The day began with Liz Truss taking on Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs. Our political editor Chris Mason thought it “probably went as well” as he could have hoped. But the chaos of the day was just beginning… News broke that one of Truss’ top advisers, Jason Stein, had been suspended over reports that he was responsible for negative briefings against former chancellor Sajid Javid. Meanwhile, Tory MPs have been told that a vote on fracking to be held within hours would be a vote of confidence in the government, meaning they could be expelled from the parliamentary party if they vote for it. Three Tory MPs quickly announced their intention to oppose the government. But attention quickly turned back to Downing Street as Home Secretary Suella Braverman resigned, saying she had breached the ministerial code. She used her resignation letter to attack the government’s “broken promises”. Braverman was soon replaced by former transport secretary and Rishi Sunak ally Grant Shapps. By now chaos had erupted in Parliament after ministers appeared to back down for making the fracking proposal a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister. According to MPs who witnessed the scenes, Conservative MPs were bullied and abused for supporting Liz Truss. The ministers denied allegations that physical force had been used. At the same time, reports emerged that both the Government’s Chief Whip, Wendy Morton, and Deputy Chief Whip Craig Whittaker, were no longer in their posts. As of now, their positions remain unclear, but we are trying to get clarity on this.
