The mini-Budget has been dumped in a catastrophic humiliation for Liz Truss.
Jeremy Hunt axed it as the PM sat silently and her MPs plotted a coup. One Tory said Truss has “poured petrol over everything”.
Even one of her supporters said it is time for the “men in grey suits” to tell the Prime Minister to quit.
And in further embarrassment, Ms Truss finally said sorry publicly for the chaos she has caused.
It came after one of the biggest U-turns in political history, when the Chancellor axed almost all of the mini-Budget, which has plunged the economy into crisis. Families have been warned to prepare for a new era of austerity as Mr Hunt threatened to slash budgets including in education and the NHS.
Among his announcements was that the two-year scheme to cap average energy bills at £2,500 a year will now last for only six months, meaning typical households may face charges of £4,000 from April.
Ms Truss squirmed as more than £32billion of her £45billion of unfunded tax cuts were cancelled by Mr Hunt.
One of the few surviving measures is lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses. The Prime Minister was not even in the Commons at first, leading to claims she was frightened of answering questions from angry MPs.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said: “The lady is not for turning... up.”
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, who was sent by Ms Truss to appear in her place, declined to say where the Prime Minister was.
In farcical scenes, Ms Mordaunt said the PM “isn’t under a desk” when taunted about her location.
After the PM – who had been at a meeting with Sir Graham Brady, the shop steward for Tory backbenchers – finally sidled into the Commons, she merely watched as Ms Mordaunt then the Chancellor answered questions.
The Prime Minister stayed for just 29 minutes before leaving to shouts of “shocking” from opposition MPs.
Mr Hunt has warned “eye-wateringly difficult” decisions are needed as it was revealed he will decide on cuts to departmental budgets by the end of this week.
The Chancellor refused to commit to a promise made by Ms Truss that the state pension will rise in line with inflation next year.
The Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “[Mr Hunt] was a big part of austerity season one, now he says the cure is austerity season two.”
She added: “There is lasting damage which these policy U-turns won’t change.
“They’ve set fire to everything. Now they insist it is all fine. An arsonist is still an arsonist, even if he runs back into the burning building with a bucket of water.” Experts say taxes are now set to rise to their highest level since 1950.
The number of Tory MPs publicly calling on Ms Truss to quit rose to five yesterday as a poll gave Labour a 36-point lead, which could mean the Tories winning only 22 seats.
MPs have demanded a general election but Ms Mordaunt said it would cause “weeks of disruption”.
A former Cabinet minister who backed Ms Truss in the leadership contest told the Mirror: “How long she stays depends on whether she is completely delusional. The men in grey suits need to go to see her.
“I voted for Liz as I thought she would be dull. I wanted an end to all the drama. But she has conspired to pour petrol over everything.”
In an interview with the BBC, Ms Truss last night finally apologised for the mess she has made, but insisted she would lead the party into the next general election.
However, after she said sorry to Tory MPs, one said: “Mostly, you got the impression she had been drugged.” Rishi Sunak is favourite to be the next Prime Minister.
Ex-Health Secretary Mr Hunt was boosted by the pound soaring on the back of his mini-Budget reversal.
Describing Mr Hunt, Mr Starmer told Labour MPs: “The man who butchered the NHS... shoring up this Night of the Living Dead government and taking his reaper’s scythe to what remains of public services after 12 years of the Tories.”
