STAND BY ME
Liz Truss ‘stands by’ tax cuts but admits she should have ‘laid the ground better’ for her mammoth surprise package
LIZ Truss today insisted she "stands by" her bumper tax cuts - but admitted she should have "laid the ground better" for the package.
Despite spooking the markets and sending the pensions industry into a tailspin, the PM doubled down on her £45billion tax-slashing spree.
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However she said in hindsight she would have rolled the pitch better so the tax cuts bonanza did not trigger a market wobble.
And Ms Truss appeared to pin the controversial decision to chop the 45p rate squarely on Kwasi Kwarteng - sparking a row.
She told the BBC: "I do want to say to people, I understand their worries about what has happened this week. And I do.
"I do stand by the package we announced and I stand by the fact that we announced it quickly because we had to work.
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"But I do accept we should have laid the ground better. I do accept that. I have learned from that.
"And I will make sure that in future we do a better job of laying the ground."
After a rocky week:
- Ms Truss admitted she did not consult Cabinet Ministers before scrapping the 45p rate of tax
- She refused to confirm that benefits would rise in line with inflation
- The PM reiterated her commitment to the triple lock for pensioners
- Ms Truss hinted that swingeing spending cuts were on the way to reduce borrowing
- Michael Gove said "a number of mistakes were made" in the mini-Budget and suggested he could rebel
Ms Truss tried to quell a brewing Tory rebellion as the party's annual conference kicked off in Birmingham today.
One shock poll last week suggested Labour has taken a 33-point poll lead over the Tories following the mini Budget.
Many of Ms Truss' backbenchers are furious she is cutting the top rate of income tax while refusing to commit to hiking benefits in line with inflation.
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Today Ms Truss suggested swingeing spending cuts were on the way to rein in borrowing, which is set to soar to pay for the tax relief.
She pointed to the global economic turmoil - with many countries facing crippling interest rates - to stress this was not an issue purely bracing Britain.
The pound has also since rebounded to recover its losses after sinking to £1.03 against the dollar.
Former Tory Treasury Minister Greg Hands insisted there was "nothing inherently revolutionary or wrong" with the PM's plan.
He said: "All of the measures have strong merits, and taken together, may well be what’s needed."
But Tory big beast Mr Gove launched an extraordinary attack on his former Cabinet colleague, saying her plan was "not Conservative".
He raged: "When you have additional billions of pounds in play, to have as your principal decision cutting tax for the wealthiest. That is a display of the wrong values."
Mr Gove, who backed Rishi Sunak in the leadership election, hinted he could rebel against the "mini-Budget" in the Commons.
Amid grumblings in her top team at the Growth Plan, Ms Truss sensationally admitted she did not consult her whole Cabinet before axing the 45p top rate of tax.
Asked if she had sought the views of her Cabinet, she said: "No. No we did and it was a decision that the Chancellor made."
Laying the controversial decision at Mr Kwarteng's door sparked talks of a rift between the No10 and No11.
One Tory MP said: "The only train that’s moving is the one Kwasi’s just been chucked under."
Ex-Cabinet Minister Nadine Dorries accused Ms Truss of "throwing your Chancellor under a bus on the first day of conference".
A spokesman for the Chancellor said: "As the PM said this morning, the 45p rate raises very little and makes our tax system more complicated.
"While the Chancellor obviously makes all tax decisions, the Prime Minister and Kwasi are in lockstep on this."
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Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng have been personally ringing round mutinous MPs to try to win them round.
Throwing down the gauntlet to the rebels, Conservative Party Chairman Jake Berry warned anyone who votes against the tax plan would lose the whip.
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