling, then I think markets and others will see that we have a credible and responsible plan.”.

He also insisted the government has a “plan” to drive up GDP by 1% on current forecasts every year.

“I have every confidence that the objective we set out, the extra 1%, will be delivered. We’re not hoping, we’ve got a plan to do it.”

Philp rejected the idea that the government has abandoned the cautious approach to the public finances taken by previous Tory administrations.

Using more than £70 billion of increased borrowing, Kwarteng on Friday set out a package which included abolishing the top rate of income tax for the highest earners.

He cut stamp duty for homebuyers, and brought forward a cut to the basic rate of income tax, to 19p in the pound, a year early, to April, as part of tax cuts costing up to £45 billion annually.

Kwarteng told the Commons tax cuts are “central to solving the riddle of growth” as he confirmed plans to axe the cap on bankers’ bonuses while adding restrictions to the welfare system.

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Liz Truss Criticised Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Sacking Of Top Civil Servant

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Liz Truss has been criticised for the “unwise and unconstitutional” sacking of a top civil servant.

Tom Scholar was axed as the permanent secretary at the Treasury on Kwasi Kwarteng’s first day as chancellor.

He said Kwarteng had decided it was time for “new leadership” but that he would be “cheering on from the sidelines” in future.

However, the move has been criticised for former senior members of the civil service.

Sir Simon McDonald, the former permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, said “parliament needs to act”.

He tweeted: “Cabinet ministers sacking permanent secretaries on their 1st day in office is unwise & unconstitutional but the government has discovered it can do what it wants with the civil service, which has no power to resist.

“The retired complain, but so what? Parliament needs to act.”

He was responding to a letter in The Times by Sir David Normington, who was permanent secretary at the Home Office between 2006 and 2010.

He said: “The sad fact is that in sacking Sir Tom Scholar, one of the ablest civil servants of his generation, the prime minister and chancellor have sent a clear message to the civil service that they are not interested in impartial advice and intend to surround themselves with ‘yes’ men and women.

“That is a sure route to bad decision-making and weak government.”

Scholar’s sacking came after Truss made clear during the Tory leadership contest that she wanted to challenge the Treasury “orthodoxy” on how to run the economy.

Kwarteng will next week use a mini-budget to unveil the government’s plan to slash taxes to boost economic growth.

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Kwasi Kwarteng Appointed Chancellor In New Liz Truss Cabinet

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Kwasi Kwarteng has been appointed chancellor as Liz Truss made major changes as the new prime minister assembled her new cabinet.

He served as business secretary under Boris Johnson and is a close ally of Truss and early supporter of he leadership bid.

The appointments mean that for the first time in history none of the great offices of state are held by white men.

It follows Therese Coffey being appointed health secretary and deputy prime minister.

Truss began her cabinet reshuffle with a cull of prominent Rishi Sunak supporters, sending Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps and Steve Barclay to the backbenches swiftly after she became prime minister.

She removed the senior figures who had backed her rival in the Tory leadership race promptly after heading to her House of Commons office following her first speech in Downing Street on Tuesday.

Kwarteng, whose appointment to No 11 had been widely expected, replaces Nadhim Zahawi in the Treasury.

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We’re Taking ‘Sensible’ Measures To Prevent Blackouts This Winter – Minister

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A minister today insisted the government is taking “sensible” measures to prevent major power cuts this winter.

Chris Philp said they were taking precautions amid reports that millions may face blackouts this winter because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ministers have reportedly been warned of potential power cuts to as many as six million households this winter and the government is drawing up plans for rationed electricity if supply issues deteriorate.

Government modelling of a “reasonable” worst-case scenario predicts major gas shortages in winter if Russia cuts off more supplies to the EU, The Times reported.

The paper reports that limits could be imposed on industrial use of gas, including on gas-fired power stations, causing electricity shortages.

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng.
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng.

SOPA Images via Getty Images

As a result, six million homes could see their electricity rationed, primarily during morning and evening peaks, in curbs that may last more than a month.

Worse modelling is reported for a scenario in which Russia cuts off all supplies to the EU.

Technology minister Philp told Times Radio: “I think what the business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng did last week was take some sensible precautionary measures to guard against a potential worst case scenario, he asked the three remaining coal fired power station operators to just keep their power stations available beyond the point of which they were due to be switched off.

“And I think he’s considering whether Hinkley B, the large nuclear power station might continue beyond its planned end of life as well.

