Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

UK PM Liz Truss Apologises For "Mistakes" After U-Turn On Economic Plans

UK PM Liz Truss Apologises For "Mistakes" After U-Turn On Economic Plans

"I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made," Embattled UK Prime Minister Liz Truss said.

Embattled UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on Monday apologised for going "too far too fast" with reforms that triggered economic turmoil, but vowed to remain leader despite a series of humiliating climbdowns.

"I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made... we went too far and too fast," she told the BBC.

However, she said that she was "completely committed to delivering for this country" despite questions over who was now in control of government policy.

Her government on Monday axed almost all of its debt-fuelled tax cuts unveiled last month to avert fresh market chaos.

The shock move by new finance chief Jeremy Hunt -- parachuted into the job on Friday to replace sacked Kwasi Kwarteng -- leaves Truss's position in a precarious state, with Conservative MP Roger Gale saying that Hunt was "de facto prime minister".

Hunt estimated the tax changes would raise about £32 billion ($36 billion) per year, after economists estimated the government faced a £60-billion black hole. He also warned of tough spending cuts.

The chancellor of the exchequer said no government could control markets -- but stressed his action would give certainty over public finances and help secure growth.

"The prime minister and I agreed yesterday to reverse almost all the tax measures announced in the growth plan three weeks ago," Hunt told parliament, flanked by a grim-faced Truss.

The chancellor also announced the formation of an economic advisory council, featuring four experts outside of government.

Hours earlier, he had used a brief televised statement to announce the dramatic reversals to nervous markets, conceding last month's budget from his predecessor had harmed the public purse.

Truss told the BBC that she still believed in a "high-growth, low-tax economy", but that economic stability was "my priority as prime minister".

U-Turns


Hunt scrapped plans to axe the lowest rate of income tax, and curbed the government's flagship energy price freeze -- pulling the plug in April instead of late 2024.

After April, his department will "review" its energy support package, he said.

A proposed reduction in shareholder dividend tax was also binned, along with planned tax-free shopping for tourists and a freeze on alcohol duty.

The announcement comes as Truss's governing Conservative party tanks in the opinion polls amid the reversals and Britain's worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Truss fired her close friend Kwarteng on Friday after their recent tax-slashing budget sent bond yields spiking and the pound collapsing to a record dollar-low on fears of rocketing UK debt -- fuelling intense speculation over her political future one month after taking office.

Hunt's action on Monday sent the British pound soaring against the dollar and euro, while bond yields dipped.

'Difficult Decisions'


Tax reductions financed via borrowing were the centrepiece of last month's ill-fated budget.

Truss had already staged two embarrassing budget U-turns, scrapping tax cuts for the richest earners and on company profits, and is now facing calls to resign even from her own MPs.

"There will be more difficult decisions I am afraid, on both tax and spending, as we deliver our commitment to get debt falling as a share of the economy over the medium term," Hunt cautioned.

"All departments will need to redouble their efforts to find savings, and some areas of spending will need to be cut."

Hunt already stated that he was not taking anything off the table amid speculation of cutbacks on areas like defence, hospitals and schools.

He met over the weekend with the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, and the head of the Debt Management Office for talks.

In the wake of the earlier turmoil, the BoE launched emergency buying of UK government bonds -- a policy that ended Friday.

The budget furore has reportedly sparked a plot to oust the prime minister.

UK media reported that senior Conservative MPs were plotting to unseat Truss.

'Death knell'


Monday's latest massive U-turn comes after Truss was elected Tory leader on a tax-slashing platform that analysts dubbed "Trussonomics".

"That sound you can hear is the death knell for Trussonomics, with the vast majority of her tax cutting plans now consigned to the bin," said Laura Suter, head of personal finance at stockbroker AJ Bell.

In two weeks' time, Hunt will unveil his medium-term fiscal plan alongside independent economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

But the main opposition Labour party, riding high in the polls, said the ruling Tories were responsible for "chaos and fiasco".

"This is a Tory crisis, made in Downing Street, but ordinary working people are paying the price," its finance spokeswoman Rachel Reeves told parliament.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×