Page 33 - Uk

Liz Truss quits as UK Prime Minister after 45 days in office

Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office, Truss accepted that she could not deliver the promises she made when she was running for Conservative leader

Nominations open for new UK PM to replace Liz Truss; cut-off set at 100 MPs

The nominations for Conservative Party members planning to contest in the leadership election to replace Liz Truss as Tory leader and British Prime Minister officially opened on Thursday evening, with a high threshold of 100 members of Parliament set for the final shortlist. Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Backbench Committee in charge of Tory elections, said that potential candidates are expected to file their nominations by 2 pm local time on Monday for a final two contestants to be shortlisted. Unless there is parliamentary consensus struck around a single candidate, the final two will be put up for an expedited online voting process before the wider Tory party membership to be concluded by October 28. It [100 MPs] should be achievable by any serious candidate, who has a realistic prospect of going through," said Brady, as he confirmed the likelihood of three possible candidates emerging, given the 357 Tory MPs in the House of Commons. "It is up to the Members of Parliament whet

Amazon faces $1 billion class action lawsuit in UK over Buy Box feature

Amazon is facing a USD 1 billion class action lawsuit in the U.K. over allegations it uses an algorithm to favour its own products and those of third-party sellers who use its storage and delivery services. The litigation is being spearheaded by the law firm Hausfeld & Co LLP, which said in a news release that anyone who lives in the U.K. and made purchases on Amazon since October 2016 is eligible to be a claimant. The suit is expected to be filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London by the end of October. The lawsuit will focus primarily on Amazon's Buy Box feature, a coveted spot that makes items more visible to shoppers and thereby lead to more sales for merchants listed there. The box features a product from a single seller, though many more might offer the same item. In the news release, the law firm detailed it will allege many users wrongly assume the buy box offers them the best deals, but Amazon uses a secretive algorithm to feature its own products or those sold .

Wall Street gains as upbeat corporate forecasts boost sentiment

IBM up as it sees higher full-year sales; Dow Inc jumps after beating Q3 estimates; Tesla expects to miss vehicle delivery target this year; AT&T raises annual profit forecast, Verizon gains

UK FTA deadline depends on talks: Commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal

Deadline for agreement will depend on talks, he says as Diwali timeline goes by

UK's third female PM Liz Truss leaves office without India trade deal prize

Britain's third female Prime Minister, Liz Truss, is out of office on Thursday after one of the shortest tenures at 10 Downing Street in London and without a cherished India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) under her belt as a Brexit prize. Truss, who until Wednesday insisted in Parliament that she was a "fighter and not a quitter", resigned after just six weeks after her position became untenable after a series of policy U-turns, Cabinet upheavals and an open revolt against her ability to lead a deeply divided Conservative Party. Truss, who in her innings as foreign and trade minister batted for stronger bilateral ties with India, took charge at 10 Downing Street last month after defeating Indian-origin ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership race. The 47-year-old was faced with one of the toughest in-trays in the top job as a result of the spiralling cost-of-living crisis in the country, which rivalled any of the issues faced by her women predecessors in office

Blow to UK PM Liz Truss: Chief Whip Wendy Morton reportedly resigns

In yet another blow to UK Prime Minister Liz Truss after Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Wednesday tendered her resignation, it is alleged that Chief Whip Wendy Morton resigned

Braverman resigns as UK interior minister with veiled criticism of Truss

The departure of Braverman, over a 'technical' breach of government rules, means Truss has now lost two of her most senior ministers in less than a week

'Eager' to secure trade deal with India, says UK's Home Secretary Braverman

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said the UK is "eager" to secure a trade deal with India to boost both economies and that Brexit has meant that Britain no longer has a Eurocentric mindset towards trade or visas, days after she caused a stir with her "concerns" over what she feared could be an "open borders" approach in the ongoing trade talks with India. Addressing a Diwali event organised by UK-based India Global Forum (IGF) here on Tuesday evening, the Indian-origin Cabinet minister spoke of being a proud member of the British Indian community and hailed the contribution made by the Indian diaspora to British life. In an apparent effort to override her recent controversial remarks about Indians forming the largest group of visa overstayers, the minister said the UK's villages, towns and cities have been profoundly enriched by immigration from India. "Naturally, there is an economic imperative for our countries to work together, which is why we are so eager to secure a trade ..

