Prime Minister Liz Truss gave an interview to the BBC’s political editor, Chris Mason, on Monday, amid growing tensions in the Conservative Party.
It was the first time the Prime Minister had spoken publicly since her new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, reversed several of the key policy announcements in Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget.
Here is a transcript of the interview
Chris Mason: “Prime Minister, who is to blame for this mess?”
Prime Minister Liz Truss: “Well, first of all, I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made.
“I wanted to act to help people with their energy bills, to deal with the issue of high taxes, but we went too far and too fast. I’ve acknowledged that. I put in place a new chancellor with a new strategy to restore economic stability.
“And now what I’m focused on is delivering for the public, whether that’s delivering on our energy price guarantee – and we’ve made sure people are only paying, a typical household, £2,500 – but also delivering on the promise of growth, making sure we’re delivering on the roads, the broadband, the mobile phone signal, all of those things which are going to help our economy succeed.”
CM: “Let’s be clear, though, and blunt. Your very vision for Britain is dead, isn’t it?”
PM: “What I’m focused on is delivering on energy supplies, on delivering new roads, new opportunities across our country. We have to make sure, though, that we have economic stability, and that has to be my priority as Prime Minister.
“I’ve acted in the national interest. I remain committed to the vision, but we will have to deliver that in a different way. And that’s what I’m determined to do with the new Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.”
CM: “You derided ‘abacus economics’, as you called it, you belittled Treasury orthodoxy. They’re now back, aren’t they, on your watch?”
PM: “Well, we have to, of course, make sure we have economic stability as a country, and it was my responsibility as Prime Minister to take the tough decision and make sure we delivered that.
“We also need higher, longer term growth, and that’s vitally important to fund our National Health Service, to make sure families are able to succeed, to make sure we’re able to afford a great education system. That’s important in the long term.
“But I recognise that we did act too fast, and that’s why I’ve adjusted what we’re doing and I do think it is the mark of an honest politician who does say ‘Yes, I’ve made a mistake. I’ve addressed that mistake.’
“And now we need to deliver for people, you know, what we’ve said we’ll deliver.”
CM: “Do you still believe what you believed before, what you spelt out over the summer over and over again in those hustings, and what you said when you first became Prime Minister? Do you still believe that as a kind of Conservative philosophy, even though it didn’t work?”
PM: “I do believe in a high-growth, low-tax economy. What I recognise though is we do face very difficult circumstances at the moment.
“We’ve got rising interest rates across the world, we’ve got the war in Ukraine, perpetrated by (Vladimir) Putin, and what we had to do, and what I had to take the decision as Prime Minister to do, is make sure we acted to protect economic stability.
“Now, I do believe we need to get things in Britain moving faster, to help grow our economy. I want to get on with the road projects, the infrastructure we need, the new energy supplies we need, because we’ve become far too dependent on global energy prices.
“But I recognise we did act too far and too fast and I’ve made the necessary adjustments to that.”
CM: “Was Rishi Sunak right all along?”
PM: “We had a very robust leadership campaign this summer where we debated ideas, we debated philosophy.”
CM: “And he suggested your ideas would be a disaster, and he’s been proven right, hasn’t he?”
PM: “Well, as I’ve said, I’m committed to a low-tax, high-growth economy, but I have to reflect the real issues we face.
“And my responsibility as Prime Minister is making sure that we have economic stability, that we protect people’s jobs – we’ve got the lowest unemployment since 1974 – and we get through this very difficult winter.
“What I have delivered is we’ve already reversed the national insurance increase, which is important for families. We’ve also delivered on the energy price guarantee. Yes, Chris. I couldn’t deliver everything I wanted…”
CM: “Well, not everything, I mean most of it’s been junked.”
PM: “Well, I delivered the energy price guarantee and the national insurance and we will continue to work to deliver economic growth for our country.
“This week we’re introducing new legislation to make sure that we have smooth-running rail services and that commuters can get into work, and we were dealing with militant unions. So we will continue to deliver our agenda.”
CM: “You talk about the energy package and that’s been the crutch, if you like, that you’ve leant on in the last couple of weeks when you faced difficult questions, proudly saying that it was bigger and bolder than Labour’s, and yet that shrivelled as well, hasn’t it? That hasn’t survived contact with the new Chancellor.”
