Truss says her government mishandled announcement on tax cuts
LIZ Truss acknowledged her UK government mishandled the announcement on cutting taxes which triggered a week of turmoil in financial markets, while insisting her approach is the correct one.
She also said the decision to remove the highest rate of income tax was taken by Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and not put to her cabinet.
“I do accept we should have laid the ground better; I’ve learned from that,” Truss told the BBC in Birmingham, where the ruling Conservative Party’s annual conference began on Sunday (Oct 2). “I think we made the right decision to deal borrow more this winter to deal with the extraordinary circumstances we face.”
Truss’s plan for a massive package of unfunded tax cuts roiled markets, driving the pound to a record low and forcing the Bank of England to intervene to prevent a bond market meltdown.
Amid the fallout, support for the Tories has tanked in opinion polls, with YouGov putting the opposition Labour Party 33 points ahead. A survey by the Observer newspaper showed three-quarters of UK voters, including 71 per cent of those who backed the Tories in the last election, believe Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng have “lost control” of the economy.
Cutting the top rate of income tax for the highest earners is proving especially toxic, given ministers have also indicated that the government’s plans will require the department to find cost savings. That has angered Tory Members of Parliament, who fear it plays into the hands of Keir Starmer’s Labour.
“I believe in getting value for money for the taxpayer,” she said.
Asked if she is committed to cutting the top rate of income tax, she replied: “Yes.” BLOOMBERG
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