But when they return to work in Westminster next week after the state funeral, they will have to hit the ground running with a busy series of events and announcements coming their way. We take a look at what’s happening next week. Truss reboots the new premiere Just 48 hours after the Queen asked Liz Truss to form a government, the new prime minister returned to the steps of Downing Street to announce the death of the head of state. Since then, he has traveled across the UK to take part in commemorations in support of the new King, even giving readings at some historic moments. However, there will be more formal Prime Ministerial duties to deal with next week, as well as the pressure to deal with the challenges facing households and businesses across the country. Even before the funeral takes place on Monday, Ms Truss will host world leaders and dignitaries who will travel to the UK for the event. While Number 10 said the occasion would not be used as a diplomatic exercise, reports say the Prime Minister will hold bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden and other world leaders for the first time while in the country. She is then expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly on Monday night in her first international appearance as UK leader. On the New York agenda will be a range of issues, from climate change to poverty. However, the ongoing war in Ukraine is sure to dominate proceedings and will be brought up in the Commons later in the week during a general debate scheduled for Thursday. It will be a big moment for Mrs Truss and the UK on the world stage. Pledge of Allegiance While it will be back to the day’s work for MPs, the cloud of the Queen’s death will still loom large over Westminster. Wednesday in the Commons is set for members to swear allegiance to King Charles by taking an oath or affirmation. Image: MPs will meet again next week, but not for long This is not constitutionally necessary – when MPs first join the Commons, they swear their allegiance to the monarch and their “heirs and successors”. However, the House felt it was important to give members the opportunity to do so as soon as they returned from the bereavement period. Agenda setting for health On Thursday, attention will turn to more pressing issues – one of which will be how the government plans to tackle the current issues in the NHS. Waiting lists are at an all-time high in the country, ambulances are queuing outside hospitals as patients struggle to find beds and staff morale is believed to be at an all-time low since the pandemic. Rumors are rife that new Health Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey is due to make a statement in the Commons today to outline her plans to tackle these challenges – one of Mrs Truss’ top three priorities, according to her speech about steps. of Downing Street after becoming Prime Minister. Image: Health Secretary Therese Coffey was Mrs Truss’ first appointment after taking office It is not yet clear what Ms Coffey will say, although some reports suggest she is reviewing Boris Johnson’s obesity strategy, including restrictions on the promotion of junk food, in light of rising food costs. However, after being appointed to the role, he promised to understand the “A, B, C, D” issues – namely ambulances, backlogs, (social) care and doctor/dentist access – to focus on these key areas. Making up for lost time While MPs will return next week, time will be short as they are all set to halt proceedings again to go to their party conferences next week – and are not expected back until Monday 17 October. But with so much to do, especially ahead of the winter months, Commons authorities have now confirmed that a motion will be tabled to shorten this break by a week, so MPs can return to Parliament on Tuesday 11 October, but you will have to sign before it came true. The fiscal event It was during Mrs Truss’ announcement of her plan to tackle rising energy prices that news of the Queen’s ill health broke. Before all eyes turned to Balmoral, it outlined an energy price guarantee (EPG) to cap bills at £2,500 for two years from October – around £500 higher than now but £1,000 less than Ofgem’s incoming peak price increase . But details of how much the policy would cost remained unknown, and he promised more would be revealed – including support for businesses and how he would implement the tax cuts he proposed during the leadership contest – during during a “fiscal event” in the Commons. before the end of the month. Time is of the essence due to the mourning period, but Sky News understands new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will go to the despatch box on Friday to flesh out the detail. We already know he plans to reverse the rise in National Insurance introduced in April to pay for health and social care. Other reports have emerged that he will go beyond the cap on banker bonuses, introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to cap annual payouts at twice a banker’s salary, in a bid to inspire economic growth. But most eyes will be on any detail of how it plans to pay for everything, as the new administration has yet to instruct the Office for Budget Responsibility to carry out its own forecast. Emergency legislation As we mentioned, a big and long-awaited part of this announcement will be the help for businesses. During Ms Truss’ speech to Parliament last week, she promised equivalent support to companies as she planned to give to households, who are currently protected by no price cap on their energy bills and face huge spikes. The detail is set to be outlined at Mr Kwarteng’s budget event, so businesses are waiting with bated breath. It will be a little trickier to put into effect, as there are no existing rules capping how much companies can be charged for their energy use, meaning the government may need to implement emergency legislation to make its plans happen. reality. This means that it will take parliamentary time to pass the law. With an already tight timetable, MPs will face pressure to get the job done as quickly as possible. conferences After a busy first week back, there will be conferences for MPs of all stripes as the parties hold their annual rallies across the country – except for the Lib Dems who canceled their event as it clashed with the Queen’s funeral. While the events may not get voters’ pulses racing, they are key moments in the calendar for any party. It will be Ms Truss’s first as leader and having only secured the support of 57% of members to win the race – with even less support from her own MPs – it will be an important time for her to try and win over challengers and prove that he has what it takes to win them over in the next election. For Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer, it will also be an important moment to build on the party’s momentum which has seen his poll ratings rise during a tumultuous summer for the Tories and argue that he is the right figure to lead them . in the seats of the opposition and in power. But in the wake of the Queen’s death and amid a cost-of-living crisis, events could be quieter than previous conferences and attendance could be smaller.