“That’s a sensible precautionary measure, given that gas supply coming out of Russia, and Ukraine is for obvious reasons, so heavily disrupted and we do, of course, use quite a lot of gas to generate electricity.

“Only a very small proportion of that, of course, comes from Russia, a lot of ours comes from Norway and in the form of liquefied natural gas.

“But of course, disruption to the global gas market will have a knock-on effect that may affect the gas that we consume domestically in the United Kingdom.

“So I think these are just sensible precautionary measures, just to guard against a potential worst case scenario.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Business said the UK had “no issues” with either gas or electricity supply and they were “fully prepared” for any scenario even those that are “extreme and very unlikely to pass”.

“Thanks to a massive £90 billion investment in renewable energy in the last decade, we have one of the most reliable and diverse energy systems in the world,” the spokesperson added, “and unlike Europe, we are not dependent on Russian energy imports.”

Threats to the security of supply have prompted Kwarteng to ask Britain’s coal-fired power stations to delay their planned closures.

The request for power stations in Drax, Ratcliffe and West Burton to stay open was made following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

They were due to close in September under plans to phase them out entirely by 2024 to reduce emissions.

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‘A Sinking Ship’: Tory Ministers Mocked After P&O Ferries Letter Gaffe

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Two cabinet ministers have been mocked after getting the name of P&O Ferries’ chairman wrong in letters criticising the firm for sacking 800 staff.

Grant Shapps and Kwasi Kwarteng addressed the strongly-worded missives to Robert Woods.

But embarrassingly for the pair, he retired from the role last year.

Their mistake was only spotted after they tweeted their letters highlighting the action the government is taking in response to the row.

P&O caused widespread anger on Thursday after 800 members of staff were told they were being fired with immediate effect on a video call.

A 24-second clip of the recording was obtained by BBC South East on Thursday.

A P&O Ferries boss in the footage tells the room: “The company has made the decision going forward that it will be primarily crewed by a third party crew provider.

“Therefore I am sorry to inform you that this means your employment is terminated with immediate effect on the grounds of redundancy.

“Your final day of employment is today.”

In his now-deleted tweet, transport secretary Shapps said: “I’ve written to P&O Ferries raising concerns about treatment of the 800 staff made redundant yesterday. I’m also questioning the legality of this move & reviewing P&O Ferries’ contracts across government. The company must sit down with workers and reconsider this action.”

His letter was addressed to “Robert Woods, Chairman, P&O Ferries”.

The now-deleted Grant Shapps tweet
The now-deleted Grant Shapps tweet

Business secretary Kwarteng’s tweet, which has also been deleted, said: “P&O Ferries has lost the trust of the British public and has given business a bad name. The government wants answers.”

His letter was also signed by Paul Scully, the small business minister.

Kwasi Kwarteng's tweet
Kwasi Kwarteng’s tweet

Kwarteng later tweeted a redrafted letter, which was addressed to Peter Hebblethwaite, P&O Ferries’ chief executive.

Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, said: “The Conservative government is a sinking ship.

“Some 48-hours after finding out that 800 British workers would lose their jobs, the transport secretary can’t even figure out the correct person to write to, to protect these workers.

“They deserve better. They deserve a Labour government who will act before the horse has bolted – by ending fire and rehire, and giving them security and respect.”

Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said: “Shapps has form on getting names wrong. For some time he used to tell people that he was Michael Green.

“While it is welcome that the government is demanding answers, it would be more welcome if they asked the right people. They might even have acted years ago when they were warned that UK seafarers were being exploited and needed better protection in law.”

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Kwasi Kwarteng: Boris Johnson Was Right To Claim Crime Is Falling When It’s Actually Going Up

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Kwasi Kwarteng has been mocked after he claimed Boris Johnson was right to tell MPs that crime is falling even though it is actually going up.

The Business Secretary defended the prime minister for ignoring the rise in fraud cases when he made the inaccurate claim in the Commons.

Johnson said crime had fallen by 14 per cent under his government.

But according to the UK Statistics Authority, once fraud and computer misuse are included, the crime rate has actually gone up by 14 per cent.

Challenged on the PM’s untrue claims on the BBC’s Sunday Morning show, Kwarteng said: “I don’t know why you say it isn’t true. I don’t know what the evidence is for it not being true.

“All I know is that certainly on the doorstep people are saying that there is progress being made.”

