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Britain’s new finance minister stumbles and tears up prime minister’s agenda

Britain’s new finance minister warned on Saturday of looming tax increases and acknowledged “mistakes” made in a dire budget that still threatens to overthrow Prime Minister Liz Truss.

“Truss fights to survive,” headlined The Times on Sept. 23, a day after Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarten forced her to carry cans as market turmoil over the budget took hold. .

New Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign secretary who was seen as a Tory centrist, has revealed that he is breaking the strategy that brought Truss to 10 Downing Street.

Hunt said Kwarten and Truss had made a mistake in trying to cut taxes for high-income earners and presenting plans without independent projections from the Office of Budget Responsibility.

In one of his first acts after taking office on Friday, the new prime minister spoke with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.

Tax cuts were a central element of the unpopular budget announced by Kwarten and Truss.

“There will be very difficult decisions to be made,” Hunt said, warning that “all government departments” face spending restraints on welfare, health and defense.

Mr Hunt confirmed to file a new financial report on 31 October, telling BBC radio he has a “clean slate” to start over, despite Mr Truss’ previous promises. agreed.

– “Hanging on a thread” –

Truss sacked Kwarten hours after rushing home from an international financial conference in Washington, allowing her to make another U-turn, acknowledging a significant increase in the profits tax levied on corporations.

Times columnist Jenny Russell wrote, “Robotic, hesitant, tone-deaf, rebellious, and utterly convinced of the purity and necessity of her mission, Liz Truss was only a few.” Minutes killed her political career.

But Truss, who abandoned the right-wing economic promises that led her to victory in the Conservative leadership race against rival Rishi Sunak, faced mounting criticism that her credibility was in tatters.

Former Conservative Party leader William Hague said Mr Truss’ premiership was now “in jeopardy”, and former Prime Minister Philip Hammond said he had spent “years of hard work” to establish a record of the party’s economic capacity. I’ve given up on boring jobs,” he said.

Labor leader Keir Sturmer accused Truss of being “clingy” and called for an early general election.

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first published as Britain’s new finance minister stumbles and tears up prime minister’s agenda

Britain’s new finance minister stumbles and tears up prime minister’s agenda

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