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Duncan Smith slams Osborne and Cameron: 'this is not the way to do government' - live Iain Duncan Smith slams Osborne and Cameron: 'this is not the way to do government' - live
(35 minutes later)
10.23am GMT
10:23
Ros Altmann, the pensions minsiter who made that extraordinary statement attacking IDS has been speaking to John Pienaar’s show on Radio 5Live.
Altmann claims the resignation had been planned for weeks: “This was coming... this has to be about Europe not the policy.”
There is absolutely no love lost here. She claims to have been effectively silenced by IDS, unable to speak her mind, tweet or update her consumer rights’ blog.
Ros Altmann on Pienaar brands IDS resignation "disingenuous" + thinks he planned it to damage the government. "This has to be about Europe"
Updated
at 10.25am GMT
10.19am GMT
10:19
IDS assessment of George Osborne is even more astonishing when you see it written down. pic.twitter.com/ZnN0BQdtQq
10.16am GMT
10:16
Owen Smith, Labour’s shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, offers his view on the Iain Duncan Smith’s interview on the Andrew Marr show. He says the Conservative Party is “tearing itself apart over an unfair Budget” and that Osborne should resign.
“No-one will believe Iain Duncan Smith’s sudden change of heart,” he said.
After all this is the man who introduced the Bedroom Tax. But what his comments do reveal is growing anger within the Conservative Party about George Osborne’s management of the economy.
The Chancellor’s unfair Budget is falling apart at the seams. George Osborne now needs to urgently clarify whether these cuts to disability benefits will go ahead and, if not, how he will make up for the huge hole in his Budget.
Jeremy Corbyn is right. Iain Duncan Smith’s resignation is a symptom of a wider problem made at the Treasury.
George Osborne should take responsibility and resign. He has failed his party, failed the economy and failed our country.
Updated
at 10.17am GMT
10.15am GMT
10:15
Andy Burnham, the shadow home secretary, is speaking on Murnaghan now.
He says politicians must remember that “amongst the political intrigue” hundreds and thousands of disabled people are worried about the future, and calls on Stephen Crabb, the new secretary of state, to cancel the new criteria for PIP.
“The new villain of the piece is emerging,” Burnham said, referring to Osborne. “He has reduced people to fear and nervous exhaustion. He has made arbitrary cuts to benefits that even IDS couldn’t support. They play politics with the lives of vulnerable people.”
Updated
at 10.15am GMT
10.09am GMT
10:09
Amber Rudd: 'To launch this bombshell... is really disappointing'
Amber Rudd, the secretary of state for Energy and Climate Change, is speaking on Sky News’ Murnaghan about IDS’ resignation.
I don’t really understand it, I am perplexed but I have sat at cabinet with him every week, and then to launch this bombshell at the rest of us, it is difficult to understand and is really disappointing.
She said she resents his “high moral tone” on one nation Conservatism. “We are a team as a government and he has broken ranks with that team which is upsetting.”
He has now “created a bit more time on his hands” to work on getting Britain out of the EU, Rudd said. Number 10 is very keen to push this line.
Updated
at 10.12am GMT
10.05am GMT
10:05
Anushka Asthana
Here’s the Guardian’s political editor’s first take on that dramatic interview.
Iain Duncan Smith spent five years in opposition drawing up plans to overhaul welfare; Universal Credit was the entire basis of his decision to co-found the Centre for Social Justice think-tank.
His key argument today is that his desire to roll out those reforms was the only reason that he entered Government - an ambition to drive a “social justice” agenda that would help people into work.
What he hadn’t realised was going to happen was the 2008 financial crash that would devastate the economic landscape in which he would enter the Department for Work and Pensions.
Duncan Smith said he knew that Government would require “compromise” but he wanted to do it in order to try to deliver his plans.
Doing so under the cloak of austerity meant that welfare cuts became the overriding narrative, while Universal Credit was more seen as a huge, at time inefficient reform, which had its deadline pushed further and further back.
Duncan Smith says he could take the austerity agenda, but admitted that he was constantly under fire from the Treasury.
Despite his warm words for the Prime Minister and Chancellor, his key argument he made this morning was that the Conservatives were this morning is damning: to suggest that the leadership went brutally after welfare because the working poor were not a group that had or ever would vote Tory.
Critics of Duncan Smith would ask why he then accepted the scale of cutbacks for six years before stepping away. Disability reforms, he said, were the straw that broke the camel’s back.
He said he had supported policies to help pensioners like the triple lock, but enough was enough. The warning now is that there is a risk that Government policy is drifting in a discretion that “divides society rather than unites it”.
Which, however much he tried to avoid attacking his party, is a highly critical point.It shines a light on the way that the Treasury has pitted the welfare bill against other departmental spending - because one thing is true: it is very popular to cut benefits.
Labour has struggled itself with how to respond because the polling is so stark.Duncan Smith’s parting shot is to say the time has come for politics to rise above populism - and stop hurting the most vulnerable, just because it is easy to do so.
