Unanimous sense of gloom among Tory MPspublished at 07:35 British Summer Time 20 October 2022

07:35 BST 20 October 2022

Chris Mason
Political editor

Yesterday was truly astonishing and became more astonishing by the hour.

It seems this morning impossible that Liz Truss as prime minister will be able to bottle and then bin the chaos that is swirling and has been swirling, pretty much, since the start of her premiership.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that things will move today.

I'm told the prime minister will spend time again in the House of Commons today and in No 10. There are lots of meetings and lots of attempts to try and patch this government back together to try and make it functional, because the bottom line right now is it's not.

When you speak to Conservative MPs, there are some who say do give her time.

But there was a unanimous sense of gloom about their predicament, and there aren't many who can confidently predict that the prime minister will last all that much longer because they just think this is an unrecoverable position.

A former adviser to Liz Truss says she has she has never seen anything like last night's scenes in Westminster, describing it as "carnage".

Kirsty Buchanan, who was a media adviser to Truss when she was justice secretary, described what unfolded in the lobby last night ahead of the Commons vote as "chaos wrapped in confusion".

She described hearing tales of MPs in tears, some being "manhandled" into the lobby, as well as U-turns and confusion amid the scramble to ensure MPs took part in the vote.

"The last few weeks have been like watching the government through your fingers, its excruciating, but I have never seen anything like last night, it was carnage," Buchanan told ITV's Good Morning Britain.

A Labour MP who has said he saw a Tory MP being "manhandled" in last's night vote on fracking has spoken about the chaotic scenes in Parliament.

Chris Bryant told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he saw about 20 Conservative MPs - including deputy prime minister Therese Coffey and Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg - surrounding MPs who were "wavering" on the vote.

"It was very aggressive, very angry - there was a lot of shouting. There was at least one hand on another MP and, to me, that was clear bullying and intimidation," Bryant says.

Bryant added: "I saw a whole swathe of MPs effectively pushing one member through the door and I've photographic evidence of one MP's hand onto another."

Bryant says that MPs "need to know what their power is and recognise that before [they] do anything at all".

"The deputy PM standing, shouting and gesticulating is part of not understanding her power. It's intimidation and bullying. If it was a chief executive in a company, they'd be out for that kind of behaviour."

Asked about whether he had ever seen this kind of scene before, Bryant says: "Even if it has happened in the past, this is not how we should do our business. We are not the Italian parliament. All of this is happening because there is complete chaos in government and this is what will keep happening, day in day out...

"I had Tory MPs - including one whip - literally crying on my shoulder. They are desperate about what's going on."

As we've reported, it was a chaotic day in Parliament on Wednesday.

Here is the whole day summed up in 70 seconds.

Hard to see how Truss will recover amid party turmoilpublished at 06:51 British Summer Time 20 October 2022

06:51 BST 20 October 2022

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

I think a lot of people are bemused this morning, including a lot of Conservative MPs and ministers, and that is a recipe for disaster for the prime minister.

Does Liz Truss survive? Well, there are a still couple of things that have been talked about this week that count in her favour: One being there is no obvious successor, two that a lot of her own MPs are terrified about causing more chaos in the markets.

But it's almost impossible to see this morning how Liz Truss recovers from this, how she wins back any sense of authority in her party when you look at some of the chaotic scenes.

There were no shortage of Tory MPs on the phones last night saying they can't believe what's happening, despite everything that's occurred over the last few years.

A lot of Tory MPs would say they've never seen it as bad as this.

It's not clear what Liz Truss's future will be over the next few hours or days, but my sense this morning is it's very hard to see how she recovers.

Most front pages feature the words "chaos", "disarray", "mayhem" and "shambles" to describe yesterday's events at Westminster, with Suella Braverman's resignation and the pressure on Liz Truss's premiership front and centre.

"Braverman's bombshell puts Truss on the brink" declares The Guardian. The government appeared to be at risk of collapse last night as the former home secretary attacked the PM, says the paper.

According to The Daily Telegraph, some Tory plotters believe Truss will be toppled within days, external, and cabinet ministers are now considering a move against her.

The Daily Mail says Liz Truss's premiership is in freefall, external, and senior Tory MPs are urgently discussing strategies for ousting her. The paper says she could be forced to step down by the weekend, and possibly as early as today.

There's a description in The Times of the chaotic scenes during last night's vote, external on fracking in the Commons, while "broken" is The Sun's front-page headline, under a picture of Truss.

Read a full review of today's papers here.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Tory MPs cannot believe what they are witnessing, what is happening in their name.

I've been speaking privately to a very senior Conservative whose analysis was so brutal it left me open-mouthed.

Liz Truss's actions have been "unforgivable", "terrible" and "appalling".

