Displaying items by tag: Liz Truss

London’s Chinese embassy called Liz Truss’s trip to Taiwan a ‘dangerous political stunt’ which will bring nothing but harm to the UK. In a pre-briefed extract of her speech to the Prospect Foundation, Truss was expected to say, ‘Last summer Rishi Sunak described China as the biggest long-term threat to Britain, and he promised to close all thirty of UK’s Confucius Institutes, which promote Chinese culture on campus in higher education and in some British schools. Sunak was right; we need to see those policies enacted urgently. Confucius Institutes must close, and the service supplied by Hong Kong and Taiwanese nationals in the UK on a free basis.’ The embassy urged Truss to stop supporting ‘Taiwan independence’. Taiwan has been separate from the People’s Republic of China since 1949, but Beijing insists on reuniting Taiwan with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Plymouth Christian MP Sir Gary Streeter called on the Conservative party to replace Liz Truss, saying the party should ‘swiftly’ change the leader to someone who can gather more respect in the parliamentary party. ‘IWe are witnessing what happens when authority breaks down’, he said. ‘My message to my colleagues is, even if the Archangel Gabriel were to lead us this week and rediscover a sense of teamwork, mutual respect and discipline, you know this is going to happen again and again unless we sort ourselves out.’ Shortly after he said this Liz Truss resigned, saying she could not deliver the mandate on which she was elected. This kickstarts a contest to find the next Tory leader and PM, which should produce a result by 28 October. Tory party members will have a say unless MPs unite around one candidate. Truss's departure after 45 days in office makes her the shortest-serving PM in UK history. See next article, on Conservative chaos.

On 17 October Jeremy Hunt reversed 60% of the promised recent tax cuts and committed to reduce the two-year energy price guarantee to six months, while introducing ‘a new approach’ to the most needy after winter. A cut in basic income tax rate, promised by two chancellors this year, was cancelled. Pray for adequate advice and aid for those facing staggering rises in the cost of living. The changes caused political turmoil. On 18 October, senior aide Jason Stein was suspended for leaking information to the media. Next, home secretary Suella Braverman resigned because she had broken the ministerial code, and attacked Ms Truss's leadership in her resignation letter. Grant Shapps, who six weeks ago was sacked as transport secretary, replaced her. On the 19th an attempted fracking ban sparked havoc when rebellious Tories were threatened with party expulsion if they didn’t back Liz Truss. See the previous article, PM resigns.

Liz Truss is coming under more pressure from some of her own MPs to rethink the tax cuts announced in last month's mini-budget. Paul Goodman, the editor of ‘Conservative Home’, a political blog, says MPs are considering alternatives to her as leader. Foreign secretary James Cleverly says Truss is sticking with her plan and removing her as PM would be disastrous. Her strategy was criticised when she attended a meeting of Tory backbenchers on 12 October. One MP accused her of wrecking 10 years of Conservative policies aimed at helping working people. Truss has repeatedly defended the proposed tax cuts, funded by borrowing, which were outlined last month. During PMQs she also pledged not to make any cuts to public spending. Pray for her as she presses on after a tumultuous first month in office. Pray for party divisions to be repaired with wise decisions. Pray for any necessary changes to be made and unnecessary options to be avoided.

The day after the Prime Minister said she was committed to the 45p income tax cut which Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had announced ten days earlier, he reversed the decision, saying the plans had become a ‘distraction from our overriding mission to tackle the challenges facing the country’. A few hours later former culture secretary Nadine Dorries accused the Prime Minister of ‘throwing her Chancellor under a bus’, and called for a general election. Having backed Liz Truss for Tory leadership, she now said the PM ‘must take to the country’ if she wants a new mandate, adding that there was ‘widespread dismay’ that much of the work she had done while in office was now on hold. Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt called for benefits to be increased in line with inflation - a move promised under Boris Johnson's government. Liz Truss has said her priority is ‘growth, growth, growth’ and she will challenge anyone trying to stop it.

Liz Truss has told Israel’s prime minister, Yair Lapid, she is considering moving Britain’s embassy to Jerusalem. Downing Street said the PM reaffirmed her leadership campaign pledge ‘about her review of the current location of the British embassy in Israel.’ The two met in New York during their visit to the UN General Assembly. Lapid tweeted praise to Truss for considering the move, adding, ‘We will continue to strengthen the partnership between the countries’. 2023 will mark 75 years since the re-establishment of the state of Israel. The recent announcement by the PM could signal a shift in the UK’s foreign policy towards Israel. Britain has embassies in all countries’ capitals except Israel’s. There is a consulate in Jerusalem, but only for Palestinians and not Israelis.

Liz Truss is being urged to relax the limits on earthquakes caused by fracking to kickstart an energy revolution. She is poised to end the fracking freeze, to make Britain energy independent by 2040. Fracking businesses are lobbying for limits on seismic activity to be substantially increased to kickstart the industry. Currently drilling must stop if tremors of 0.5 occur. Experts say those occur naturally and are often imperceptible above ground. Cuadrilla want equality with other industries. Geothermal energy can create earthquakes of higher magnitudes than 0.5. The USA allows magnitude 4 tremors. A 2012 report said magnitude 3 tremors were ‘felt by few people’. But when Cuadrilla’s Lancashire test caused a 2.9 tremor, homes shook and objects fell off of shelves. A petroleum geologist at Newcastle University said fracking had thus far not been a major source of earthquakes; coal mining had caused many times more.

A charity has criticised the decision to make Catholic MP Therese Coffey the secretary of state because of her views on abortion. The newly-appointed deputy PM voted against extending ‘pills by post’, allowing women to take abortion pills at home, instead of a clinical setting. Ms Coffey said she would never condemn someone for having an abortion, but she would rather they did not have the procedure. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service said that a health secretary who would place their personal beliefs above expert clinical guidance is concerning’. Meanwhile, Liz Truss said she shares the values of the Christian faith but is not a practising religious person. She abstained or was absent from parliamentary votes on legalising suicide and abortion, and voted to impose abortion on Northern Ireland. She also voted for same-sex marriage.

Lord, we thank You for every miracle You have worked in our nation in past seasons: for the turnarounds, the revivals and the personal miracles of provision and healing which have transformed lives, families, and communities. In the name of Jesus we declare what we have seen in the past is only a shadow of what we will see in the days ahead. We pray for Liz Truss; may she step into Kingdom purpose, moving the very structures of the nation towards righteousness and Godliness. We pray for justice, truth, mercy and moral law to be established, and for every government action to cause the UK to be aligned to God’s values and objectives within our land. May she carry and impart God’s vision to the men and women in her Cabinet, and may every MP walk in wisdom and integrity according to Your plans. May our Christian MPs boldly step into their identity and purpose.

Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, has warned Boris Johnson against any move to change the Northern Ireland protocol. He said, ‘What we can’t do is accept that the British government would act unilaterally, they would pass legislation to effectively breach international law, to set aside elements of a treaty that this prime minister designed and put in place. That would cause more problems than it would solve.’  Foreign minister Liz Truss, announcing a new law to change the post-Brexit trade deal for Northern Ireland, insisted it would be legal under international law. She said the proposed legislation would make changes to the deal - rather than scrapping it - to resolve ‘the grave situation in Northern Ireland’. But in response, the EU said it would ‘need to respond with all measures at its disposal’ if the UK went ahead with the legislation. Pray that all decisions will be according to God’s plans.