PM: “Well, this winter families will be protected, they won’t be paying the up to £6,000 bills that they were facing. Now a typical household will pay no more than £2,500 and we are putting that protection…”
CM: “But you can’t offer the long-term reassurance to families that you were offering a week ago. It’s another thing that’s bitten the dust.”
PM: “Well, what I can reassure people of is that the most vulnerable will be protected into next winter. We’re looking at exactly how we can do that. And being in government is always about a balance of being able to make those decisions, but I also have to think about, and the Chancellor has to think about, economic stability.
“So we will make sure those households who are struggling do have that support into next winter. We’ll be saying more about that in due course.
“Families will be protected this winter from those very, very high bills. And, as I’ve said, given the worsening conditions, we do have to make sure that we maintain economic stability. That has to be a priority.
CM: “Lots of people are facing massive increases in mortgage payments and analysts say at least some of that is because of what you’ve done in the last five or six weeks. What do you say to them?”
PM: “Well, look, I understand it is very difficult for families across the country.”
CM: “And they’re blaming you.”
PM: “And the fact is we are facing both a difficult economic situation internationally, where interest rates are rising, as well as pressure here in Britain.”
CM: “But do you accept that you have made it worse?”
PM: “What we’ve been through over the last few years is a very low interest rate world, and that is changing, and that is changing across the globe.”
CM: “But do you accept that what you’ve done in the last five weeks since you took office has made it worse for people, it’s made it harder for people to pay their bills?”
PM: “Well, first of all I have said sorry for the fact that we did act too far. We went too far and too fast.”
CM: “And that has consequences for people, on people’s bills.”
PM: “But the reason I did that was to make sure that we were dealing with the immediate issue of the energy crisis, and we did help people with their energy bills.
“Now, interest rates are a matter for the Bank of England. They are rising internationally. We will do what we can to help families. I’m particularly focused on helping the most vulnerable families, but we are in a difficult situation as a country, and this difficult situation is being faced around the world. And we’ve had to adjust our policies as a consequence, Chris.”
CM: “What do you say to people who say that you are now a Prime Minister in name only, that you’ve had to junk almost your entire plan, the very thing that you were elected upon, and you now have a Chancellor who is executing a plan that’s a million miles away from your own and you have acknowledged that what you’ve had to pause, what you’ve had to stop, is still what you really believe? You’re now leading a Government that’s executing an agenda that you don’t even believe in.”
PM: “Well, I appointed the Chancellor because I knew that we had to pursue these policies. I knew that we had to act to protect economic stability, and that’s why I appointed Jeremy Hunt.
“I’d been working very closely with the Chancellor over the last few days to make sure that we have the right package in place. But it would have been completely irresponsible for me not to act in the national interest in the way I have.
“I am somebody who’s honest. I’ve said that mistakes were made. But I’ve also acted to address that to make sure the country is in a strong position, and that’s what I will continue to do as Prime Minister.”
CM: “Can you convince our listener and viewer that you have credibility still as Prime Minister? Because a reasonable-minded observer might wonder from here on in whether they can believe what you’re saying, because so much of what you’ve said in your early weeks in office has been binned.”
PM: “I’ve been absolutely honest about what I want to achieve for this country. I want us to be a country that has higher growth, where people can benefit from more opportunities across the country.
“I’ve also been honest that we’re facing a very difficult economic situation, so we have had to change our ways of achieving that, and it will take longer.
“I mean, we did go too far and too fast. But we are delivering, you know, we’re delivering on energy prices for people this winter. We’re delivering on minimum services on railways. We’re delivering on our speeded-up road projects. We’re delivering on reversing national insurance.
“So, yes, I have been honest with the public about what we’ve needed to change because of the circumstances, but I am completely committed to delivering for this country. And that’s why I’m in the job, that’s why I get up each morning, Chris, is because I want this country to be a better place where everybody has opportunities and everyone can succeed, that’s what motivates me.”
CM: “People will say ‘Look, we all change our minds, all prime ministers change their minds’, but this is a wave of U-turns, unprecedented in scale and speed. Do you feel humiliated?”
