“Queen Elizabeth II will today be laid to rest with Prince Philip, as the world gathers to hear tributes to her dignity, courage, and “long life of selfless service”. The late Queen’s life will be commemorated in a full state funeral, where heads of state, religious leaders, and a Royal Family including two of her young great-grandchildren will honour her “faith and devotion”, her “love for her family” and her “life-long sense of duty and dedication to her people”. In a more intimate committal service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, the congregation will hear how, “in the midst of our rapidly changing and frequently troubled world, her calm and dignified presence has given us confidence to face the future, as she did, with courage and with hope”.” – The Daily Telegraph
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“Liz Truss will tell world leaders this week that economic growth is key to facing down Russian aggression. In a speech to the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister will urge allies to end their reliance on imports of energy and other products from so-called malign actors. She will say the West must learn lessons from Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine by boosting economic security and defence…In her address, she will also rally Western countries to help Ukraine in its pushback against Russian invaders. Miss Truss is expected to fly to the summit in New York this evening, after attending the Queen’s funeral. It will be her first overseas visit and major summit since she took office. Some 150 world leaders will attend.” – The Daily Mail
“Liz Truss plans to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 19p to put cash back in Brits’ pockets. The PM aims to bring forward the move, which had been planned for 2024, as she kicks off her premiership in earnest. The move would be announced by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng at Friday’s mini-Budget but it is unclear from when it would apply. He will also reverse the 1.25 per cent National Insurance hike which is expected to take effect from November. Mr Kwarteng, who also plans to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses to boost the City of London, may have to bend fiscal rules which commit ministers to get debt falling. But a source said the PM’s quest for growth would trigger a “seismic shift” in policy.” – The Sun
“Parents who step back from work to take care of elderly loved ones or children will get a new tax break under a change expected to be unveiled by Liz Truss before Christmas. The move is just one of half-a-dozen major tax cuts the Prime Minister is weighing up to kick-start the economy and avoid the recession that is forecast for the coming year. Ms Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng are plotting two major fiscal interventions in three months as they make economic growth the number-one target of the Treasury. One raft of tax cuts is expected to be announced on Friday as government policy-making returns after a period of limited activity during the mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II.” – The Daily Telegraph
“The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, is expected to announce the creation of a network of low-tax, low-regulation investment zones in an emergency budget on Friday. Planning regulations will be relaxed in up to 12 places earmarked for this status, and taxes will be cut to incentivise investment. The announcement, which is expected to take deregulation further than the post-Brexit freeports set up by Boris Johnson’s government, will be part of a package that will also see the rise in national insurance contributions abandoned, a planned increase in corporation tax scrapped and green levies temporarily removed from fuel bills. Although not formally being billed as a budget, Kwarteng’s statement to MPs will dwarf most budgets in terms of its impact on the public finances.” – The Guardian
“Liz Truss’s chief of staff will not travel with her to New York today for the United Nations general assembly amid questions over his role in an FBI investigation into alleged political corruption in the United States. Mark Fullbrook was interviewed by FBI agents as a witness relating to an alleged plot to bribe an American politician and to influence a US election, according to The Sunday Times. Fullbrook’s team said he was not joining Truss on her first visit to the US as prime minister for an unrelated reason — to prepare domestic announcements on the energy crisis, the NHS and tax-cutting plans. The team said he was free to travel to the US. Fullbrook, who ran Truss’s leadership campaign… was interviewed over an alleged conspiracy to subvert democracy in Puerto Rico, the US-administered Caribbean island.” – The Times
“Suella Braverman has made a deliberate attempt to reach out to Home Office staff to mark a “clean break” from Priti Patel’s “challenging” tenure, staff have told The Times. The new home secretary had “said some nice things about wellbeing”, one member of staff said. Another said she was “open to listening to advice” and was “very good news for the department”. Civil servants at the department have contrasted her “very different personality” with her predecessor, noting how she had “gone out of her way” to show that she would respect them. Patel’s three years at the Home Office were marred by bullying allegations that led to the departure of Sir Philip Rutnam, the department’s permanent secretary.” – The Times
“Jacob Rees-Mogg is hiring a team of specialist psychologists to provide mental health support to victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal at an inquiry into the saga later this year. The Business Secretary is drafting in a witness psychological support team for the statutory inquiry over fears that vulnerable victims, some of whom were wrongly sent to jail, might suffer distress in the face of challenging questioning. During the 2000s and early 2010s, Post Office bosses wrongly prosecuted hundreds of their own staff for theft and fraud using evidence based on the flawed Horizon IT system, which the sub-postmasters used to run their branches. Courts have heard allegations that Post Office bosses knew Horizon was flawed but still proceeded with prosecutions.” – The Daily Telegraph
“Delegates will break with tradition next weekend and will sing the national anthem at the start of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Sir Keir Starmer, the party’s leader, has approved the plan despite concerns that some delegates may boo and overshadow the start of a crucial four days. He will open the conference on Sunday with a tribute to the Queen and there may be a minute’s silence before the anthem is sung. It is the latest move to mark a clear change from the four-year leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, who was criticised for not singing the anthem and whose republican campaigning was seen to have cost the party support…However, the decision to sing the anthem came after hours of discussions among senior party officials over how it would be received.” – The Times