Presented with figures showing fraud is on the rise, the minister said: “When people talk about crime – I think fraud is really important – but people are talking particularly about burglaries, about personal injury, about physical crimes, and I think in that context we’re seeing lower crimes. I think the prime minister was right.

“He was talking about personal injury and crime in relation to individuals.

“The point the prime minister was making in terms of the crime people experience in their day-to-day lives, in terms of burglary – not fraud – but in terms of physical injury, has gone down, that’s absolutely right.”

The minister was roundly mocked on Twitter for his bizarre defence of the PM.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: “The failure of Conservative ministers to stand up to Boris Johnson’s dishonesty and lack of decency is doing huge damage to public trust. Instead of apologising for misleading the public over rising crime, Kwasi Kwarteng doubled down on this blatant lie.

“This is an insult to every victim of fraud crime. Instead of fighting their corner, this government is ignoring the plight of all those who have been cruelly robbed in their own homes and on their own devices.

“Given the prime minister is being investigated by the police about alleged crimes committed in Downing Street, it’s perhaps not surprising he and his ministers are lying about crime falling across the country.”

Earlier on Sky News, Kwarteng had reignited the Cabinet split over the Jimmy Savile row by insisting it had been “entirely legitimate” for the prime minister to wrongly accuse Keir Starmer of letting Jimmy Savile escape justice when he was Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Business Secretary’s support for the PM over the row puts him at odds with Cabinet colleagues Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, both of whom have distanced themselves from the remarks.

Kwarteng said: “It was perfectly reasonable to mention the fact Sir Keir apologised on behalf of the organisation he led about the fact they failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile. So the fact he apologised suggests he does at some level bear some responsibility.”

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Kwasi Kwarteng Says Boris Johnson’s Jimmy Savile Smear Was ‘Entirely Legitimate’

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Boris Johnson’s attempt to smear Keir Starmer over the failure to prosecute Jimmy Savile was “entirely legitimate”, according to Kwasi Kwarteng.

The Business Secretary’s support for the prime minister over the row puts him at odds with Cabinet colleagues Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid, both of whom have distanced themselves from the PM.

Johnson sparked fury last Monday, during a debate on Sue Gray’s report into partygate, when he made the untrue claim about Starmer’s involvement in Savile escaping justice.

Referring to the Labour leader’s past role as Director of Public Prosecutions, the PM claimed he had “spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile”.

Johnson eventually “clarified” his remarks by insisting he did not believe Starmer was personally responsible for the decision not to prosecute the notorious sex offender.

But that was too late to prevent the resignation of No. 10 policy chief Munira Mirza. In a devastating resignation letter, she said: “I believe it was wrong for you to imply this week that Keir Starmer was personally responsible for allowing Jimmy Savile to escape justice.

Several Conservative MPs have also identified the smear as one of the reasons why they have submitted letters of no confidence in the PM.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak openly criticised Johnson by saying he “wouldn’t have said” what he did, while Health Secretary Sajid Javid said Starmer deserved “respect” for the job he did as DPP.

But appearing on Trevor Phillips on Sunday on Sky News, Kwasi Kwarteng said it had been “entirely legitimate” for the prime minister to attack Starmer in the way he did.

He added: “It was perfectly reasonable to mention the fact Sir Keir apologised on behalf of the organisation he led about the fact they failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile. So the fact he apologised suggests he does at some level bear some responsibility.”

Kwarteng added: “I’m not saying he had personal blame, he didn’t, and we’ve been very clear about that, the PM clarified that position as well. But I think in the cut and thrust of debate… bringing up something Sir Keir himself apologised for seems reasonable.”

His comments came as Johnson tried to regain the political initiative by announcing a shake-up of his Downing Street operation.

Former BBC journalist Guto Harri – who worked for the PM when he was London mayor – has been appointed the new No. 10 director of communications, while Tory MP Steve Barclay is the new Downing Street chief of staff.

The moves follow the resignation of Munira Mirza and four other No. 10 advisers in the space of 24 hours at the end of last week.

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Senior Minister Defends Boris Johnson’s Integrity By Talking About…Brexit?

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Kwasi Kwarteng defended Boris Johnson on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme

Energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng chose to defend Boris Johnson’s integrity and standards by talking about delivering Brexit – even though the UK left the EU more than a year ago.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on Thursday, Kwarteng was attempting to defend the Conservative Party’s decision to let Tory MP Owen Paterson off the hook for breaching lobbying rules – even though the MPs’ watchdog recommended suspending him for 30 days.