PM: “I feel, first of all, that I did make mistakes and I’ve been upfront and honest about that…”
CM: “That must feel humiliating, so early in office.”
PM: “But what I’m spending my time thinking about, Chris, is about how we deal with the situation and how we deliver for the public. That’s what… that’s what motivates me and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.
“I care deeply about this country. I care deeply about our success because I know what that success means for people. It means the difference between having a job and not having a job. It means the difference between being able to feed your family or not being able to feed your family, and that’s what motivates me and what I’m doing.
“Yes, it hasn’t been perfect. It’s been a difficult time and I think we did an interview before I got the job and I said it was going to be tough because of the circumstances we’re facing as a country.”
CM: “Has it been harder than you could possibly have imagined?”
PM: “I was expecting it to be tough and it has been tough, I think it’s fair to say.”
CM: “Let me read you some of what your own MPs have told me about what’s been going on. ‘It’s Checkmate, we’re stuffed.’ ‘It’s dire’. ‘They’ve taken no responsibility for hiking mortgage rates.’ ‘We’re all done for.’ These are your own colleagues. What do you say to them, because they’re convinced that, as a result of your actions, they and your party are going to lose?”
PM: “Well, what I say to them is that we should be focusing on the people of the United Kingdom and how we deliver for them. We were elected on the Conservative manifesto in 2019 to level up our country, to provide more opportunities, to deliver for our public services.
“That’s what I’m focused on doing, and I don’t think people want to hear about internal discussions in the Conservative Party.”
CM: “Well, they’re hearing a lot of it.”
PM: “I think people… I think people recognise that we are facing a very serious situation internationally, that there are serious economic headwinds, and they want a Government and a Conservative Party that deals with that.”
CM: “Tell me about the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng. You were longstanding friends from the same, if you like, wing of the Conservative Party, finally being able to deliver your vision of Conservatism, and he’s out the door in weeks. What impact did that have, having to fire him?”
PM: “Look, it was a very tough decision. It was painful and Kwasi is a friend of mine. But I’ve been put in this job, I was elected by Conservative Party members, I was elected to deliver for this country and, ultimately, I have to make those decisions about what the right thing to do was, and I have made the right decision.
“It was right that we changed policy. It’s right that we have a new Chancellor. And now what I’m determined to do is make sure that works.”
CM: “Are you sticking around because you want to stick around or because you’re waiting for your party to find a successor?”
PM: “I’m sticking around because I was elected to deliver for this country, and that is what I am determined to do.”
CM: “And will you lead the Conservatives into the next general election?”
pm: “I will lead the Conservatives into the next general election.”
CM: “Definitely?”
PM: “Well, look, yeah. I’m not focused on internal debates within the Conservative Party.”
CM: “But you need to be, don’t you? You know you need to be in order to stay in office.”
PM: “The important thing is that I’ve been elected to this position to deliver for the country. We are facing very tough times. We simply cannot afford to spend our time talking about the Conservative Party, rather than what we need to deliver. And that is my message to my colleagues.”
CM: “Because you’re worried that they might eject you from office?”
PM: “What I’m worried about is delivering for the people of Britain.”
CM: “You must have had moments in the last few weeks, given the scale, the swirl of noise that you’ve felt, we’ve all felt at Westminster, amongst your own colleagues of the deep sense of unrest, the deep sense of concern, that because of your decisions the fear among so many Conservative MPs is your party’s going to lose and lose big time in the next general election. And they blame you for that.”
PM: “Well, my message to my colleagues is yes, I completely acknowledge that there have been mistakes. I have acted swiftly to fix those mistakes. I’ve been honest about what those mistakes were. And what we now need to do is move forward and deliver for the country because that’s ultimately…”
CM: “And you’re staying put?”
PM: “Because that’s ultimately what people care about. People care about us delivering, and that’s what we as elected politicians need to focus on.”
CM: “And you’re staying put no matter how bad the poll ratings get, however much noise there is amongst your own backbenchers, you’re not shifting?”
PM: “I will stay in the job to deliver for the national interest.”
CM: “Prime Minister, thank you.”
PM: “Thank you.”
