Prime minister Liz Truss is to meet with Conservative MPs this week in a bid to unite the party following a conference marred by infighting. Meanwhile, Greg Hands has replaced Conor Burns as trade minister after the latter was sacked on Friday over allegations of misconduct.
It has been widely reported that Truss’ decision to appoint Hands – who endorsed her leadership rival Rishi Sunak in the race to Number 10 – was one made with uniting her party in mind.
Much was made of Truss’ decision to purge notable Sunak supporters from the cabinet to be replaced by her own allies, with Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps and George Eustice among those removed when she took office.
Alongside being sacked from his ministerial position, Burns has also had the whip removed after a serious misconduct complaint. He has denied the allegations.
With Parliament returning this week, Truss will meet with her MPs for a series of policy lunches and to address the 1922 Committee, hoping to garner support as she prepares to outline more economic measures.
Truss has already faced significant rebellion over fiscal policy since the unveiling of the mini-Budget and the subsequent market volatility, with backlash having already forced her government into U-turning on scrapping the top band of income tax.
The PM is also coming under pressure to raise benefits such as Universal Credit in tandem with inflation rather than wages, when she made clear that a decision was yet to be made on the issue and ministers would need to consider keeping public expenditure under control.
Work and pensions minister Victoria Prentis has this week reiterated that a decision on hiking benefits will be forthcoming later in the autumn.
