It seems odd to have chosen Halloween as the day to deliver your make-or-break fiscal statement. But that’s what our Chancellor has done. Imagine the memes and ghoulish references if the markets give it the thumbs-down. And there was already a graveyard feel among the Tory tribe. The mood is described as “sulphurous”, the outlook for the Prime Minister “deadly” — and these are two of the kinder briefings sloshing around Westminster.
Even the King greeted our PM on Wednesday, with “Back again? Dear, oh dear”, as Truss awkwardly curtsied. Rumours are swirling that an imminent U-turn is expected on some or all of her and Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax cuts, as senior, respected Tories break into the open demanding she reconsider. The Chancellor raced home from Washington in the early hours today for crisis talks. Waiting until Halloween is no longer an option to pull us out of this fiscal impasse, and some MPs are even plotting to remove our premier.
