As it happened: Patel quits as incoming PM Truss plans to fill key posts

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We'll shortly be closing our live coverage for today, but here's a recap of the main developments:

• Liz Truss has won the Conservative Party leadership contest - with 57% of member votes - and will be appointed as prime minister tomorrow after Boris Johnson formally quits as premier
• Truss will travel to Balmoral in Scotland tomorrow where the Queen will appoint her as the 15th British prime minister
• She has pledged to cut taxes and "deliver" on tackling the energy crisis as PM. Details are emerging of a plan to help consumers with energy costs - set to be announced on Thursday
• Home Secretary Priti Patel has said she is resigning and will continue to work in government from the backbenches
• Truss's rival for the leadership, Rishi Sunak, says he intends to continue as the MP for Richmond and will contest the seat at the next general election
• Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Truss had the "right plan to tackle the cost of living crisis, unite our party and continue the great work of uniting and levelling up our country"
• Ben Elliot, the Conservative party co-chairman, stood down after Liz Truss's appointment as PM
• Dominic Raab, the current deputy prime minister and justice secretary, says he does not expect to be appointed to Liz Truss's government tomorrow
• Truss has not announced any cabinet appointments, but we can expect to see Kwasi Kwarteng appointed as chancellor, Suella Braverman as home secretary and James Cleverly as foreign secretary, as Chris Mason reports

You can read the latest here.

As the BBC's Political Editor Chris Mason reports, we can expect Liz Truss's cabinet to include Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

While these appointments won't be announced until tomorrow, when Truss formally takes office, here's a quick summary of the trio.

Kwasi Kwarteng

• The current business secretary is thought to be in line to take Nadhim Zahawi's place as chancellor
• The MP for Spelthorne in Surrey was first elected in 2010 and previously served as a junior Brexit minister in Theresa May's government, before a stint as energy minister and then his current role
• He was a vocal Johnson supporter, Brexit support and opposes a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies. Kwarteng also co-authored the book Britannia Unchained with several Tory MPs, including Liz Truss

Suella Braverman

• Braverman, the current attorney general, is expected to be appointed home secretary, filling the position of Priti Patel, who announced her resignation this evening
• She was elected as MP for Fareham in Hampshire in 2015. She was appointed as a minister at the Department for Leaving the EU by Theresa May, and then to her current role by Boris Johnson in 2020
• A Brexiteer, she chaired the Eurosceptic European Research Group between 2017 and 2018. She supports the withdrawal of the UK from the European Convention of Human Rights

James Cleverly

• Cleverly, the education secretary, is expected to take over from Truss as foreign secretary
• He has been an MP for Braintree in Essex since 2015 and served as co-chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Ben Elliot, who resigned earlier today
• Theresa May made him party chairman and Boris Johnson initially promoted him to the cabinet as minister without portfolio before demoting him in his February 2020 reshuffle
• Despite supporting Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement, he is popular with Brexiteers and served in the London Assembly while Mr Johnson was mayor

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Help for consumers' energy costs is to be provided by allowing energy suppliers to take out government-backed loans to allow them to subsidise bills.

The plan, which had been suggested by the energy industry, is set to be announced on Thursday.

The "deficit reduction scheme" is expected to form the centrepiece of the government's attempt to tackle the high cost of energy for consumers.

Smaller firms are expected to be offered similar help to that of households, although the BBC understands the details of how businesses will be helped may not be ironed out in time to be included in Thursday's energy announcement.

It is also understood that bigger companies may be offered bespoke tax breaks to help them through the period of high prices.

You can read more here

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At one stage this summer, Priti Patel considered a leadership bid of her own. At least a dozen colleagues pressed her to do so.

But she swithered. And some who would have supported her began to declare for other candidates.

She - like the final two in the contest - was one of the most senior members of Boris Johnson’s government.

Insiders suggest she didn’t discern any abilities in them that she didn’t possess herself. So she endorsed neither of them - a potentially career-limiting move.

While she would have been happy to stay at the Home Office, the rumours that Suella Braverman would replace her were solidified by sources close to Liz Truss.

At that point, Priti Patel probably decided to jump before she was pushed - though she sent her resignation pointedly to the current prime minister, not his successor.

Thus the process of transition in government has begun. And the speculation is whether Sunak supporter Dominic Raab may now follow suit.

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And now some more reaction from Thetford, a town in Liz Truss' constituency South West Norfolk.

Debbie Smith, 39, a lab technician and mother of two currently on maternity leave, says she wants Truss to deal with the cost of energy when she becomes prime minister.

“Especially living in an older house with the gas, that’s going to be a killer for us", says Debbie.

