‘Too far and too fast’: Truss apologises for economic chaos after a day of political humiliation

London: British Prime Minister Liz Truss has apologised for the economic chaos that has engulfed the country following last month’s mini-budget, conceding she went “too far and too fast” in her effort to slash taxes in the opening weeks in the top job.

Truss and her new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, shredded “almost all” of the three-week-old economic package on Monday amid a day of political humiliation for the new prime minister, as one of her most senior colleagues declared to parliament that she was not hiding “under a desk”.

British PM Liz Truss appears on the BBC on Monday night.Credit: BBC

In a late-night interview on the BBC, Truss insisted she would not quit her job despite growing calls from her colleagues and the business community to stand down and said she was determined to lead the government to the next election

In a mea culpa seen by some Tory MPs as an attempt to hold on to her job, Truss said: “I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made.”

“We went too far and too fast.”

Asked how she was finding the job as prime minister, she said: “I was expecting it to be tough, and it has been tough.” But she insisted: “I will lead the Conservatives into the next general election.”

Liz Truss, UK prime minister, right, departs the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday.Credit: Bloomberg

Penny Mordaunt, a former Truss leadership rival who now serves as leader of the Commons, took questions in Truss’ place on Monday and had to deny the charge from Labour MP Stella Creasy that the prime minister was “cowering under her desk and asking for it all to go away”.

Mordaunt said: “The prime minister is not under a desk… I can assure the house.”

Veteran Conservative backbencher Sir Charles Walker told Sky News on Monday that Truss’ “position is untenable”, becoming the fifth MP to publicly call on her to resign as prime minister.

“She has put colleagues, the country, through a huge amount of unnecessary pain and upset and worry. We don’t need a disruptor in No 10. We need a uniter,” he said.

Jeremy Hunt, UK chancellor of the exchequer, centre, departs 10 Downing Street in London.Credit: Bloomberg

Walker gave Truss another “week or two” before she steps down or is forced to resign, adding that he is “so cross” about how “catastrophically incompetent” the government has been.

New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had earlier announced that “almost all” of the tax cuts set out in the government’s mini-budget less than a month ago would be reversed.

Hunt, appointed chancellor on Friday after Truss sacked his predecessor after just 38 days, announced plans to tackle the government’s deficit two weeks earlier than planned in an effort to calm markets.

PM Liz Truss sits as the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt speaks to the House of Commons.Credit: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

He warned that no government could control markets, but every government “can give certainty about the sustainability of public finances”.

The chancellor revealed his spending and tax plan, which is widely seen as part of Truss’ battle for political survival amid pressure from leading business figures and Conservative MPs for her to resign.

Truss did not speak in the Commons on Monday; Mordaunt told the parliament she was preoccupied with “urgent business”.

“I can’t disclose the reasons,” she said. “I have asked if I can. I am being very genuine with the House on this matter.

Truss later appeared for around 30 minutes, sitting behind Hunt during his address to the chamber, but appeared unreactive and stared straight ahead.

In a message to her colleagues in the BBC interview, Truss said the country was facing “very tough times” and the government could not afford “to spend our time talking about the Conservative Party”.

“Well, my message to my colleagues is, yes, I completely acknowledge that there have been mistakes. I have acted swiftly to fix those mistakes. I’ve been honest about what those mistakes were,” she said.

Hunt confirmed that he would drop most of the tax measures in the disastrous fiscal statement of September 23 – which sent the pound plummeting to 40-year lows and borrowing costs soaring - apart from a £13 billion ($23.5 billion) cut to national insurance and a £1.5 billion reduction in stamp duty changes.

He said the UK “will always pay its way” and “this government will therefore take whatever tough decisions are necessary to do so”.

Corporation tax will now rise from 19 per cent to 25 per cent and a cut to the lower rate of income tax of 1 percentage point in April will be delayed.

The government will reverse plans to cut dividend taxes, make payroll reform, freeze alcohol duty and introduce a VAT-free shopping scheme for overseas visitors.

“We will reverse almost all the tax measures that were in the growth plan,” Hunt said on Monday.

“At a time when markets are rightly demanding a commitment to sustainable finances, it is not right to borrow to fund this.”

Hunt said he would also water down the government’s energy price guarantee - a package estimated to be worth at least £150 billion ($270b) to limit average energy bills to £2500 ($4517). He said it would now provide universal support until April, but assistance after would then be scaled back and targeted.

“This is a landmark policy supporting millions of people through a difficult winter, and today I want to confirm that the support we are providing between now and April next year will not change,” Hunt said.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there was an “utter vacuum” of leadership in the government and Truss was “scared of her own shadow” after she dodged answering questions on her decision to sack former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

“How can Britain get the stability it needs, when the prime minister has no mandate from her party and no mandate from the country?” he said.

Former Conservative chancellor George Osborne said Hunt deserved praise for taking “big bold steps” to restore the UK’s “fiscal credibility” by reversing most of the mini-budget and, in effect, raising income tax from the 19 per cent legislated by the Johnson government.

Having earlier said that Truss would unlikely last in the job much longer, he tweeted: “Not sensible for PM to hide away - she needs to front this to have any chance of survival.”

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