Liz Truss resigns, reports Boris Johnson will stand
In the end Truss was outlasted by the lettuce. Boris Johnson is expected to stand for the leadership while calls for a general election in the UK mount
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, October 21, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: final day of public hearings in abuse in care inquiry; National and Labour both play down chances of winning byelection; the new world of carbon budgeting for buildings; but first, Truss gone, reports Boris Johnson will stand
Liz Truss, now the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history, did not outlast the lettuce (Image: RNZ/AFP - Daniel Leal/Daily Star)
The shortest serving UK prime minister in history
In unsurprising but nonetheless chaotic news, Liz Truss resigned as UK prime minister around 1.30am this morning (NZT). Horrifically, I was awake and immediately went to the Daily Star’s livestream to capture the exact moment the banner changed to proclaim that the lettuce had outlasted Truss. Smoke is coming off the fingers of journalists in Britain right now and I have 67 browser tabs open. Here is a proper and succinct analysis from The Guardian of how Liz Truss went from bottling a royal curtsy to becoming the shortest serving UK prime minister in history. George Canning held the previous record, serving for 119 days before dying of tuberculosis on August 8, 1827.
In good news, the pound has rallied
The UK is now staring down the barrel of its third prime minister in two months. It’s all extremely farcical but it's also happening against a backdrop of a cost of living crisis, soaring inflation (10.7% in the UK this week), an energy crisis and what the Financial Times says is the lack of a convincing case that there's been any payoff following Brexit. The Daily Beast has held nothing back in its reporting, writing “Just 44 days after arriving at No.10, Truss’ regime was officially killed off on Thursday along with the United Kingdom’s ability to pretend any longer that it hasn’t fallen into absolute kakistocracy.” In good news, the pound rallied following news of the resignation.
Short sharp leadership contest
Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee has announced a very short timeframe to replace Truss. It’s all expected to be done by next Friday. Nominations for the leadership will close on Monday. Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt are odds-on favourites to replace Truss according to the Telegraph. Who knows what the picture will look like by the time you read this. The recent appearance of Boris Johnson’s face in a chicken korma (you be the judge, it’s not really a Shroud of Turin moment for me), and a YouGov poll of Conservative party members mean we can not rule out the return of BoJo.
Reports Boris Johnson will stand
The Times is reporting that Johnson is expected to stand for the leadership. On Twitter, deputy political editor of The Guardian, Jessica Elgot shared the tweet carrying that news and said a Tory MP had sent it to her saying they would immediately defect to the Labour party if Johnson won. Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for a general election. Based on a snap YouGov poll, three out of five Britons agree with him. To the local connection now and we don’t yet have a ruling on whether the curse of the New Zealand prime minister visit applies in this situation. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern met Truss on September 18.
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Public hearings for inquiry into abuse in state care end today
Public hearings in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care began in September 2020. The Commission has held 133 days of public hearings and today that chapter comes to close. The hearings over the last week have focused on faith institutions. Rugby star and Moana Pasifika captain Sekope Kepu represented Wesley College's Tongan community at the hearings this week and revealed he is an abuse survivor. Catholic church leaders said their handling of abuse in the church was inadequate. Catholic school, St Patrick's Silverstream admitted it had not removed an alleged abuser's portrait from the school wall despite repeated requests from survivors. The inquiry also heard how staff at Dilworth dismissed claims of abuse. The Commission will report back to the Governor General in June next year.
Early Christmas byelection for Hamilton West
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced yesterday that the date for the Hamilton West byelection will be December 10. Prompted by Gaurav Sharma’s resignation, both National and Labour are seemingly playing down their chances of winning the seat. Sharma was also formally expelled from the Labour party yesterday. Candidate nominations for the byelection close on November 8 and confirmation of candidates will be announced the following day. Newshub’s Jenna Lynch reports that wealthy businessman Roshan Nauhria has offered to financially back Sharma’s campaign. Nauhria was the former leader of the People's Party and stood as a candidate in the 2016 Mount Roskill byelection. The party contested the 2017 election and then joined forces with Jami-Lee Ross as a component party of Advance New Zealand.
An interesting sort of junkie
In an excerpt from Jim Wilson’s new memoir You Can’t Put That There!, the man behind Phantom Billstickers gives a glimpse into his reckless youth in the 1970s. “It was now early morning, and we were beginning to hang out because our methadone from the day before was starting to wear off. We were sick and breaking our necks to get better. When The Nark and I got that safe open at Musselburgh, we just looked at each other and laughed.” Read the full excerpt on The Spinoff now, and preorder your copy today.
How green is your building?
Building developers and funders are scrambling to work out how much carbon dioxide is emitted or captured in a building’s construction and operation over its lifetime. Jasmax’s Carbon Research Lead, Paul Jurasovich, joins Bernard in the latest episode of When the Facts Change to map out the new world of carbon budgeting for buildings (such as the five star green-rated Kiwibank corporate office in Auckland).
Click and collect
Trevor Mallard delivers valedictory speech, trespassing of Winston Peters declared “unreasonable” and “irrational”
Judge highlights court backlog and refuses to hear arguments in pre-trial hearing
Pfizer seeks approval for Covid vaccine targeting omicron variants
$60m bill for flood repairs in Nelson
UV index levels have risen by up to 10% around Auckland, warning to take care when out in the sun
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
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Super Sports Friday
Chief cricket writer for Stuff, Ian Anderson has all the talking points ahead of Saturday night’s Twenty20 World Cup opener between the Black Caps and defending champions Australia in Sydney. Black Ferns star Ayesha Leti-I'iga returns from injury in time to play Scotland this weekend. Steven Adams gets a ball to the head and it's no big deal. The 17 year old from Wellington who’s provided over 10,000 sneakers to kids for free so they're able to participate in sport.
It’s Friday so…
I don’t know, do we need this today? Not sure I can top the chicken korma that looks a bit like Boris Johnson and just… everything. Nonetheless, enjoy this research out of Japan about the safety potential of adding googly eyes to self-driving cars.
