Page 3 - British Prime Minister

European shares fall as selling pressure kicks in after recent gains

European indexes fell in early trading and US futures were down as selling pressure kicked in Wednesday after a few days of strong gains. Asian shares advanced, led by a nearly 6 per cent jump in Hong Kong's share benchmark as markets there caught up after reopening from a holiday. Easing concerns about interest rate hikes by central banks have helped push markets higher in the past few days, but worries over inflation persist. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.2 per cent to 7,002.15 ahead of a speech by British Prime Minister Liz Truss where she was expected to defend her economic plans, including tax cuts that have roiled markets. Truss says she will stick with her plan to reshape Britain's economy through tax cuts and deregulation in a bid to end years of sluggish growth and create a new Britain for the new era. France's CAC 40 fell 0.7 per cent to 5,996.89 in early trading, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.8 per cent to 12,574.14. The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.7 per cent while ..

British PM Liz Truss sticks by economic plan as her party worries

British Prime Minister Liz Truss said Sunday that she could have done a better job laying the ground for her package of unfunded tax cuts, but insisted she would push on with an economic plan that has caused turmoil on financial markets and weakened the country's public finances. Truss acknowledged that the UK faces a very turbulent and stormy time, but said her policies would lead to a high-growth, low-tax economy in the longer term. The comments are unlikely to calm Truss' Conservative Party, which opens its four-day annual conference on Sunday in the central England city of Birmingham amid plunging poll ratings and growing public discontent. Truss took office less than a month ago, promising to radically reshape Britain's economy to end years of sluggish growth. But the government's September 23 announcement of a stimulus package that includes 45 billion pounds (USD 50 billion) in tax cuts, to be paid for by government borrowing, sent the pound tumbling to a record low against th

UK PM Liz Truss defends decisive action of mini-budget amid market turmoil

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday defended her government's controversial mini-budget which has triggered widespread economic turmoil and insisted that it was the decisive action needed for long-term growth. In her first round of interviews with local BBC radio stations around the country since the tax-cutting and high government, borrowing measures were tabled by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in the House of Commons last week, the recently elected leader insisted "controversial and difficult decisions" needed to be taken to improve the situation in the UK. Truss was keen to keep the focus on the largely welcome action taken to freeze fuel bills for households and businesses amid spiralling global energy costs in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "We had to take decisive action to help people through this winter and next winter, said Truss. I understand that families are struggling with their fuel bills and we had to take urgent action to get our economy growing and g

IMF tells UK to 're-evaluate' unfunded tax cuts as global criticism mounts

Prime Minister Liz Truss's decision to cut taxes by the most since the early 1970s and cover them via borrowing at a time of surging inflation has rattled financial markets and drawn concern

British PM Liz Truss may lift immigration cap to fight labour shortage

Plans to introduce more tax cuts next year as part of first full Budget

India-UK FTA first step in evolving trade, economic ties: UK official

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a very ambitious desire to get the India-UK Free Trade Agreement signed by Diwali and his new British counterpart Liz Truss wants her administration to "match the pace and ambition" of the Indian leader, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said. Cleverly also said that the bilateral relationship between India and UK is longstanding and wide-ranging, which is both a "huge plus" but it also means that "quite understandably there is a desire to have a very, very wide-ranging, meaningful free trade agreement." "Obviously, Prime Minister Modi has set a very ambitious desire to get a free trade agreement signed by Diwali. Now that means that both us and Indian negotiators are going to have to work very, very hard but we are very willing to do so," Cleverly told PTI in an interview here Wednesday on the margins of the high-level UN General Assembly session. "We want to make sure that the deal that we do, ideally by Diwali, is the first step in a ...

UK official thanks India for 'senior representation' at Queen's funeral

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has expressed gratitude for the representation by Indian President Droupadi Murmu at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, saying it was really noticed. President Murmu attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday morning. "I would like to say a huge thank you for the very very senior representation that India sent to Her Majesty the Queen's funeral. I had the opportunity to meet President Murmu and it was really noticed," Cleverly told PTI in an interview here on Wednesday on the margins of the high-level UN General Assembly session. Cleverly, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom under the new administration of Prime Minister Liz Truss, also met his Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar late on Wednesday evening at the sidelines of the UNGA. During her three-day visit to London, Murmu visited Westminster Hall and offered tributes

Biden, Truss commit to continue coordination on global challenges at UNGA

Joe Biden met with the newly elected UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly and committed to continue close coordination

UK's PM Liz Truss slams Putin for turmoil, hails queen in debut UNGA speech

British Prime Minister Liz Truss has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of making "saber-rattling threats" to cover his failed invasion of Ukraine, as she prepared to tell the United Nations that its founding principles were fracturing because of aggression by authoritarian states. In her debut speech to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday night, Truss will call the war in Ukraine a battle for "our values and the security of the whole world," and extol the late Queen Elizabeth II as a symbol of everything the U.N. stands for. The text of the speech was released in advance by Truss' office. Responding to a statement from Putin that he was mobilizing reservists and would use everything at his disposal to protect Russia an apparent reference to his nuclear arsenal -- Truss accused the Russian leader of "desperately trying to justify his catastrophic failures". "He is doubling down by sending even more reservists to a terrible fate," the speech said. "He is desperately trying t

Queen Elizabeth II was known around the world but still a royal mystery

Millions paid attention when she spoke and, crucially for a job that often was more significant in its silences, what she embodied

King Charles III addresses UK for first time from Buckingham Palace

We owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother, said King Charles III on Queen Elizabeth II's death

