Isabel Hardman

Jeremy Hunt’s statement to the Commons underlined that he is now running the government. This wasn’t just evident from what he said, but from what was happening as he said it. The Chancellor spoke with the Prime Minister sitting behind him in silence, barely moving save to blink. Liz Truss had belatedly entered the chamber at the end of the Urgent Question that she had refused to answer herself, and then left half an hour later. But the statement also showed us quite how hard it is going to be for any caretaker leader, de facto prime minister or other figure to take the party back into a place where it is electorally appealing. Hunt, who until last week was campaigning for more money for the health service, is now about to make some unbelievably tough decisions.

Liz Truss’s Downing Street press conference has made everything worse, as far as Tory MPs are concerned. As soon as it was over, a number of backbenchers who had supported Truss for leader were locked into a call with Thérèse Coffey, the PM’s closest friend in Parliament and the Deputy Prime Minister. Those on the call said it was ‘like a wake,’ with even Coffey sounding ‘broken.’ ‘You could see the loss in her eyes,’ said one. Coffey reiterated the points the Prime Minister had made in No. 10, before taking questions. The ‘wake’ line is one you hear a lot at the moment.

Today's Prime Minister's Questions taught us two things. The first was that Keir Starmer has still got a long way to go before he is the one putting Liz Truss on the ropes. The second is that Truss has got a long way to go before she isn't putting herself on the ropes instead.  It wasn't a high energy session from either leader: Starmer fell back into his habit of enunciating every syllable in an exasperated tone, whether he was talking about the BUSINESS. SECRETARY. or MORTGAGE. PAYMENTS. In fairness, there is a fair bit to be exasperated about, but Starmer would probably adopt the same tone about his sock drawer. The overall effect was that Truss didn't really struggle as a result of his questions about her mini-budget and the impact it has had on the economy.

Tory MPs were in an anxious mood as they returned to the Commons this afternoon after weeks of conference recess and government meltdown. Their first session in parliament was, appropriately enough, Treasury questions, where they had a chance to air some of their anxieties with the Chancellor and his team. It could have been a much worse session for Kwasi Kwarteng, given the way things have gone recently. But the number of MPs seeking reassurance won't have left him feeling very relaxed. Kwarteng told the Commons that his mini-Budget had been ‘really strong' Kwarteng told the Commons that his mini-Budget had been ‘really strong’ and that MPs constituents would have been pleased with many of the ‘strong measures that we have introduced.

In the past few minutes, Conor Burns has been told to leave the government after a complaint of 'serious misconduct' was made against him. Downing Street has released a statement saying:  Following a complaint of serious misconduct, the Prime Minister has asked Conor Burns MP to leave the government with immediate effect. The Prime Minister took direct action on being informed of this allegation and is clear that all ministers should maintain the high standards of behaviour – as the public rightly expects. No. 10’s press release is keen to stress that the Prime Minister took immediate action Burns was moved sideways by Liz Truss in the recent reshuffle, from Northern Ireland to the same Minister of State position in the International Trade department.

Iain Duncan Smith is the latest senior Tory to speak out against cutting benefits by not uprating them in line with inflation. The former work and pensions secretary and party leader told a ConservativeHome fringe on Universal Credit this morning that he thought it was a 'peculiar debate' to be having, adding:  Almost certainly there would have to be a vote [on changing the benefits calculations] because it's automatic. And therefore if you freeze it or change it, then that will be changing the system. My personal view is I don't see what will be gained by it. But I do see what will be gained by making sure that they have enough money through the winter. Because, as I say, that money will flow back into the economy at the very time that we need the economy to be growing.

Tory conference has long been more stage-managed than other party meetings, but this year the official speeches from ministers have also been condensed into a very strange late afternoon slot lasting just two hours. The rest of the time is free for fringe meetings and plotting. Ministers and their aides have been told they have to keep their addresses to the hall announcement-lite, which makes those two hours feel largely pointless. Kwasi Kwarteng didn't announce very much at all, even though his two U-turns have dominated the day's agenda. This morning, the Chancellor dropped the plan to abolish the 45p rate of tax, and this evening it has emerged that he is also bringing forward his medium-term fiscal plan from 23 November – something ministers had been asked to hold the line on.

Does Liz Truss really believe in levelling up? She doesn't talk about it that much, and it wasn't really a major feature of the 'fiscal event' recently (though given the way that's gone, this might not be a bad thing). This evening Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison insisted that it really was still a thing. She told a Tory 'fringe'* event that she didn't understand why people were questioning its longevity, saying:  Over the past few weeks, we've seen this emerging narrative that the government is dropping levelling up, isn't having it anywhere near as much of a priority, and I honestly have no idea where that has come from, because levelling up is very much at the heart of what this government is about.