Liz Truss and Jacob Rees-Mogg attack ‘left-wing extremists’ and ‘Davos man’ at launch of new Tory group – as it happened

Former prime minister Liz Truss during the launch of the ‘Popular Conservatism’ movement. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

5.30pm GMT

Afternoon summary

• Liz Truss, the former PM, and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, have committed themselves to an unadulterated form of rightwing, anti-establishment populism at the launch of a new group, Popular Conservatism. In speeches at the launch, Truss claimed British institutions were riddled with “wokeism”, while Rees-Mogg named the ECHR, World Health Organization and Cop as he attacked “international cabals and quangos telling hundreds of millions of people how to lead their lives”. (See 12.18pm and 12.29pm.) It is not clear how much public support there is for this agenda, but it is likely to be popular with the party members who will choose the next leader. However, it is quite different from traditional Conservatism, as William Hague, a former party leader, made clear in his Times column today. Identifying five “rules” needed for Tory success, he said:

A second rule is to mobilise elites and the wider nation in partnership, not turn one against the other. There is no case in history of conservatives being popular while attacking the country’s institutions, or its business community. So many aspects of government in Britain need kick-starting, or speeding up, or new expertise, or more accountability, but Churchill or Thatcher picked the people to do that and made the system work for them. Paranoia about “anti-growth coalitions” is for the populists. Popular conservatives have always learnt from expert advice, while running governments with high standards of conduct and integrity.

• Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, has described the government’s dental recovery plan as “remarkably similar to Labour’s”. He was responding to a BBC report saying the plan involves dentists cash incentives to take on NHS patients and send teams to schools to treat children’s teeth. According to the BBC, the government plan was due to be published tomorrow, but was inadvertently emailed to MPs. Earlier, in response to a story about hundreds of people queuing outside a dental surgery in Bristol because it was willing to see NHS patients, Labour used the incident as an opportunity to deploy a famous Conservative election poster image against the party.

Yesterday, hundreds of people desperate for an NHS dentist appointment queued for hours when a new practice opened in Bristol.

After 14 years of Tory decline, this is the Britain we live in today.

It's time for change. pic.twitter.com/GQAIRUosCA

— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) February 6, 2024

Labour has a fully funded plan to rescue NHS dentistry with 700,000 emergency appointments and new dentists where they're needed the most.

— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) February 6, 2024

• Keir Starmer has said Labour’s policy pledge to spend £28bn a year on green investment is “desperately needed,” as he re-opened an issue that has become a source of tension in the party.

• Rishi Sunak has rowed back on a £1,000 bet with the broadcaster Piers Morgan on whether deportation flights to Rwanda would take off before the general election, saying he was “not a betting person”.

• Kwasi Kwarteng, the former chancellor who oversaw the ill-fated “mini-budget” under the short-lived government of Liz Truss, has said he will not stand again as an MP at the next election.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg (left) and Liz Truss (centre) at the launch of the Popular Conservatism group.
Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Updated at 5.35pm GMT

4.58pm GMT

According to a snap poll by YouGov, almost three quarters of people (72%) think it was unacceptable for Rishi Sunak to accept a £1,000 bet on the success of his Rwanda policy. Only 14% of people think that was acceptable, the poll suggests.

72% of Britons say it was unacceptable for Rishi Sunak to accept Piers Morgan's £1,000 bet on whether his government would be able to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda before the general electionhttps://t.co/dxwSYP0EiA pic.twitter.com/eyOpeeRy5H

— YouGov (@YouGov) February 6, 2024