In Picture- Prime Minister United Kingdom Liz Truss
Errors happen all the time at the high post. Accepting the error made, taking its responsibility and working on its betterment makes one a true leader.
Besieged UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on Monday apologized for going “too far too fast” with reforms that triggered economic turmoil, but vowed to remain leader despite a series of humiliating climb downs.
PM Liz Said “I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made, we went too far and too fast”.
She claims that she was “completely committed to delivering for this country” despite questions over who was now in control of government policy.
Her government on Monday axed almost all of its debt-fuelled tax cuts unveiled last month to avert fresh market chaos.
The shock move by new finance chief Jeremy Hunt parachuted into the job on Friday to replace sacked Kwasi Kwarteng leaves Truss’s position in an insecure state, with Conservative MP Roger Gale saying that Hunt was “de facto prime minister”.
Hunt estimated the tax changes would raise about £32 billion ($36 billion) per year, after economists estimated the government faced a £60-billion black hole. He also warned of tough spending cuts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said no government could control markets but stressed his action would give certainty over public finances and help secure growth.
“The prime minister and I agreed yesterday to reverse almost all the tax measures announced in the growth plan three weeks ago,” Hunt told parliament, flanked by a grim-faced Truss.
The chancellor has also announced the formation of an economic advisory council, featuring four experts outside of government.
Truss told media that she still believed in a “high-growth, low-tax economy”, but that economic stability was “my priority as prime minister”.
Tax reductions financed via borrowing were the centerpiece of last month’s ill-fated budget.
Truss had already staged two embarrassing budget U-turns, scrapping tax cuts for the richest earners and on company profits, and is now facing calls to resign even from her own MPs.
“There will be more difficult decisions I am afraid, on both tax and spending, as we deliver our commitment to get debt falling as a share of the economy over the medium term,” Jeremy Hunt cautioned.
“All departments will need to redouble their efforts to find savings, and some areas of spending will need to be cut.”
Hunt already stated that he was not taking anything off the table amid speculation of cutbacks on areas like defense, hospitals and schools.
Owing to the earlier turmoil, the BoE (bill of exchange) launched emergency buying of UK government bonds — a policy that ended Friday.
The budget furor has reportedly sparked a plot to oust the prime minister.
UK media reported that senior Conservative MPs were plotting to unseat Truss.
“That sound you can hear is the death knell for “Trussonomics”, with the vast majority of her tax cutting plans now consigned to the bin,” said Laura Suter, head of personal finance at stockbroker AJ Bell.
In two weeks’ time, Hunt will unveil his medium-term fiscal plan alongside independent economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
“This is a Tory crisis, made in Downing Street, but ordinary working people are paying the price,” its finance spokeswoman Rachel Reeves told parliament.
