Both were dissuaded from doing so in the hours that followed, but it was clear their authority had vanished – and that Truss had lost control of the government and her party. ‘That’s when I thought she’s totally lost it ’ With the tide turning against her, Truss relented. Late on the evening of Sunday 2 October, she told Kwarteng to U-turn on the abolition of the top tax rate. With support ebbing away, Truss realised she might not have the numbers to get her plans through parliament. Such a defeat would have been treated as a vote of no confidence. The mini-budget was pencilled in for Friday 23 September, the final sitting day of the Commons before recess. Labour’s autumn conference would begin two days later and Truss thought the statement would “blow them out of the water”, leaving the opposition facing uncomfortable questions about whether they would support this tax cut or that.

During her Tory leadership campaign Truss said the girls, who reportedly attend state schools, were actively involved behind the scenes. She added her 48-year-old husband was "a fantastic support to me ... But I think it's fair to say he's never wanted to be on the front line of politics". The girls will be the first teens living at Downing Street since Blair's term in office. He had three teenage children in situ during his 10-year stay. When he won a landslide victory in 2019 his relaxed relationship with the truth was already well known – but enough voters were willing to set that aside in return for his boosterism and Brexit promises, and because they didn’t like the alternative of Jeremy Corbyn. The markets duly went into a frenzy. It sparked a run on the pound and fears of sharply higher borrowing costs. Worse, it precipitated a crisis in the UK pensions industry.If you like satirical, funny and topical T-shirts, including this Twatspotting #2 Liz Truss T-shirt, then we have some good news for you. We have a range of other T-shirts available, and we’re constantly adding to the collection to release new Tees as the news breaks. See the full collection here. The number of Tory MPs who were threatening to vote against the mini-budget began to mount. Jake Berry, the Conservative party chair, added to the febrile atmosphere by saying those who did so would lose the party whip.

But whatever faith he gained among that part of the population over Brexit, he had already squandered with the rest by proroguing parliament, and later through his willingness to break international law over the Northern Ireland protocol. Meanwhile, Kwarteng faced an awkward showdown of his own in Washington. He had flown out for an annual gathering hosted by International Monetary Fund after it issued a stern slapdown of the mini-budget. Though he attended some talks, he was scrambled home a day early, boarding an overnight flight. For 10 days, most officials were diverted to help with preparations for the queen’s lying in state and funeral. ‘There was basically zero institutional memory left ’It would have been the perfect moment for some team bonding, but we couldn’t even go to the pub,” recalled one aide. Liz Truss on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme at the start of the Conservative party conference, 2 October 2022. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA