Prime Minister Liz Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng are refusing calls for a U-turn after their radical tax-cutting “mini-budget” plunged the markets into turmoil this week.
The government’s controversial fiscal strategy, which included plans to implement some £45bn worth of tax cuts, prompted the pound to fall to an all-time low against the dollar and raised the prospect of further interest rate hikes from the Bank of England (BoE) to deal with spiralling inflation.
In a highly unusual move, the BoE was forced to announce a £65bn emergency intervention to avert an economic crisis in the wake of the mini-budget, buying billions of pounds’ worth of government bonds to prevent people’s pensions being put at risk.
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Truss defended the plans in a round of broadcast interviews on BBC local radio yesterday, describing the mini-budget as “decisive action” that had to be taken in order to “get the economy moving”.
But both Truss and Kwarteng today met the government’s independent economic forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, which has demanded a “rethink” of the government’s fiscal strategy, according to The Times.
Meanwhile, Labour is enjoying its largest poll lead since the Tony Blair years, after a YouGov survey found that 54% of voters would back Labour in a snap general election with only 21% supporting the Tories. The 33-point lead is the party’s highest in almost three decades.
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Need a reminder of some of the other headlines over the past seven days?
- Two gas pipelines between Russia and Germany, Nord Stream 1 and 2, have been damaged in explosions, with several European leaders quick to claim that sabotage was a likely cause.
- An investigation into the death of Marc Bennett, a British travel industry boss, in Qatar has reportedly uncovered fresh evidence that he was detained and tortured by the country’s secret police in the final weeks of his life.
- Vladimir Putin’s plan to send 300,000 new conscripts to support his war in Ukraine is facing increasing resistance in Russia as anti-mobilisation protests spread across the country.
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