"She has stuffed the party, the country, and there'll be a general election."

"How could she act like a little dictator without a mandate?"

So, what could the prime minister do next?

She could wake up and decide the game's up. I should say there is no indication she is about to do that.

She could be told by her party the game's up - the level of discontent within it is huge.

Or she could attempt to continue.

Read more here.

As we've been reporting, there were chaotic scenes in Parliament last night during a vote on fracking, with claims that Tory MPs were "manhandled" into voting with the government.

Following the vote, veteran Tory MP Charles Walker gave a blistering critique of his party in an interview with the BBC.

Visibly furious, he described the situation in Westminster as a "shambles", adding that: "This whole affair is inexcusable."

Conservative MPs who did not vote with the government on fracking on Wednesday are facing "proportionate disciplinary action", No 10 has said.

The government won the vote by 326 votes to 230 - but the division list showed 40 Tory MPs did not vote.

Downing Street said Tory MPs were "fully aware" the vote was being regarded as a vote of confidence - which meant they could get kicked out of the parliamentary party if they did not side with the government.

It said the whips would be speaking to those who "failed to support the government".

"Those without a reasonable excuse for failing to vote with the government can expect proportionate disciplinary action."

Labour MPs alleged on Wednesday that some Tories were bullied and manhandled into voting with the government on fracking.

Conservatives were told that the vote, tabled by Labour, was being regarded as a vote of confidence in the PM - which meant they could get kicked out of the parliamentary party if they did not side with the government.

A Labour shadow minister, Anna McMorrin, said she had seen one Tory MP "in tears after being manhandled" in the voting lobby, but a minister denied the claims.

In the fallout from the vote, reports emerged that both Chief Whip Wendy Morton and Deputy Chief Whip Craig Whittaker had resigned.

Speculation grew as the government remained silent on the issue, but after a few hours, No 10 confirmed they were both remaining in post.

Speaking outside the Carlton Club in London on Wednesday evening, Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey said Ms Morton had done a "great job" on the fracking vote.

Image source, PA Media

We have experienced another chaotic day in UK politics. Here's a recap of what happened:

• Suella Braverman resigned from her role as home secretary after six weeks in the job. She said she was quitting after she had sent an official document from her personal email account, but in a blistering resignation letter expressed concerns about "the direction of the government"
• Former transport secretary Grant Shapps was appointed as the new home secretary - six weeks after being fired by the PM
• In Parliament, there was uproar as Tory MPs tried to seek clarity on whether a vote on fracking was a confidence vote in government. A Labour MP claimed Tory MPs were manhandled into the voting lobby
• The Conservatives won the vote, with 326 voting against a ban, and 230 MPs voting for it - although 40 Tory MPs, including several senior figures, did not vote
• Reports began to emerge on Wednesday evening suggesting chief whip Wendy Morton and deputy chief whip Craig Whittaker had resigned
• After hours of speculation about their depature, No 10 confirmed both were in fact still in their posts

• Tory MP Charles Walker told BBC News that events in the voting lobby were a "shambles and disgrace". A number of his colleagues sided with him, including Maria Caulfield MP, who tweeted: "We are all Charles Walker"
• Lord David Frost, Boris Johnson's former Brexit negotiator and Tory peer, added his voice to calls for Truss to resign

You can read more here.

Good morning and welcome back to our live page coverage following a chaotic day in Parliament which left Liz Truss' survival even more uncertain.

Suella Braverman resigned as home secretary on Wednesday and was replaced by Grant Shapps.

There were chaotic scenes during a fracking vote in the Commons, with some opposition MPs saying Tories had been bullied and manhandled into voting with the government.

Reports emerged on Wednesday evening that the chief whip and deputy chief whip had resigned, but hours later No 10 confirmed they were both still in their posts.

Stay with us as we bring you all the developments from Westminster and beyond.

We're pausing our live page after a day that saw Prime Minister Liz Truss' government teetering on the brink following a key Cabinet resignation and chaotic scenes in the Commons.

Our minute-by-minute updates will resume before dawn London time on Thursday.

Wednesday's coverage was brought to you by Claudia Allen, Dulcie Lee, Heather Sharp, Marie Jackson, Malu Cursino, Emily McGarvey, Brian Wheeler, Adam Durbin, Aoife Walsh, Thomas Mackintosh, Nadeem Shad and Charley Adams.

We leave you with a summary of the day's extraordinary events:

Suella Braverman's resignation leads most of Thursday's dailies.

The Guardian says the government appeared to be at risk of collapse on Wednesday night as the former home secretary attacked the PM in her resignation letter.

The Daily Telegraph says Braverman's resignation rocked the government "on a day of chaos" as some Tory plotters believe Liz Truss will be toppled within days.

