Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Apr 24, 2025

Liz Truss's government is living hour by hour

Liz Truss's government is living hour by hour

The Truss programme for government is dead. This is a hand-to-mouth government, living hour by hour.

If you pick up the hint of panic in the air, you're not the only one. Make that a stench. Anything apparently solid quickly becomes air.

Now, nearly every element of her prospectus has just been shredded by her new chancellor.

The statement that has just been delivered is the second yanking forward of an important economic moment for the country. Originally it was in the diary for November. Then Halloween. Now we've had it today.

"We will reverse almost all the tax measures" from the mini-budget, Jeremy Hunt said. What an extraordinary thing to hear.

Diaries are going out of fashion at Westminster but to be clear, there still will be a statement in a fortnight's time, alongside those numbers about the state of the economy from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

But so nervous are those in charge of the market reaction, that they dared not leave an announcement until mid-afternoon when he'll stand up in the Commons.

That's right - a government so petrified by the pace of events, dragging forward a statement by a fortnight isn't soon enough.

Not only has the planned cut in the basic rate of income tax been binned, so has the plan originally from Rishi Sunak to cut it in 2024.

The prime minister who promised to cut taxes by more than her rival over the summer, is now keeping them higher than he planned.

And even the flagship energy support package, the crutch upon which the prime minister has leant whenever asked a tricky question in the last few weeks, has shrivelled vastly.

It is now a six month package, not a two year one.

So if this feels a bit confusing this is where it is at: There had to be an interim statement before the interim statement, to try to steady the ship.

This is a ship where bits have already broken off and sunk, and where the navigation equipment - the very direction and purpose of this government - was ripped out and thrown into the sea with first the U-turns, then the ejection of a chancellor.

A ship where plenty of the crew are eyeing up the lifeboats, near certain the whole thing is going down soon enough.

"If polling suggests an alternative leader will lose fewer seats than she will, then she's had it," one MP not prone to exaggeration or shouting their mouth off tells me.

"Not many of us buy the idea that another leadership change is the worst case scenario. Nothing can be worse than where we are already," they said, adding "you can't sack your closest ally for carrying out your orders and call it pragmatism."

Yesterday Liz Truss invited Jeremy Hunt and his family to lunch at Chequers. He has gone from backbencher life on Friday morning to the prime minister's country retreat in Buckinghamshire 48 hours later for a three-hour meeting where I am told they were in "violent agreement".

Some in the Tory party see him as the real prime minister now, so enfeebled is the actual prime minister's authority. One source suggested they are working "in lockstep."

That's the very phrase they used to use about the bloke she blew out of the building on Friday lunchtime, the now former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

What we seem to be getting now is shock and awe in reverse - the Big Bang of radical policy ideas blitzed in one go, promised by Liz Truss when she took office - going backwards. Fast.

One source described today as a "down payment" on what the government is now promising.

Say whatever we can, as quickly as we can, to reassure the markets.

My sentence not theirs, but that's the thrust of it.

So in details terms, the focus today is tax. And the focus in a fortnight will be spending.

Even a chancellor moving as fast as this one can't negotiate detailed cuts across Whitehall over a single Sunday roast or whatever.

That discussion will start tomorrow in a cabinet meeting.

Remember: this is about two things: Restoring the government's financial credibility and propping Liz Truss up in office.


With things moving at such a breath-taking pace, here's how the rest of this afternoon shakes up:

Labour tried to haul the prime minister to the Commons to answer for what is going on. But she didn't turn up and instead sent Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, putting back the chancellor's appearance by about an hour.

Liz Truss is meeting her backbenchers, offering to see them all this week. This evening, she is hosting what is being called a "reception" for her cabinet.

What on earth is a "reception" you might ask? Well, we have.

The gist of it seems to be trying to reassure her ministers and include them in forthcoming decisions - not least the government spending cuts to come, after they were frozen out of plans before the disastrous mini-budget.

I can bring you a little nugget about one of the things that set tongues wagging last week - that throwaway remark from the King when he met Liz Truss for their weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. You might recall that King Charles said "dear oh dear" as he exchanged small talk with the prime minister as she arrived.

Inevitably some couldn't help jump to the conclusion that he was somehow offering a commentary on the pickle she is in. I'm now told it was actually a nod of sympathy because of logistics - it was the prime minister's second visit to the Palace in a matter of hours.

The pace of her premiership, for all the wrong reasons from her point of view, shows no sign of slowing.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump administration moves to BAN essentially ALL artificial food dyes in the USA food supply at RFK Jr.'s direction
Woman slaps man at sports game and gets herself and husband beat up
Pope Francis: head of the Catholic church who pushed for social and economic justice
China do not pay these tariffs - you pay it. This is new 145% tax you pay to the US government.
Nightlife in the streets of Manchester
In God We Profit
Cultural Battles in the Vatican: The Candidates in the Battle for the Holy See and Pope Francis's Testament
Global Leaders Pay Tribute to Pope Francis Following His Death
Wild Chimpanzees Observed Bonding Over Alcoholic Fruit
US Federal Reserve Chair Issues Warning on Tariff Impact
UK Prison Officers Demand Electric Stun Guns Amid Safety Concerns
China, China, China!
Australian National Charged as Mercenary for Fighting in Ukraine
Israel Considers Limited Strikes on Iran's Nuclear Facilities Amid Diplomatic Efforts
Prince Andrew Joins Royal Family Attends Easter Sunday Service at Windsor Castle
Saudi Arabia Offers Max Verstappen Unprecedented Deal to Join Aston Martin
Global Pistachio Shortage Amid Rising Demand for 'Dubai Chocolate'
Trump is assembling a coalition of Western leaders aligned with the MAGA vision, strengthening a unified front for global change
IMF Predicts No Global Recession Amid Trade Tensions
Here’s a police officer with a brilliant gift for swift education
"Some complain that we put thousands in prison. In reality, we set millions free."
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
×