"We’re going to have to tighten the belts on everything but we’ll get through it, we’ll do it,“ she says.

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The talk of the town here in Belgium isn't the soon-to-be new UK prime minister - although it is being mentioned here and there. It is very much the energy crisis - especially after the closure of Nord Stream 1.

But if you look at some of the congratulatory words coming from the European Commission, the message is caveated.

Hopes for a constructive relationship are combined with calls for the UK to “respect” or “comply” with Brexit agreements.

The post-Brexit treaty, governing trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, has never been fully implemented.

And this year, the UK government worked up plans to potentially override parts of it altogether - with the architect none other than Liz Truss, as foreign secretary.

So Britain’s argument, that problems with the treaty are baked into the text, isn’t likely to change.

But one thing to watch for is whether a Truss government does decide to gives talks with Brussels another whirl.

• READ MORE:A simple guide to the Brexit border problem

Energy company bosses met with government ministers today to discuss “their part” in planned interventions by Liz Truss's government.

“We are moving quickly to support the public with the impact of high energy prices, caused by Putin’s weaponisation of energy," said a government spokesman.

The spokesman said energy company CEOs are clear that they understand the scale of the challenge and the need "to play their part to ensure the success of the Government’s planned intervention".

Priti Patel’s letter to Boris Johnson lists what she regards as her achievements as Home Secretary: more police officers, a points-based immigration system, asylum reform and her deal with Rwanda.

But whoever takes over at the Home Office will inherit a department with chronic and profound challenges:

• A scandal-ridden police service with a number of forces, including the Met, effectively in special measures
• An asylum system in chaos, with tens of thousands of migrants in requisitioned hotels costing millions every day
• The legality of her flagship Rwanda policy currently under consideration by the High Court

Back within the UK, Liz Truss will be the fourth Conservative Prime Minister that Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will work alongside.

Speaking to broadcasters this afternoon, the SNP leader extended an invitation for Truss to come to Edinburgh.

Sturgeon said despite political differences she hoped to work "constructively" with the new Conservative leader.

Perhaps comments from earlier in the leadership contest when Truss called Sturgeon an "attention-seeker" can be swept aside?

Sturgeon wants to hold another independence referendum in the coming months, but Truss opposes the idea of another vote.

Even so, it's hard to see how the relationship between these two politicians could get much worse than the one that existed between Sturgeon and Boris Johnson.

In her victory speech, Liz Truss said Johnson was "admired from Kyiv to Carlisle".

Sturgeon suggested this was an "honest reflection" of Johnson's lack of popularity north of the border.

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Global leaders have been sending their congratulations to Liz Truss - but in the international media, there have been snarkier remarks, too. "She has gone to see the Queen," said Russian television presenter Ivan Trushkin. "If she [the Queen] recognises her of course."

In France, meanwhile, she has been branded not the Iron Lady - former UK PM Margaret Thatcher's nickname - but the Iron Weathercock - in reference to Truss's changing views on the UK leaving the European Union.

Italy's Corriere della Sera compares Truss to Thatcher - but describes the new leader's speeches as more "robotic".

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Truss and said London and Berlin would carry on cooperating as "partners and friends" during "these challenging times".

Read more here.

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It's time for a quick recap on what's been a big day for the Conservative Party, and for UK politics. Here are some key things to know:

• Liz Truss wins the Conservative leadership vote with 57% of valid votes cast
• Concerns remain whether she can unite the Tory party, with one former minister saying she will be out of No 10 if "divisions persist" - before she even crosses the threshold
• In her victory speech, Truss pledges to cut taxes and "deliver" on a plan to tackle the energy crisis

• Defeated rival Rishi Sunak says he intends to continue as the MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire, when asked if he would take a cabinet post
• Home Secretary Priti Patel resigns - Suella Braverman has already been tipped as her replacement
• Labour Leader Keir Starmer says the country is facing a "Tory cost of living crisis"
• Among overseas leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron congratulates Truss, despite her previous comment weighing-up whether the French leader was a "friend or foe"
• Rain is forecast tomorrow over Westminster, potentially dampening Boris Johnson's departure speech and Truss' arrival at No 10 as the new PM

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A little more now on reaction to Liz Truss's victory today, and Labour's Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says she needs a plan to tackle soaring inflation and the rising cost of energy.

Khan came in for criticism from both candidates as they fought for the leadership.

"If Liz Truss is going to be continuity Boris Johnson, that's a problem for us," he tells the BBC.

"We come clearly from different political traditions but we share a common desire to see our capital city and country succeeding.

"She takes over during a time of national crisis. Families, communities and businesses are seeing economic pain they have not seen since the 2008 economic banking crash and even worse than the pandemic," he says.

