Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

The prime minister asked to see Sir Graham Brady this morning to get a picture of what her party is thinking.

The mood, from my conversations this morning, remains bleak. It got worse after Wednesday's chaos.

The question Sir Graham has to answer is how bleak. Is it irretrievable?

The prime minister has to decide whether she thinks she can turn it around.

At the moment, that looks unlikely.

But as we have seen in recent years, rebellions can take a while to lead to change.

Jake Berry has also arrived at Downing Street.

Image source, REUTERS

Chris Mason
Political editor

A Downing Street source has said the PM called the meeting with Sir Graham Brady because she "wants to keep in touch with the mood of the party".

Image source, EPA

As we've been reporting, Liz Truss is currently meeting with the chair of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady. But what is the committee and what powers does it have?

Dubbed "the men in grey suits", the influential committee of backbenchers sets the rules for selecting and changing the Conservative Party's leader.

If MPs want to get rid of their current leader, it's "The 1922" that collect the votes to do so.

In order for Tory MPs to force a vote of no confidence and choose a new leader, 15% of MPs have to send a letter to Sir Graham.

Under the current rules, the PM is safe from a confidence vote for a year after entering office - but the rules could be changed.

Whether this happens is likely to depend on how many Tory MPs submit letters of no confidence in Truss's leadership.

Find out more here.

Image source, PA Media

Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey has arrived at Downing Street via the back entrance amid talks inside Number 10 between Prime Minister Liz Truss and chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady.

Marita Moloney
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Shambolic, chaotic and disgraceful were among the words used to describe the past 24 hours in Westminster - and that's just by Tory MPs.

The atmosphere permeating UK politics is becoming ever-more febrile by the minute. Here's a recap of where we are and what's been happening:

Truss's future

Liz Truss's premiership is hanging in the balance, as she meets the chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, which oversees leadership contests in the party. Sir Graham Brady is in No 10 with Truss now, with Downing Street sources insisting the PM requested the meeting. The BBC's political editor Chris Mason says "an implosion feels imminent".

The number of Tory MPs publicly calling for her resignation is now in double-digits, with an unconfirmed number of no-confidence letters delivered to Brady. The 1922 Committee is due to meet today.

Voting chaos

It follows chaos in Parliament last night as Tory MPs tried to seek clarity on whether a vote on fracking was being treated as a confidence motion in the government. A Labour MP claimed to have seen "clear bullying and intimidation" to get Tory MPs to vote with the government.

Afterwards, senior MP Charles Walker told the BBC that the evening's events left him "livid".

The House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle has since launched an investigation into reports of misconduct in the voting lobbies, reminding politicians to treat each other with respect.

Resignations

Confusion reigned again as to whether the chief whip and her deputy had quit following the scenes last night. No 10 later clarified they were still in their roles.

But Home Secretary Suella Braverman was most definitely out, criticising Truss in a brutal resignation letter. Grant Shapps is in, with the UK’s third home secretary in eight weeks expressing his "great honour" to be appointed.

Mini-budget

The chaos stems back to last month's mini-budget, delivered by another cabinet casualty, former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

In response to the turmoil in the markets, Truss sacked him and agreed for new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to scrap almost all tax cuts announced in the original budget.

This aimed to stabilise the economy - but the announcement that the energy price guarantee would be reigned in from April instead of lasting for two years led to further concerns that millions of families will struggle as the cost of living hits a 40-year high.

"They've got no vision and no talent" – was how one BBC Radio 5 Live caller earlier expressed their frustration at turmoil in the Tory party over the last 24 hours. And the criticism didn't stop there.

Speaking to Nicky Campbell this morning, Steve from Salisbury said he thought a general election was now "essential". On reports of MPs being "manhandled into the lobbies" - alleged by Labour and denied by the government - he said: "It's like something out of the 1930s".

Emma from St Albans said she was "gobsmacked" by what was happening in Westminster. Having just returned from a trip to Paris, she said people there were shocked by what was going on in the UK. She urged the Tories to start focusing on "what really matters".

But there were callers with less critical views.

Loyal Conservative voter Chris from Shefford said a Labour government would be a "disaster". He acknowledged that Liz Truss "had made a mistake" but said that people were entitled to "second chances". Despite that, he likened the current political situation to "car crash TV".

Stuart from Nottingham was introduced on the programme as a "Liz Truss supporter". He backed the PM by saying rising inflation and interest rates were not down to her.

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent

PMs do meet 1922 Committee chairs quite regularly. What is different about this meeting is the climate it is happening in.

Graham Brady will know and understand the mood among Tory MPs, so the fact he is going in to speak to Liz Truss is notable.

The fact that the PM has allegedly requested the meeting could mean that she wants to understand the mood of the party or that she had a message she had to deliver to him - we have to be careful with speculation.

But a fractious mood has existed in the Tory party since the mini-budget was announced and it has accelerated in the last 24 hours.

Where all this ends is the question.

Miriam Cates, an executive member of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, is among those publicly calling for Liz Truss to stand down as prime minister, describing her position is "untenable".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, she said the leadership rules should be changed so that only MPs decide the next leader and not members as well.

She told the programme:

"Last night's scenes were very distressing, humiliating in some ways. The number one job of government is to get MPs through the lobby, to get government business through. And that clearly was very difficult last night. The prime minister's position does look difficult if not impossible."

