“Are you ashamed of what you’ve done?” This was just one of many barbed questions the Prime Minster had to face down yesterday in a painful round of regional BBC interviews. This was planned to persuade the country and allay fears. Instead, it was a car crash. Anxiety in the country spiked, as Liz Truss took to the airwaves belligerently defending her actions, blaming Putin, not the mini-budget, while refusing to reverse any of her “controversial decisions” to achieve growth. And showing a lack of empathy for the concern that she had caused. A YouGov Poll last night put Labour 33 points ahead.
There is despair in the Tory party at what Truss and her chancellor unleashed last Friday, gambling on the economy, and limiting their chances at the next election. Week three of her premiership, and without an election mandate, the Government’s mini-budget has caused market chaos, sterling to drop and borrowing costs to spiral, while anyone with a mortgage could face interest rates rising to seven per cent. Forty per cent of mortgage products have been taken off the market. Inflation alongside interest rates might wipe out the advantages of the energy bailout that is costing the taxpayer billions. The optics are terrible.