For that he will be commended. But for campaigners who viciously opposed policies like the bedroom tax - it may feel like too little too late.As for George Osborne’s leadership hopes - Duncan Smith didn’t need to put the knife in on the Andrew Marr show - the entire resignation has done that, reducing Osborne’s chances dramatically.
David Cameron is trying to protect his closest colleague and friend by making sure that it is number 10 reacting to Duncan Smith’s decision. But the Treasury team will now also be desperately trying to find ways to shore up their boss’s position.
10.04am GMT
10:04
Some of the rapid reaction on social media on what must surely rank as one of the most explosive political interviews in recent history.
That was simply amazing. I can't remember a more dramatic political interview on television for years #marr
Blimey. IDS tells #marr government only cares about people who vote for them, are attacking the vulnerable and risk dividing the country...
The whole of Osborne and Cameron's political mission since 2010, focus on eliminating the deficit, attacked by IDS. Extraordinary. #marr
Updated
at 10.18am GMT
9.57am GMT
09:57
IDS has finished his interview, reiterating he would vote for David Cameron to remain PM if there was a leadership election tomorrow.
9.53am GMT9.53am GMT
09:5309:53
IDS insists his resignation is not personal attacks against Osborne.IDS insists his resignation is not personal attacks against Osborne.
Would George Osborne make a good prime minister? “I would hope he would,” he said.Would George Osborne make a good prime minister? “I would hope he would,” he said.
He calls talk of a coup “piffle”. “I would not stand for leader or support someone who could stand for leader now.” He calls talk of a coup “piffle”.
I have a high regard for the prime minister. I would not stand for leader or support someone who could stand for leader now.
“It is not easy, it is painful to resign,” he said. “I am not in the business of morality, but the risk is there and I want to change that. I would rather campaign to change that.”
I care for one thing and one thing only...that the people who don’t get the choices my children get are not left behind.
Updated
at 10.01am GMT
9.51am GMT9.51am GMT
09:5109:51
IDS: 'I have absolutely no personal ambitions'
IDS said he understood the “need to eradicate the deficit because the people who suffer most people are people on lowest incomes.”IDS said he understood the “need to eradicate the deficit because the people who suffer most people are people on lowest incomes.”
But he said the government had to “widen the scope” in the ways in which it tried to get the deficit down, not just by targeting working age benefits.But he said the government had to “widen the scope” in the ways in which it tried to get the deficit down, not just by targeting working age benefits.
He suggested the working age benefits were targeted because “it doesn’t matter because [people on benefits] don’t vote for us. But they are people, people who I want to help get into work.”He suggested the working age benefits were targeted because “it doesn’t matter because [people on benefits] don’t vote for us. But they are people, people who I want to help get into work.”
9.46am GMT “I have absolutely no personal ambitions. If I never go back into government I won’t cry about that.”
09:46
IDS said current policy was leading to division between generations. We can’t go on taking money out of working age benefits, he says, hinting the government should look again at the “triple lock” on pensions.
I am resigning because I want my government to think again about this. This is not some secondary attempt to attack the prime minister, or about Europe.
UpdatedUpdated
at 9.47am GMT at 10.12am GMT
9.44am GMT
09:44
IDS didn't speak up in cabinet at 8am on Budget Day because didn't know about cuts to capital gains tax. 'It was the juxtaposition' #Marr
IDS to Marr: I felt about resigning last year, I got more and more depressed about arbitrary welfare cap
IDS rightly points out the £4.4bn disability cuts are 'in the Red Book' of the Budget. Treasury + No10 have yet to explain how they won't be
9.43am GMT
09:43
IDS said he was “passionate about issue of social justice” but felt “increasingly isolated and detached” from Number 10.
“I sat silently at 8 o’clock during the Budget [cabinet meeting],” he said, after insisting he had been considering his position over many weeks and months. “It gave me time to think about this. I thought long and hard and I wanted to put out a statement saying i would consult more. By Friday I really decided that this was the end.
“It is a very peculiar way to set policy, to tell everyone to go out and defend the policy and then by Friday evening say you had kicked it into the long grass.”
IDS says he was increasingly angry about the unfairness of tax cuts juxtaposed with welfare cuts, and the ideology behind budget cuts. “It wasn’t about Wednesday or Friday. It was about that agenda.”
Updated
at 9.45am GMT
9.38am GMT
09:38
IDS is on the Marr sofa now. He says after Christmas the pressure began to grow because of the Budget, to get a definitive answer on the consultation over welfare changes.
He felt under “massive pressure” to “rush” the consultation, whilst being unaware of other forthcoming tax cuts for higher earners. He calls the budget cuts to this department “arbitrary.”
Updated
at 9.51am GMT
9.34am GMT
09:34
On any other day this would be a huge story. David Laws has made some explosive claims about the NHS during the coalition years - claiming NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens told the government categorically that he could only find half of the £30bn demanded in efficiency savings.