"For the last two months we've see a zombie government and candidates distracted by tribal party politics.

"I've been speaking to parents skipping a meal so their kids can eat, pensioners who have not turned a fan on during the heatwave because they're concerned about their bills. All the time the government missing in action."

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In her resignation letter to Boris Johnson, Priti Patel says "it has been the honour of my life to serve our country as home secretary for the last three years and to deliver on our commitments to back and reform our police, stand up for the hard-working law-abiding majority, reform our immigration and asylum system, and fight terrorism".

"Your support over this period has delivered an unparalleled package of reforms and investment."

Speaking about policies on migration and slavery, including the Rwanda asylum scheme, Patel said: "As we know, there is no single solution to this huge challenge and the Government must tackle the full spectrum of issues to halt the illegal entry of migrants to the UK."

"I congratulate Liz Truss on being elected our new leader, and will give her my support as our new prime minister."

She continues: "It is my choice to continue my public service to the country and the Witham constituency from the backbenchers, once Liz formally assumes office and a new home secretary is appointed."

"From the backbenches, I will champion many of the policies I have stood up for both inside and outside government."

BBC reporters were out and about in Redcar, North Yorkshire this morning - one of the so-called Red Wall constituencies that switched from Labour to the Conservatives in the 2019 election.

They asked people what they think Liz Truss should do when she becomes prime minister.

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Paul Wigham, who is retired, says: "Hoping, desperately hoping for some help, for the young ‘uns, for people whose electricity power and gas prices have just got ridiculous. I’m expecting some very serious actions."

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Judy Sharples works in a residential home for profoundly deaf and disabled people. She says she wants to be able to live comfortably and not struggle to pay bills.

"We’re going to end up sitting in blankets like they did in the 50s and 40s," she says. "It’s not on... I don’t think anybody can sort it out unless they all start working together."

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Retail worker Christopher Carter says he wants honesty from the government about why energy prices are "going through the roof".

He believes it's because the government has failed to provide alternative energy sources. "They’ve been in charge for 12 years. They’ve done nothing with nuclear, they’ve pulled back the solar benefit, they pulled back wind and the planning permissions," he says.

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Rhona, aged 91, thinks Liz Truss will do a good job: "I’m sure she will but there’s a terrible mess everywhere."

Angela says Truss needs to sort out the energy crisis because it affects low-paid workers, like herself.

"I haven’t got much confidence," she says, "they say they’re going to do one thing and then U-turn and do something else".

In a blow to both the outgoing and incoming prime minister, it looks set to rain on and off for much of tomorrow in Westminster.

This may put a dampener on the speeches due to be held outside Downing Street, but it's unclear if it will affect the plans for Boris Johnson and Liz Truss to travel to the Scottish Highlands to see the Queen.

With the weather not looking much better in Balmoral, it could affect the timing of Johnson's speech in the morning, as well as force Truss inside for her first address to the nation in the afternoon.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has offered congratulations to Liz Truss and said France is "ready to work together as allies and friends" .

Speaking during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Macron said both France and the UK "have the same values, a history of friendship, we face common challenges".

It comes after Truss' controversial remarks about the French leader, when she said the "jury is out" in response to a question whether he is is a "friend or foe" of the UK.

Following the remarks, Macron warned of "serious problems" for France-UK relations, but insisted the UK remained an ally despite the occasional error made by its leaders.

Quote Message: The UK is a great country committed with us to defend the values of democracy alongside Ukraine and which also needs to strengthen its energy sovereignty and win the battle against climate change." from French President Emmanuel Macron

The UK is a great country committed with us to defend the values of democracy alongside Ukraine and which also needs to strengthen its energy sovereignty and win the battle against climate change."

Rishi Sunak says he intends to continue as the MP for Richmond.

The defeated Conservative leadership candidate has told the BBC he will contest the seat at the next general election.Asked about higher political ambitions, he said it has been a privilege to serve as chancellor, and that he will now be focused on supporting his constituents and giving Liz Truss his "full support".

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With Liz Truss's victory still fresh, there is a desire amongst some of her critics to avoid being accused of devouring sour grapes, so they have been publicly circumspect in their reaction.

But concerns privately about her ability to unite a divided party persist.

One former cabinet minister, tongue firmly in cheek, said he was sure "she will be a complete triumph" before adding that there was "precious little sign of her reaching out" to internal sceptics.

"We can only live in hope," he said, but mooted senior appointments appear to be confined overwhelmingly to allies.

Another former minister went as far as warning that if "divisions persist" she could follow Boris Johnson out of the No 10 door before the next election.

Bear in mind she hasn't yet crossed the threshold as PM yet.