UK PM Liz Truss faces test in Parliament over economic plan, seeks lifeline

British Prime Minister Liz Truss faces a House of Commons grilling Wednesday from a hostile opposition and her own furious Conservative Party as she tries to fend off calls to quit over her botched economic plan. Truss is set to attend the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session two days after newly appointed Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt ripped up the tax-cutting package unveiled by the prime minister's new government less than a month ago. The package of unfunded tax cuts announced Sept. 23 sparked turmoil on financial markets, hammered the value of the pound and increased the cost of U.K. government borrowing. The Bank of England was forced to intervene to prevent the crisis spreading to the wider economy and putting pensions at risk. Under intense political and economic pressure, Truss last week fired her ally Kwasi Kwarteng as Treasury chief, replacing him with Cabinet veteran Hunt. On Monday Hunt scrapped almost all of Truss' tax cuts, along with her flagship energy policy an

UK Parliament in London celebrates Diwali with prayers, candles

Prayers for peace recited by priests from the Hare Krishna Temple and the lighting of candles marked this year's Diwali celebrations in the Houses of Parliament complex in London. The celebration was held in the State Rooms of the Speaker's House, described as the grandest residence within the Palace of Westminster, on Monday evening. It marked the largest Diwali event of its kind in the Parliament complex, which brought together cross-party parliamentarians, diplomats, community leaders and International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) representatives. I would like to wish all communities celebrating Diwali peace and joy, both here and across the world, said Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle. Opposition Labour Party Leader Sir Keir Starmer joined Bhaktivedanta Manor ISKCON Temple President Visakha Dasi, veteran Indian-origin Labour MP Virendra Sharma and Liberal Democrat House of Lords peer Navnit Dholakia to light the candles following prayers concluding with Om ...

UK PM insists of leading Conservatives into next general election

Despite the ongoing political upheaval, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has insisted of leading the ruling Conservative Party into the next general election

British consumers rein in luxury spending as energy bills rise by 48%

British consumers are reining in unnecessary purchases after a leap in energy prices ate into their discretionary spending, forcing people to cut back on new clothes, evenings out and lunches out

UK reverses bulk of September tax-cutting package to calm markets

The UK government has announced a reversal of the bulk of its September tax-cutting measures in yet another emergency action to ensure economic stability

Wall Street sees sharp gains as dollar dips on UK U-turn, strong earnings

Wall Street jumped to robust gains on Monday as solid earnings and a financial policy reversal in Britain fueled risk appetite and boosted the sterling and euro against the greenback

UK's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt reverses all of Liz Truss' tax cuts

Britain's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, on Monday reversed entirely all of British Prime Minister Liz Truss' tax cuts and scaled back the expensive energy bills support in an emergency fiscal statement. Hunt's statement is an attempt to reassure the markets about the country's fiscal sustainability and calm the shockwaves of his predecessor's mini-budget last month. The finance minister said a 1 pence cut to income tax will be delayed "indefinitely" until the UK's finances improve, instead of being introduced in April 2023 as announced in predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget. The government's energy price guarantee will only be universal until April and not for two years as originally planned. The government has today decided to make further changes to the mini-budget, and to reduce unhelpful speculation about what they are, we've decided to announce these ahead of the medium-term fiscal plan, which happens in two weeks," Hunt said in a statement. After meeting

Britain in talks with British Steel and Tata to secure industry's future

Britain said on Monday it was in talks with steel makers, including British Steel, owned by China's Jingye Group, and India's Tata to help secure the industry's long-term future

Bookie odds favour Rishi Sunak comeback amid turbulence for UK PM Liz Truss

British Prime Minister Liz Truss, just over a month into the job, is already seen as increasingly unlikely to ride out the turbulence within her own Conservative Party and the financial markets, with her former leadership rival Rishi Sunak the odds-on favourite to make a comeback for 10 Downing Street. At the end of a tumultuous week in British politics which saw Truss sack her close friend and trusted aide Kwasi Kwarteng who was enforcing her own economic policies as Chancellor, the mutinous voices within the governing Conservatives continue to flag how Sunak had warned against much of the financial meltdown that would follow his rival's unfunded tax-cutting policies. The former British Indian Chancellor adopted a silent approach as he hosted two pre-scheduled parties at a central London hotel this week to thank his Ready for Rishi leadership campaign team and officials at the UK Treasury. His approach is one part I told you so' but rather more a sense of sadness. He just says: It

UK PM Truss brings in rival who could steady the ship, or take her job

Under-pressure UK Prime Minister Liz Truss appointed Jeremy Hunt as her new Chancellor of the Exchequer, replacing Kwasi Kwarteng after just 38 days in office

UK PM Liz Truss sacks finance minister Kwarteng: Here is what happened

Kwarteng recently said that he was 'absolutely, 100 per cent' confident that he would be in post in November despite rising rebellion