The £22bn savings made were more than Stevens had thought were affordable, he said. Laws said Downing Street put pressure on Stevens over the funding crisis in the NHS.
“I’m not criticising Simon [Stevens] but I think he was leant on,” Laws said.
9.25am GMT
09:25
David Laws, the former Lib Dem minister, is the first interviewee with Andrew Marr this morning. He has a book out on his time in the coalition.
“It’s no secret that they were not allies,” Laws said of Osborne and IDS. Osborne had always viewed welfare budgets as “cash cows waiting to be squeezed,” he said, with IDS always more resistant, despite being seen as on the hard-right of the party.
David Laws highlights running sore btw Osborne + Duncan Smith under coalition, with chx regarding welfare budget as a "cash cow" #Marrshow
9.20am GMT
09:20
Here’s a recap of the scene in Westminster as Downing Street braces for IDS’ first interview since his dramatic resignation.
He seems to want to do maximum damage to the party leadership in order to further his campaign to try to get Britain to leave the EU.
As far as I could tell, he appeared to spend much of the last few months plotting over Europe and against the leadership of the party and it seemed to me he had been planning to find a reason to resign for a long time.
I have found him exceptionally difficult to work for. It has been a hugely challenging time for me as he was preventing me from speaking to the public and has often been obstructive to my efforts to resolve important pension policy issues such as on women’s pensions.
Iain always conducted himself in a professional, dedicated and determined manner. He actively encouraged Ministers and teams to engage, challenge and develop ideas. We were to be ourselves, our judgement backed as we worked as a team both for DWP and the Government.
Iain has always provided support and encouragement in all aspects of my work in DWP. All meetings with our Ministerial team have been constructive and every Minister has had the freedom to take forward policy ideas in their brief, to lead media campaigns and engage freely with parliamentary colleagues.
9.16am GMT
09:16
IDS is on Andrew Marr’s sofa and we’re expecting to hear from him later in the programme.
He won’t have the last word on the matter today, senior Tory figures are across the airwaves today. Here’s who is coming up on the Sunday programme.
The Andrew Marr Show - 9am
Iain Duncan Smith and former Lib Dem minister David Laws are on the sofa.
BBC Radio 5Live’s Pienaar’s Politics - 10am
Pensions minister Ros Altmann will appear as will shadow chancellor John McDonnell.
Sky News’ Murnaghan - 10am
Tory minister Amber Rudd and Bernard Jenkin, Conservative MP and friend to IDS. Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham and Conservative MP Liam Fox will also appear.
BBC Sunday Politics - 11am
Labour’s Owen Smith will appear, as will the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ Paul Johnson, and Tory MP Heidi Allen, who came to prominence for her maiden speech which attacked cuts to tax credits.
9.08am GMT
09:08
The welcoming committee at the BBC for Iain Duncan Smith’s appearance on Marr.
Morning! The #IDS welcome party out in force at BBC HQ. #marr pic.twitter.com/xQctnw0sO4
9.06am GMT
09:06
The Sunday papers are focussed on the Downing Street reaction to Iain Duncan-Smith’s resignation, and the future of the Chancellor - including the ‘four-letter tirade’ by Cameron at IDS.
Here’s the splash in today’s Observer.
Observer front page:Tory party at war as IDS allies slam ‘immoral cuts’#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/EjnIpd4ZeZ
Mail On Sunday: Outraged Cameron’s 4-letter tirade at ‘fraud’ IDS
Mail on Sunday front page:Outraged Cameron's 4-letter tirade at 'fraud' IDS#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/Qrhb9TN12k
The Mail on Sunday claims David Cameron swore at Duncan Smith during a heated telephone conversation when it became clear the Secretary of State was determined to quit, insinuating he had acted dishonourably.
A Number 10 source told PA Cameron did rebuke his ex-colleague, though claims he did not swear, but was angry they had not discussed the issues face to face.
Telegraph: Knives Out for Osborne
Sunday Telegraph front page:Knives our for Osborne in Tory backlash #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/Q6lBtvK5eL
“Downing Street was battling to avert a full-blown leadership crisis last night as George Osborne suffered an unprecedented backlash from Conservative MPs,” the Telegraph leads.
The paper quotes senior sources saying George Osborne’s future as a potential Tory leader has been dealt a fatal blow, with one minister suggesting he would be moved from the Treasury to the Foreign Office after the July referendum.
The Times: IDS attack shreds ‘unfit’ Osborne’s dreams of No 10
Sunday Times front page:IDS attack shreds ‘unfit’ Osborne’s dream of No 10#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/HShEeFNKzf
The paper quotes senior Tory colleagues calling the Chancellor’s leadership hopes “dead in the water” and Osborne “unfit” to be prime minister.
“Ministers and Tory MPs lined up to call for David Cameron to sack his chancellor after the work and pensions secretary unleashed a bloodbath of mutual recriminations at the top of the Tory party,” the paper wrote, adding that Cameron was now certain to face a leader­ship challenge after the European referendum, with Osborne’s chances of succeeding him now “zero”.