Cates, who represents a Red Wall seat that flipped from Labour to Conservative at the last election, also said the Tories would be "toast" at the next general election unless they tackle illegal immigration.

You can listen to the interview at 13:05 BST here.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Political Pictures

An unscheduled meeting between the PM and Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, is taking place.

Downing Street sources have said the prime minister requested the meeting with Sir Graham Brady.

Prime Minister Liz Truss is meeting Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench MPs, No 10 has confirmed.

No reason has been given for why the meeting is taking place.

The 1922 Committee oversees the election of Conservative leaders.

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

However bleak the mood in the Conservative Party, nobody can be certain MPs who want to change leader will act.

There are a few reasons we need to remember:

No agreed replacement

It's not clear who would replace the prime minister. There are a number of names in the frame, but there is no agreed unity candidate. As I wrote earlier this week, there are issues with all the favourites. It's possible the appointment of new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will buy some time. But will it be enough?

No clear method

It's not clear how they'd do it either. If Truss doesn't want to go, MPs would have to find a way to make her. Again, there are a number of options on the table. But it's not certain enough MPs would agree to them.

The markets

They've only just stabilised after the growth plan was junked - and some Conservatives are worried about spooking them again by bringing down the prime minister.

Truss's future hangs in the balance. But these factors are worth remembering.

If Liz Truss resigns, MPs must demand the return of former PM Boris Johnson - or else hold a leadership contest or a general election, Nadine Dorries says.

The former culture secretary says it would be "an abomination" if Conservative MPs held a "coronation" for a new prime minister.

Explaining her reasoning, she says: "One person was elected by the British public with a manifesto and a mandate until January 25.

"If Liz Truss is no longer PM there can be no coronation of previously failed candidates."

It's a fast-moving situation in Westminster. As it stands at least 13 MPs have publicly called on the prime minister to resign. They are:

• Crispin Blunt
• Andrew Bridgen
• Jamie Wallis
• Angela Richardson
• Sir Charles Walker
• William Wragg

• Sheryll Murray
• Gary Streeter
• Henry Smith
• Steve Double
• Miriam Cates
• Siobhan Baillie
• Matthew Offord

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Keir Starmer's headline from his TUC speech will be his call for a general election.

But the substance of his speech might give us a guide to what he'd do if he were to get the keys to Number 10.

He has committed to repealing any new trade union legislation, such as the minimum service levels for the railways during strikes.

He has pledged to repeal some existing legislation, like the Trade Union Act which imposes a 50% turnout for any strike vote to be valid.

He romped through new employment rights that he'd champion - ending fire and rehire, banning zero hours contracts, extending sick pay to every worker.

Image source, PA Media

Starmer also took head-on the criticism that he was failing to support workers current on strike, stating that he "unequivocally" supported the right to strike, but the job of a Labour leader was different from that of a union leader.

This may well have led to more vocal criticism had the delayed TUC conference taken place when originally scheduled in September.

But now with a big poll lead for his party, the prospect of a Labour government seems to be muting union concerns about how Keir Starmer conducts himself in opposition.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer reiterated his calls for a general election during his address to the TUC congress in Brighton.

Speaking about what happened in Parliament during a vote on fracking last night he says "even by their standards, [it was] a new chaotic low. All the failures of the past 12 years have now come to the boil."

He says the Conservatives have shown "they lack the basic patriotic duty to keep the British people out of their own pathetic squabbles".

"This cannot continue. Britain deserves better. Britain cannot afford the chaos of the Conservatives anymore. We need a general election now."

Tory MPs Henry Smith and Steve Double are the latest to call for Liz Truss to resign.

Speaking on Times Radio, Smith said: "We need new leadership…we need solid leadership, and I'm afraid I'm very sorry to say that has been distinctly lacking from Downing Street in the last several weeks.”

He added that Truss should admit that she had made the wrong calls since stepping into office.

On the same broadcast, Double said that Truss wasn't up to the job.

"It's time for her to just accept that and announce that she's going to step down and allow us to find someone else," he told Matt Chorley.

Cooper continues with an excoriating review of the government's record, stating it's a "coalition of chaos".

"Why should the country have to put up with this for a single extra day?" she asks.

Security and policing are too important for this kind of instability, she says, adding that "people's livelihoods are too important for the economic instability that this Conservative Party has created".

Brendan Clarke-Smith says: "The prime minister expects her ministers to absolve the ministerial code of the public would also rightly expect," he says.

"The documents in question contained draft government's policy which remains subject to Cabinet Committee agreement. Having this on a personal email accounts and then also sharing outside of government constituted clear breaches of the code."

Asked about why he is answering the urgent question and not Shapps, Clarke-Smith says Cooper "will be aware that breaches of the ministerial code are a matter for the Cabinet Office, not the Home Office, and that is why I am here answering the question today and not the home secretary."

Yvette Cooper responds by noting that new Home Secretary Grant Shapps is absent from the commons this morning, adding that she wouldn't be surprised if Brendan Clarke-Smith had been appointed into the role given the "total chaos" in government.

She described the scene in the voting lobby last night as "unedifying", saying Tory MP's were "acting like rats in a sack".

Cooper goes on to say that Braverman's resignation letter appears to have contradicted what Clarke-Smith just said, because she said it was a draft to a written ministerial statement that was due to be published imminently and had already been briefed to MPs".

Is that not true, she asks, and questions the junior minister as to when Braverman informed the cabinet secretary of the breach in ministerial code.