September 2022 in United Kingdom, Politics and Government

 

• 1 September – In one of his last actions as Prime Minister, Johnson confirms that the government will provide £700 million in funding for the Sizewell C nuclear power station.^[126]
• 2 September –
  • Sky News has reported that a Cabinet minister and a senior Downing Street aide in the Johnson Government are facing allegations of sexual misconduct following claims made by two women at Westminster.^[127]
  • Johnson appoints journalist and author Harry Mount to the House of Lords appointments commission, the body that oversees the appointment of new peers; he takes up the role on 11 September.^[128]
  • Voting closes for the Conservative Party leadership election.^[129]
  • A review carried out by former chief inspector of constabulary Sir Tom Winsor concludes that Dame Cressida Dick "felt intimidated" into resigning as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police after an ultimatum from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. Khan accuses the report of being biased.^[130]
  • During a tour of the House of Commons members of Extinction Rebellion stage a protest by gluing themselves together around the Speaker's Chair, leading to eight arrests and questions about security.^[131]
• 5 September –
  • July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election: Liz Truss is elected as the leader of the Conservative Party, winning 57.4% of the final vote to Rishi Sunak's 42.6%.^[132]
  • Priti Patel resigns as Home Secretary and Ben Elliot resigns as Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party.^[133]
  • Dean Lockhart resigns from the Scottish Parliament and is replaced by Roz McCall.^[134]
  • 2022 House of Commons protest.^[135]
• 6 September –
  • Boris Johnson makes his final speech as Prime Minister before stepping down from the role, referencing Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a Roman general who was called upon to return to Rome as a dictator.^[136]
  • Liz Truss becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and forms the Truss ministry.^[137]
    • Therese Coffey is appointed as Secretary of State for Health and Deputy Prime Minister.^[138]
    • Kwasi Kwarteng is appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer.^[139]
    • James Cleverly is appointed Foreign Secretary.^[140]
    • Suella Braverman is appointed as Home Secretary.^[141]
    • Wendy Morton is appointed Chief Whip.^[142]
    • Ben Wallace is appointed Secretary of State for Defence.^[143]
    • Brandon Lewis is appointed as Secretary of State for Justice.^[144]
  • Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces a number of measures to offset the effect of the cost of living crisis in Scotland. These include a rent freeze for public and private rented properties, a temporary eviction ban, a freeze on rail fares and an increase in the Scottish Child Payment to £25 per week.^[145]
  • The Scottish government announces the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill 2022 which will abolish the not proven verdict from Scottish law.^[146]
• 7 September –
  • Liz Truss attends her first Prime Minister's Questions as Prime Minister.^[147]
  • Buckingham Palace announces that the Queen has postponed an online meeting of the Privy Council after being advised to rest by doctors.^[148]
• 8 September –
  • Liz Truss announces plans to limit energy bills, with a bill for a typical household capped at £2,500 a year for the next two years. A new six month scheme to limit bills for businesses is also announced.^[149]
  • House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle makes a statement in the House of Commons about the health of the Queen after Buckingham Palace announced that she is under medical supervision.^[150]
  • At 6.30pm, Buckingham Palace announces that HM Queen Elizabeth II has died peacefully in her sleep, aged 96.^[151][152]
  • Charles becomes King of the United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth of Nations upon the death of his mother.^[153][154]
• 9 September – The House of Commons begins two days of tributes to the Queen, after which Parliament will be suspended until after 21 September. Liz Truss opens the proceedings by describing the late monarch as "one of the greatest leaders the world has known".^[155]
• 10 September –
  • Historic ceremonies take place at St James's Palace and the Royal Exchange, with Prince William, Queen Camilla, serving politicians and former prime ministers in attendance, as Charles III is formally proclaimed king.^[156]
  • Senior MPs, including Prime Minister Liz Truss, swear an Oath of Allegiance to Charles III in a special session of Parliament.^[157]
  • The UK Government announces that Monday 19 September, the date of the state funeral of Elizabeth II, will be a national bank holiday.^[158]
• 12 September –
  • Charles III addresses Parliament as monarch for the first time.^[159]
  • Charles III visits Scotland where he makes his first address to the Scottish Parliament as monarch.^[160]
• 13 September – Charles III travels to Northern Ireland, where he meets senior politicians from Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.^[161]
• 16 September – Charles III travels to Wales, where he meets senior politicians and addresses the Senedd in both Welsh and English.^[162]
• 19 September – The state funeral of Elizabeth II takes place at Westminster Abbey.^[163]
• 21 September –
  • The House of Commons returns following the funeral of Elizabeth II.^[164]
  • The UK government announces a scheme that will freeze wholesale gas and electricity prices for businesses for six months from 1 October.^[165]
• 22 September –
  • The UK government reverses the ban on fracking in the UK.^[166]**UK interest rates rise from 1.75 to 2.25%, the biggest increase in 27 years, as the Bank of England attempts to curb inflation.^[167]
  • The UK government announces a 1.25% rise in National Insurance contributions will be reversed from 6 November. The planned Health and Social Care Levy will also be scrapped.^[168]
• 23 September – Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng delivers an emergency mini-budget in which he announces the biggest tax cuts in the UK since 1972. The 45% top rate of income tax, paid by only the highest earners, will be scrapped, while the basic rate will be reduced from 20% to 19%. The cap on bankers' bonuses is lifted, and a planned rise in corporation tax is also scrapped. An increase in National Insurance is reversed, while the threshold before stamp duty is paid in England and Northern Ireland is raised to £425,000 for first time buyers and £250,000 for everyone else.^[169][170]
• 27 September – Sir Keir Starmer delivers his speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, presenting his vision for a "fairer, greener Britain". Alongside a boost in NHS funding, this plan would include a new publicly owned company, Great British Energy, and a target for 100% of the country's electricity being from zero carbon sources by 2030.