Prime minister Liz Truss has said that she will lead the Conservatives into the next general election, despite having to abandon her economic plan.
Truss’ authority has been significantly undermined this week after new chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that almost all the policies in the mini-Budget would not be going ahead.
The raft of U-turns – which has seen £32 billion out of the £45 billion worth of mini-Budget policies axed - came as the government attempted to restore order to the markets. The move has been greeted warmly by investors.
The PM apologised for the impact that the mini-Budget had had on the economy and said that she’d “fixed” the errors she’d made in pursuing so many tax cuts “too far, too fast.”
Explaining that it would have been “irresponsible” to continue in the same vein, Truss said that she remained “committed” to delivering a “low tax, high growth economy”, but it will now take longer to come to fruition with the government having to “deliver that in a different way.”
Truss said: “I do think it is the mark of an honest politician who does say ‘yes, I've made a mistake. I've addressed that mistake. And now we need to deliver for people’.”
Truss cannot face a formal leadership challenge for up to a year, but reports suggest that Tory MPs are considering how the PM could be ousted mere weeks into her fledgling premiership.
Opposition MPs have also been calling for Truss to be removed, with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves accusing her and the government of reneging on everything in her plans bar “higher mortgage rates and higher bonuses for bankers.”
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said that the “damage has already been done” by the mini-Budget and called for a general election.
Meanwhile, Truss has been meeting with cabinet and backbench Conservative MPs in a bid to consolidate her position.
An economic statement will be delivered by the new chancellor on October 31, as was intended to be the case, when Hunt will set out more details around how to bring down the UK deficit.
Hunt warned ahead of that statement that there will be more “difficult” decisions to be made on tax and spending, which could include further windfall taxes on energy companies and changes to the triple lock on pensions.
Truss had been a vocal opponent of extending windfall taxes on energy firms during her successful run for the Tory leadership.
Photo by Simon Dawson / No10 Downing Street - Information Rights Unit on Wikimedia Commons
