Liz Truss swept all before her at her first Prime Minister’s Questions — skewering the opposition, heartening Tory morale and even raising laughter among friend and foe.
It lacked the classical references and swagger of Boris Johnson’s PMQs but there was also an absence of the evasion and vagueness of the former prime minister.
A straight-talking, professional approach, high on ideology, has returned to Westminster, perhaps in good time to contend with the economic maelstrom ahead.
If there were waverers in support for their new leader among the Tory backbenchers at midday on Wednesday, there were far fewer 37 minutes later, when Ms Truss gathered her large, red government box and strode out of the chamber.
She left behind a bemused Labour opposition, unable to land a single blow, a befuddled Scottish National Party leader and beaming Conservative benches.
Even former prime minister Theresa May appeared momentarily in raptures after Ms Truss’s response to her question of why it was that the Conservatives had provided three female prime ministers and Labour not even a single woman leader.
The Labour Party could not find a female boss “or indeed a leader that doesn’t come from north London”, she responded to raucous laughter and cheers.
So demonstrably bayoneted, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had no option but to sit back and chuckle, hoping voters might soon forget the harm done to his party by his fellow north Londoner, socialist Jeremy Corbyn.
Concession was perhaps made by the opposition, as this was Ms Truss’s first PMQs and she has yet, beyond appointing her Cabinet, to make any serious government decisions that can be scrutinised.
Furthermore, she has stolen Labour’s clothing by letting it be known that the Tories will adopt their policy of putting a cap on energy prices — possibly about £2,500 ($2,900) per home — to avoid debilitating debt for households and businesses.
This, Sir Keir stated, would cost at least £100 billion and it was clear that working people would have to pay for it through taxes.
“The face at the top may change, but the policies remain the same,” he quipped.
Ms Truss's riposte was swift and rapier-like.
“There's nothing new about a Labour leader who is calling for more tax rises,” she said to great cheers. “He doesn't understand that people want to keep more of their own money.”
Her direct approach reached is zenith when asked a rambling question about whether she would publish a review on child social care. “Yes” she said, then sat back down.
A similar response was reserved for Ian Blackford, the Scottish National Party leader in Parliament who sparred long and bitterly with Mr Johnson.
“Would the freeze on energy prices be paid for by a windfall tax [on energy companies], yes or no?” he demanded.
“No, it won't be paid for by a windfall tax,” she replied. “I don't believe we can tax our way to growth.”
Mr Blackford looked crestfallen at her directness then became evasive as Ms Truss pushed for the Scottish government to commit to building new nuclear power stations.
When asked by an opposition MP if she would call a general election to give her a proper mandate to govern, she replied that she would not.
“The country is in a very serious energy crisis and the British people want a government that is going to sort it,” Ms Truss firmly stated, as she approached the 24-hour mark of her premiership.
Her government has clearly decided — like the Germans and others — to buy their way out of the crisis caused by Russian’s aggression in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Ms Truss will return to Parliament to announce a package that will cost Britain £100bn or more to enforce the price cap. Here the opposition will have something to pick over and criticise.
For now, Ms Truss is on the front foot. There is also something different about her government: of her immediate front bench, seven were women — possibly a record for PMQs — and two were African-heritage men and all exuded a sense of purpose rather than bitter infighting.
One thing Ms Truss certainly wasn’t — and did not try to be — was her jovial predecessor. She more resembled the steel of her political idol Margaret Thatcher, who after a good number of PMQs earned the title of the “Iron Lady”.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
RESULTS
Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Deryan, Ioritz Mendizabal (jockey), Didier Guillemin (trainer).
Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Subjectivist, Joe Fanning, Mark Johnston
Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1million (T) 1,200m
Winner: Extravagant Kid, Ryan Moore, Brendan Walsh
UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $1.5million (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zenden, Antonio Fresu, Carlos David
Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden
Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
Winner: Mishriff, John Egan, John Gosden
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
MATCH INFO
World Cup 2022 qualifier
UAE v Indonesia, Thursday, 8pm
Venue: Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
Meghan%20podcast
%3Cp%3EMeghan%20Markle%2C%20the%20wife%20of%20Prince%20Harry%2C%20launched%20her%20long-awaited%20podcast%20Tuesday%2C%20with%20tennis%20megastar%20Serena%20Williams%20as%20the%20first%20guest.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Duchess%20of%20Sussex%20said%20the%2012-part%20series%2C%20called%20%22Archetypes%2C%22%20--%20a%20play%20on%20the%20name%20of%20the%20couple's%20oldest%20child%2C%20Archie%20--%20would%20explore%20the%20female%20experience.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELast%20year%20the%20couple%20told%20Oprah%20Winfrey%20that%20life%20inside%20%22The%20Firm%22%20had%20been%20miserable%2C%20and%20that%20they%20had%20experienced%20racism.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20don't%20ever%20remember%20personally%20feeling%20the%20negative%20connotation%20behind%20the%20word%20ambitious%2C%20until%20I%20started%20dating%20my%20now-husband%2C%22%20she%20told%20the%20tennis%20champion.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
ENGLAND SQUAD
Team: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Sam Simmonds
Replacements 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Jack Nowell
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
