British Prime Minister Liz Truss said she “regretted” her “mistakes” and said she wanted to stay in office in the “national interest” in an interview with the BBC broadcast on Monday night. Or a few hours after the abandonment of her economic program, announced by her new Minister of Finance.
“I want to accept my responsibility and apologize for the mistakes that have been made,” said the Conservative leader, whose term seems moribund after six weeks in office.
“I will remain in my position to fulfill my commitments in the national interest,” he assured.
“Very tough” decisions to come
“I acted quickly to repair these mistakes,” Lis Truss launched at her majority’s home, where behind-the-scenes maneuvers multiplied to push her towards the exit.
His new finance minister, Jeremy Hunt, who was hastily appointed on Friday after the market storm unleashed by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng’s “growth plan”, is now at the helm of government after weeks of market chaos that have threatened the country’s financial stability.
This Monday, he announced the main lines of the medium-term budget project that must be presented in its entirety on October 31. Warning of “very tough” decisions with future cuts in state spending and tax increases, a complete disavowal of Liz Truss’s initial plan, Jeremy Hunt nonetheless assured that the government would prioritize “‘helping the most vulnerable’.
The presentation at the end of September of plans for massive tax cuts and colossal support for energy bills by Kwasi Kwarteng, not fully quantified and to be financed with debt, had raised fears of a slip in the public accounts.
La livre avait chuté à un plus bas historique et les taux d’emprunt à long terme de l’Etat avaient flambé, fragilisant les funds de pension et faisant grimper les taux d’emprunt des ménages et des entreprises, dans une économie britannique déjà à dish.
Towards the shortest deadline in British history?
The Bank of England had to intervene to prevent the situation from turning into a financial crisis and the Monetary Fund had called for a course correction.
Fueling questions about her tattered authority, Liz Truss sent Minister Penny Mordaunt, responsible for relations with Parliament, to answer opposition in the House of Commons.
Liz Truss then appeared in Westminster alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but remained silent, staring, as the latter faced opposition, which torpedoed a “humiliated, simply unable to stay in office” Prime Minister.
With just 40 days in power, she risks becoming the shortest-serving Prime Minister on the other side of the Channel.
“It’s a crisis created by the Conservatives in Downing Street, but ordinary people are paying the price,” said Rachel Reeves, the Labor Party’s chief finance officer.
She asked why the government wasn’t taxing power producers to help finance budget support, saying she feared a return to “austerity season 2” after the sweeping cuts of the 2010s.
Source: BFM TV
