Latest news with #mini-budget
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Julian Harris: Is Sorry the Hardest Word for UK Chancellors?
By Nearly three years on, the Tories have apologized for their disastrous mini-budget that put sterling into freefall and forced the Bank of England to prop up government debt. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride said today that the party 'put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected' during Liz Truss's brief and calamitous spell as prime minister in the autumn of 2022. In a speech at the Royal Society of Arts, trailed in some media last night, Stride admitted that regaining credibility 'will take time. And it also requires contrition.'
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Liz Truss hits back at Tory shadow chancellor for mini-budget disavowal
Liz Truss has hit out at the Conservatives' shadow chancellor after he formally disowned her hastily reversed 2022 mini-budget, saying it had damaged the party's reputation for economic competence. The former prime minister labelled Mel Stride a 'creature of the system', part of a failed fiscal orthodoxy which, she argued, would prevent the Conservatives taking power again if left unchallenged. Stride's insistence at a speech in London that 'never again' would the Conservatives offer up a largely unfunded package of tax cuts is the first time that the party hierarchy under its leader, Kemi Badenoch, has definitively cut itself off from Truss, who lasted just 49 days in power. One Tory shadow minister said the impetus for Stride's speech was in part to allow the Conservatives to attack Reform UK's lavish programme of tax cuts as being a potential re-run of the Truss debacle, as Keir Starmer did last week. In his speech, Stride labelled Reform's economic policies 'pure populism'. He added: 'They would plough ahead with huge additional welfare spending, as well as tax cuts, with no plan for how to pay for any of it.' Addressing Truss's September 2022 fiscal plans, which involved about £45bn in unfunded tax cuts, he said: 'For a few weeks, we put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected. 'Back then mistakes were recognised and stability restored within weeks, with the full backing of our party. But the damage to our credibility is not so easily undone. That will take time. And it also requires contrition. So let me be clear: never again will the Conservative party undermine fiscal credibility by making promises we cannot afford.' Truss released a statement that called Stride 'one of the Conservative MPs who kowtowed to the failed Treasury orthodoxy and was set on undermining my plan for growth from the moment I beat his chosen candidate for the party leadership [Rishi Sunak]'. She added: 'Until Mel Stride admits the economic failings of the last Conservative government, the British public will not trust the party with the reins of power again.' In a later tweet, she again took aim personally at Stride, calling him 'a creature of the system' who, when the pair were both Treasury ministers under Theresa May, 'always went along with officials'. In his speech, Stride also urged people to have patience with Badenoch's leadership, saying: 'She will get better through time at the media. She will get better through time at the dispatch box at PMQs. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'Just as Margaret Thatcher, when she became leader in '75, was often criticised for everything from her hair to the clothes she wore to the pitch of her voice to heaven knows what else, in the end she got it together and Kemi will do absolutely that.' The Conservatives currently poll in third place behind Reform UK and Labour, with a YouGov poll published on Wednesday showing the Tories on 18%, just one point ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Badenoch's own favourability ratings have also fallen since she became party leader, reaching -27% according to a More in Common poll carried out last weekend.
