‘Too far, too fast’: Liz Truss apologises for economic ‘mistakes’, vows to stay
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is being targeted in British tabloids for handling of pressing issues, has apologised for going “too far and too fast” with tax reforms – the plans for which were junked by her newly-appointed chancellor Jeremy Hunt, which had caused investor confidence to dip.
In an interview with the BBC, Truss apologised for her mistakes, saying her month-old leadership “hasn’t been perfect” but she had “fixed” the errors.
“I’m sticking around because I was elected to deliver for this country, and that is what I’m determined to do,” the UK PM vowed.
“I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made… we went too far and too fast,” she said, adding that it would have been “irresponsible” not to change course. Asked if she was now prime minister in name only, Truss said she had appointed Hunt because she knew she had to change direction.
Truss said she was “committed to the vision” but with a new strategy, and that she will do this despite questions over who was in control of government policy.
On Monday, her government axed nearly all of its debt-fuelled tax cuts unveiled last month to avert a market turmoil.
UK’s finance minister Jeremy Hunt, who was appointed Friday after Truss sacked her close ally Kwasi Kwarteng, jettisoned the remaining major planks of her tax-cutting agenda, including the energy support scheme. “The prime minister and I agreed yesterday to reverse almost all the tax measures announced in the growth plan three weeks ago,” Hunt said in the parliament, flanked by a grim-faced Truss. The decision has been welcomed by investors.
Following two embarrassing budget U-turns, Truss is now facing calls to resign even from some of her own MPs – triggering the running joke in British media of whether a lettuce can last longer than her premiership.
Shadow treasury minister James Murray said the Truss’ apology “after weeks of blaming everyone else” would not “undo the damage” caused by her mini-budget, the BBC reported.
The sudden move by new finance chief Jeremy Hunt left the parliamentarians, like Conservative MP Roger Gale, thinking that he was “de facto prime minister”.
The chancellor has also announced the formation of an economic advisory council, featuring four experts outside of government. A proposed reduction in shareholder dividend tax was also dumped, along with the planned tax-free shopping for tourists, as well as a freeze on alcohol duty.