Kwarteng said: “People look to Britain to maintain high standards which is exactly why I’m here in Glasgow [for COP26].

“That’s why we’re showing leadership – and that does extend to high standards of governance.”

Interviewer Nick Robinson seemed less convinced and asked for individual examples which back up Kwarteng’s claim that this “government is in favour of integrity and probity in public life”.

He added: “I’m pausing here Mr Kwarteng and maybe you can help me, let me just ask an open question – can you give name a single thing that Boris Johnson has done to deliver higher integrity and probity in public life. Just one.”

“I could do lots of things – we had a manifesto commitment to deliver Brexit and we delivered Brexit,” the senior minister said.

“That was something we promised to do and the prime minister led a government to do that.”

He said Downing Street were going to repeat this trend when it came to its climate pledges.

But Robinson pointed out that this was not really to do with the prime minister as a person, noting: “We’re talking about the standards of individuals aren’t we?”

Kwarteng maintained: “Holding yourself to a manifesto commitment and delivering those commitments is a feature of integrity.”

The prime minister has been heavily criticised for breaching public trust on several occasions during his time in office.

Most recently, he was accused of breaking his own lockdown rules last Christmas when his friend Nimco Ali was found to have spent the festive season with Johnson, his wife and their child.

Robinson also pointed out all the times the prime minister has let those in his close circles get away with breaking the rules.

The interviewer pointed out: “Was allowing Dominic Cummings to stay in his post when he broke the rules helping that?”

Cummings was Johnson’s most senior aide up until his resignation in 2020. He infamously breaching lockdown rules last April when he drove to Barnard Castle to “test his eyesight”. The prime minister stood by him despite the huge public backlash.

Kwarteng just said Cummings had now left the government, so the Radio 4 presenter moved on to question Kwarteng about Robert Jenrick, the former housing secretary.

He asked: “What about the housing secretary when he gave planning permission to a Tory donor?”

The senior minister just denied that was his recollection of what happened.

Robinson then pointed out how Priti Patel has been accused of bullying Westminster staff.

He said: “The home secretary was found guilty of bullying and the ministerial adviser on the conduct of decision left their job because they were ignored?

“Was that a way of getting integrity and probity into public life?”

But the energy minister just said the home secretary is “very moral” and “holds herself to high standards of conduct”.

Kwarteng also told reporters, “I don’t feel shame at all”, about voting against the suspension of Paterson on Thursday morning.

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BBC Breakfast’s Charlie Stayt Skewers Kwarteng Over The Government’s Ineffective Covid Policy

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Twitter @BBCBreakfast

Charlie Stayt with Kwasi Kwarteng on BBC Breakfast

BBC Breakfast’s Charlie Stayt pointed out the obvious to Kwasi Kwarteng when the business secretary said the government’s Covid policy was working.

Speaking on Wednesday as the UK has one of the highest Covid infection rates in the world, the presenter was questioning why Downing Street has not yet acted and brought in more restrictions.

Kwarteng replied: “Our approach is working.”

Stayt probed: “In what sense?

“The situation we have according to the statistics – the infection rate is growing, the death rate is growing and the hospitalisation rate is growing…

“So your policy is working in… what respect?”

Hospital admission rates are six times higher, and the Covid-related death rate is three times higher, in the UK when compared to neighbouring European nations.

Kwarteng replied: “If you look at the beginning of the year where we had a huge rate, toll of daily deaths – the rate now, even though it’s picked up a little bit, is much lower as is the hospitalisation rate.

“This is a virus we are learning to live with.

“Clearly any increase is concerning and we’re monitoring the data as I say on a daily basis.

“But for now we think this policy is working. It can be reviewed at any stage, and we’ve talked to the experts you’ve quoted.

“But I don’t see any cause for changing the course at this minute.”

Kwarteng flatly ruled out the possibility of a future lockdown as well.

The government has faced repeated calls from NHS representatives to switch to plan B of its winter Covid strategy as the infection rate continues to climb. On Tuesday, the UK recorded the highest number of daily Covid cases since March 2021.

The NHS Confederation wants Downing Street to implement more mandatory face masks and less indoor mixing in a bid to prevent a crisis over the coldest months of the year.

However, No 10 has rejected such pleas even though it has been repeatedly accused of acting too late when it comes the pandemic before.

A damning Covid report released in October found that Downing Street’s early handling of the pandemic back in March 2020 was “the biggest ever public health failing” for not locking the UK down soon enough.

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