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK Conservatives Apologize for Truss With Vow for Sound Finances
The UK Conservatives apologized for former Prime Minister Liz Truss's disastrous 2022 mini-budget as the country's main opposition party sought to restore its reputation for economic competence and build a platform to challenge for power in the next general election. Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride on Thursday expressed remorse for the decisions made in September 2022 by Truss and her finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, to slash taxes by £45 billion ($61 billion) without outlining where the funding would come from. That helped drive the pound to a record low against the dollar, roiled the bond market and pushed mortgage rates higher.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Liz Truss attacks Tories who ‘kowtowed' ahead of mini-budget apology
Former prime minister Liz Truss has criticised the Conservative Party, accusing shadow chancellor Mel Stride of undermining her economic plans. Mel Stride is set to pledge that the Conservatives will 'never again' make unaffordable spending promises, criticising Ms Truss's mini-budget for undermining economic stability. Mr Stride's speech will attack Ms Truss's premiership; her mini-budget triggered market turmoil and pound's decline against the dollar. Ms Truss defended her plan, claiming it was the only way to avoid a catastrophic defeat, and accused Mr Stride of kowtowing to 'failed Treasury orthodoxy'. Mr Stride will also target Reform UK 's economic policies, while the Liberal Democrats have criticised the Conservatives for hypocrisy and past economic damage.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Conservatives disown Liz Truss's mini-budget
The Conservatives will "never again" put the UK's economic stability at risk by making "promises we cannot afford", the shadow chancellor will say, as his party seeks to distance itself from former Prime Minister Liz Truss's a speech, Mel Stride will disown Truss's £45bn package of tax cuts, which spooked financial markets and led to the former Tory PM's resignation in will say "mistakes were recognised" but acknowledge "the damage to our credibility is not so easily undone".Hitting back, Truss said she had a plan to "turbocharge the economy" and accused Stride of bowing to "failed Treasury Orthodoxy". She accused Stride of being "a creature of the system," adding: "When he served alongside me as Treasury minister, he always went along with officials."The mini-budget was delivered by then Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng in September 2022, after Truss won a Tory leadership contest to become prime plan, which included big tax cuts and subsidies to reduce energy bills, shook confidence in the UK's financial credibility, led to a rise in mortgage rates and a fall in the pound's who did not ask the UK's independent forecaster to assess her economic plans, admitted "parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than markets were expecting" and stood down after 49 days in mini-budget was scrapped and Rishi Sunak - who had criticised Truss's promises to fund tax cuts with borrowing - succeeded her as prime accused the Conservatives of crashing the economy in 2023 and has repeatedly used Truss's mini-budget as an attack the Tories from the mini-budget, Stride will say: "For a few weeks, we put at risk the very stability which Conservatives had always said must be carefully protected."The credibility of the UK's economic framework was undermined by spending billions on subsidising energy bills and tax cuts, with no proper plan for how this would be paid for."And ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves's spending review next week, Stride will accuse her of "abandoning" financial responsibility. 'Pure populism' The current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was trade secretary in Truss's government in - who was a key ally of Sunak when he was PM - will say it will take time and honesty for the Conservatives to rebuild trust with voters."So let me be clear: never again will the Conservative Party undermine fiscal credibility by making promises we cannot afford," Stride will a furious response, Truss argued her economic plan "provided the only pathway for the Conservatives to avoid a catastrophic defeat" in last year's general added: "As it was, Mel Stride and too many fellow travellers in the Conservative parliamentary party supported an economic policy that backed high immigration, raised taxes to a 70-year high and pursued unaffordable Net Zero policies - and the electorate delivered a devastating verdict on that record last summer."Until Mel Stride admits the economic failings of the last Conservative government, the British public will not trust the party with the reins of power again."In his speech, Stride will also take aim at Reform UK and its leader Nigel month, Farage - whose party is leading in national polls - set out plans to restore the winter fuel allowance, scrap the two-child benefit limit and lift the salary level at which people start paying income tax to £20, shadow chancellor will say Reform's "economic prescription is pure populism"."It doubles down on the 'magic money tree' we thought had been banished with Jeremy Corbyn," Stride will say. Responding to Mel Stride, Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice said his party would "take no lectures on economics from a party" that raised "government spending to 70-year highs and shrank economic growth to 70-year lows"."Meanwhile we unearth Tory-run councils wasting £30 million on a bridge to nowhere," Tice said. They can never be trusted again."The Liberal Democrats accused the Conservatives of attacking Farage's party for "the same fantasy economics" they had leader Daisy Cooper said: "It's insulting that the Conservatives think a few warm words will fool people into forgiving them for all the damage they did to the economy and people's livelihoods."