Official proceedings, other events that follow Queen Elizabeth II's demise

The death of the Queen is known in official circles in the UK as Operation London Bridge, the protocol for which has been triggered when Buckingham Palace announced the death of the 96-year-old monarch on Thursday evening. It set in motion a series of planned events, accompanied simultaneously by Operation Spring Tide the codename for Queen Elizabeth II's son and heir Charles succeeding her on the throne as King Charles III. London Bridge is down is reportedly the way in which the death of the Queen would have been communicated to the Prime Minister, Liz Truss, by the Queen's Private Secretary. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Global Response Centre is in charge of sending the news to the 15 governments outside the UK where the Queen is Head of State, and to the other 38 countries of the Commonwealth. A footman was seen walking across the forecourt of Buckingham Palace to pin the Official Notification of the Queen's death to the gates, outside which there wa

Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built: PM Truss

Britain's newly-elected Prime Minister Liz Truss has paid tribute to the Queen as the rock on which modern Britain was built, soon after Buckingham Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland. Truss, who had been anointed by the 96-year-old monarch just days before on Tuesday at Balmoral Castle, stepped out at 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday to reflect upon the legacy of Britain's longest-reigning monarch. She described her as a champion of the Commonwealth and a source of stability and strength over the course of 70 years of her reign. She was the very spirit of Great Britain and that spirit will endure, said Truss. Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built. Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. Britain is the great country it is today because of her, she said. She has been our longest-ever reigning monarch. It is an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for 70 years. Her life of ...

UK PM Liz Truss picks top team; Indian-origin Braverman is Home Secretary

Britain's new Prime Minister Liz Truss hit the ground running at Downing Street here on Tuesday by announcing some of the senior-most Cabinet posts, including Indian-origin Suella Braverman as her Home Secretary. A former rival who stood against Truss in the Conservative Party leadership election before being knocked out, Braverman had later backed her over former chancellor Rishi Sunak in the final leg of the contest. The 42-year-old barrister and former Attorney General of Goan and Tamil heritage has now been rewarded with one of the high offices of the UK government, with predecessor Priti Patel handing in her resignation to outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday. Among the others in the Truss top team include close allies such as Therese Coffey as Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor of the Exchequer. James Cleverly steps up to the post of Foreign Secretary Truss' own portfolio in the Boris Johnson led

Best of BS Opinion: Unproductive policy, the Truss factor, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Wednesday

The Truss factor: Economy the biggest challenge for UK's new PM

Gargantuan challenges await her after the prolonged policy paralysis of the Boris Johnson era

UK's third female PM Liz Truss 'very, very committed' to India ties

Britain got its third female Prime Minister on Tuesday as Liz Truss, who in her innings as foreign and trade minister batted for stronger bilateral ties with India, took charge at 10 Downing Street after defeating Indian-origin ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Conservative Party leadership race. The 47-year-old senior Cabinet minister is faced with one of the toughest in-trays in the top job as a result of the spiralling cost-of-living crisis in the country, which would rival any of the issues faced by her women predecessors in office, Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. She must also contend with a fractious party that gave her a smaller margin of victory at 57 to 43 per cent than most recently elected Tory party leaders. But on the India front, the former International Trade Secretary who signed off on the India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) for the Boris Johnson led government in May last year is expected to pursue the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations towards

Queen Elizabeth II appoints Liz Truss as Britain's new Prime Minister

Conservative Party leader Liz Truss was on Tuesday formally appointed as Britain's new Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the third female premier of the country. Truss travelled to the 96-year-old monarch's Balmoral Castle residence in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to meet the Queen who formally asked her to form a new government. Earlier, outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson submitted his resignation to the Queen who is currently at Balmoral, her retreat in Aberdeenshire, for her annual vacation. Following her royal audience, 47-year-old Truss will be flown right back to 10 Downing Street in London to deliver her inaugural speech as the Prime Minister before going on to unveil some key Cabinet posts. On Monday, Truss defeated former chancellor Rishi Sunak to take charge as Britain's new Prime Minister. Attorney General Suella Braverman is expected to be the only Indian-origin MP in her top team, as the Goan-origin former leadership contender is expected to be promoted to

Why Liz Truss is visiting Scotland to formally pledge as UK Prime Minister

Liz Truss, a onetime accountant who has served in Parliament for the past 12 years, will become Britain's prime minister on Tuesday when Queen Elizabeth II formally asks her to form a government. The ceremony, which will take place at a royal residence in Scotland, follows a bruising two-month contest to succeed Boris Johnson, who will formally offer his resignation to the queen shortly before Truss arrives to take up the mantle. The handover of power is governed by rules and traditions built up over the centuries, as the U.K. evolved from an absolute monarchy to a modern parliamentary democracy where the sovereign plays an important but largely ceremonial role as head of state. Here is a brief description of Tuesday's events and how Britain arrived at this point. HOW DID LIZ TRUSS BECOME PRIME MINISTER? Boris Johnson announced his intention to step down as prime minister and leader of the ruling Conservative Party on July 7, after dozens of Cabinet ministers and lower-level offic

Jaishankar congratulates Truss, expresses hope for stronger India-UK ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday congratulated Liz Truss on being chosen to be the next prime minister of the UK and said he is confident that the India-UK relationship will grow further under her leadership. Truss, who beat former chancellor Rishi Sunak to succeed Boris Johnson, is set to take charge as Britain's new prime minister. Congratulating Truss on being elected as the leader of the UK Conservative Party, Jaishankar tweeted, "Your commitment to raising India-UK cooperation to a higher level is well known. Confident that our relationship will grow further under your leadership." Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also congratulated Truss on Monday night after she was chosen to be the next prime minister of the UK and had expressed confidence that under her leadership, the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will be further strengthened.