Many of the papers referred to the chaos in the government as Truss clung to power, with the Financial Times saying many Tory MPs said the government was dying.

The Daily Mail said Braverman had been sacked after a 90-minute shouting match with the prime minister.

Read more here.

As we've been reporting, Labour MP Chris Bryant says he saw people being "physically manhandled" ahead of a fracking vote.

He has been speaking to the BBC about what happened in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Bryant's comments came as reports swirled that the chief whip and deputy chief whip had resigned. No 10 later said both were still in their posts.

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

This government is not functioning. It is utterly dysfunctional and we're seeing that play out hour by hour.

We've seen that this evening with confusion over whether the chief whip - the person responsible for discipline (and there isn't any discipline in the Conservative Party at the moment) - was even in her job!

A Conservative MP texted me earlier saying that he learned there had been a change of mind from the government as to whether the fracking vote was a confidence vote or not, just 10 minutes before it happened.

That left the chief whip completely isolated and sparked all this confusion over whether she was leaving the government.

But that's a micro example, a case study in this broader chaos.

The reason that matters is not because of the soap opera in this postcode, it's about whether the government can function at a time where the country needs it to function because of all the problems that we report on every night.

Right now, the simple truth is the government is not functioning.

It looks increasingly difficult for Liz Truss to survive any length of time - that's the judgement of senior conservatives who simply cannot bring themselves to defend what is going on any longer.

The big question being widely asked here tonight, is whether Truss can survive even for a few more days, let alone longer than that. This is a very difficult spot for her to escape from.

To say it's been another tumultuous day in UK politics would be an understatement. If you're just joining us, here's a recap of Wednesday's events at Westminster:

• Suella Braverman has resigned from her role as home secretary after six weeks in the job. Braverman said she was quitting after she had sent an official document from her personal email account, but expressed concerns about "the direction of the government" in a blistering resignation letter
• Former transport secretary Grant Shapps was appointed as the new home secretary
• In Parliament, there was uproar as Tory MPs tried to seek clarity on whether a vote on fracking was a confidence vote in government. A Labour MP claimed Tory MPs were manhandled into the voting lobby
• The Conservatives won the vote, with 326 voting against a ban, and 230 MPs voting for it - though 40 Tory MPs, including several senior figures, did not vote
• Reports began to emerge suggesting chief whip Wendy Morton and deputy chief whip Craig Whittaker had resigned
• After hours of speculation about their depature, No 10 confirmed both were still in their posts

• Charles Walker, a Tory MP, told BBC News that the evening's events in the voting lobby were a "shambles and disgrace". A number of his colleagues sided with him, including Maria Caulfield MP, who tweeted: "We are all Charles Walker"
• Lord David Frost, Boris Johnson's former Brexit negotiator and Tory peer, added his voice to calls for Truss to resign

Image source, Getty Images

A veteran Conservative MP has backed Prime Minister Liz Truss, saying she may emerge from today's events as a stronger leader.

Sir Roger Gale told PA News that the chaos caused by confusion over this evening fracking bill had been a "storm in a teacup" and praised the appointment of Grant Shapps as home secretary.

"On balance, at the end of today I would say, in a peculiar way - and it is peculiar - Truss might come out of it stronger. I may be completely wrong and out of touch," Sir Roger said.

He also said he was in favour of her staying in post, adding that while MPs "aren't overjoyed" with recent events, they aren't ready to move against her.

"Given the economic situation, the fact that we've got Jeremy Hunt as the chief executive effectively in control at No 11 now doing things well, and Liz Truss as an, OK, damaged chairman of the board, for the moment we're better off sticking with Liz Truss and letting Jeremy get on and do his job."

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon has condemned chaotic scenes in Parliament as an "utter shambles".

The Scottish First Minister tweeted: "An utter shambles. This can't go on. General Election now."

Meanwhile, the SNP's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, called on Liz Truss to resign.

"Liz Truss needs to go - and she needs to go now. This utter chaos can't continue any longer. If she had an ounce of decency, or any self-respect, she'd put her resignation in before she's inevitably forced from office."

Tory MPs have been reacting to comments from Charles Walker, who said there is "no coming back" for the party after a chaotic vote on fracking tonight.

In an interview with BBC News, a visibly emotional Walker said he was livid and out of patience with his party.

In a tweet, Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes, said: "Tonight we are all Charles Walker."

Former minister Johnny Mercer said, alongside an expletive, that Walker had "nailed it".

However, former culture secretary Nadine Dorries urged Walker to back Liz Truss because "he helped to put her where she is".

"Much as I love Charles, he did call to have the most electorally successful Con PM in a generation removed. Actions have consequences that we can’t always control.

"Having helped to remove Boris, he should now back Liz because as much as anyone, he helped to put her where she is," she said in a tweet.