AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)
World

UK's shortest-serving PM Liz Truss blames economic 'orthodoxy' for downfall

LONDON: Former British prime minister Liz Truss blamed on Sunday the economic “orthodoxy” in the country’s finance...
Published February 5, 2023

LONDON: Former British prime minister Liz Truss blamed on Sunday the economic "orthodoxy" in the country's finance ministry, other nations and in parts of the governing Conservative Party for derailing her premiership and "plan for growth".

Truss's tenure was cut short last year after her largely unfunded mini budget and tax cuts pushed up borrowing costs and mortgage rates, sent the pound tumbling and shattered Britain's reputation for financial stability.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper in her first major foray into politics since the abrupt end to her premiership after just over six turbulent weeks in power, Truss wrote she believed her recipe for Britain by cutting taxes and removing some regulation was the right one.

But she was not successful, she wrote, because she had underestimated "the blob of vested interests" and orthodoxy.

"I am not claiming to be blameless in what happened, but fundamentally I was not given a realistic chance to enact my policies by a very powerful economic establishment, coupled with a lack of political support," she wrote.

"I assumed upon entering Downing Street that my mandate would be respected and accepted. How wrong I was. While I anticipated resistance to my programme from the system, I underestimated the extent of it."

She blamed the reaction not only on what she described as the left-leaning orthodoxy of the economic establishment but also on liability-driven investments (LDI), which pension funds use to cover their obligations.

LDI's were at the centre of the market turmoil following her mini-budget. Truss also said she had underestimated "the resistance inside the Conservative parliamentary party to move to a lower-tax, less-regulated economy" and a drive on the global stage to "limit competition" between major economies.

"As I had spelled out during the leadership campaign, I wanted to go for growth ... But this was not in line with the instinctive views of the Treasury (finance ministry) or the wider orthodox economic ecosystem."

Grant Shapps, business minister, said everyone wanted lower taxes but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government had to focus on reducing debt, bringing down inflation and boosting growth first. Britain's opposition Labour Party said it was time for a change of government.

UK PM fires Conservative chairman after tax probe: govt

"The Conservatives crashed the economy, sank the pound, put pensions in peril and made working people pay the price through higher mortgages for years to come," said Rachel Reeves, Labour's financial policy chief.

"After 13 years of low growth, squeezed wages, and higher taxes under the Tories, only Labour offers the leadership and ideas to fix our economy and to get it growing."

Comments

Comments are closed.