The Sunday papers brought reports that Liz Truss was “expected to cave into pressure from her Cabinet” to increase welfare benefits in line with inflation at a Tuesday meeting. One Cabinet minister told The Sunday Times that any decision to renege on Boris Johnson’s commitment to do so was “not a political reality”, especially as it was reported the poorest families would lose £400 a year.
Suella Braverman, Nadhim Zahawi, Penny Mordaunt, and Ranil Jayawardena – the former three all leadership rivals – were reported to argue the Conservatives must “unite behind” Truss or “face not just electoral defeat” but “a long spell in opposition”. Kwasi Kwarteng was said to have put her chances at survival at “only 40-60”. Tory rebels were said to be in “secret talks with Labour”.
With acknowledgments to Harry Cole and James Heale‘s Out of the Blue: the Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss