LIZ Truss has said she “will lead the Conservatives into the next General Election” following the reversal of many of the measures outlined in her mini-Budget.
In an interview with the BBC on Monday night, the Prime Minister admitted to and apologised for “mistakes” made during her short tenure to date.
She is set to hold a meeting with her Cabinet on Tuesday following an informal reception with senior ministers over drinks and nibbles in Downing Street on Monday evening.
Truss has said she has “adjusted what we’re doing” after the UK Government’s fiscal policies resulted in economic turmoil and the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor.
The Prime Minister was asked who was to blame for the mess. She replied: “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, £2500 – 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.”
On Monday, Truss sat silent in the Commons for around 30 minutes as Jeremy Hunt told MPs he was scaling back the energy support package and ditching most of the tax cuts announced by his predecessor.
The Government had already axed plans to scrap the 45p rate of income tax for top earners and U-turned on a promise not to increase corporation tax.
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During the interview with the BBC, Truss was also pressed on mortgage rates, which have skyrocketed in recent weeks.
She said: “Well look, I understand it is very difficult for families across the country.
“And the fact is we are facing a difficult economic situation internationally where interest rates are rising as well as pressure here in Britain.”
Asked if she had made it worse, Truss said: “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.”
The Prime Minister was asked once again if she had made things more difficult for people to which she replied: "Well, first of all I have said sorry for the fact that we did act too far. We went too far and too fast.
“The reason I did that was to make sure that we were dealing with the immediate issue of the energy crisis.”
The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford slammed Truss’s interview and reiterated calls for the Prime Minister to step down.
Writing on Twitter, Blackford said: “This is shocking. No contrition for the Truss premium on mortgage rates that she has caused.
This is shocking. No contrition for the Truss premium on mortgage rates that she has caused. She trashed the mortgagee market. If she has any dignity any self respect she would go. https://t.co/fCV8BhdO1y
— Ian Blackford 🇺🇦🏴 (@Ianblackford_MP) October 18, 2022
“She trashed the mortgage market. If she has any dignity any self respect she would go.”
Truss was also pressed on the security of her position with several Tories having broken rank in the past few days to call for her resignation - and a poll on Monday night putting Labour a whopping 36 points ahead.
She was also pressed on her ratings in the polls. Figures released in early October showed Truss is more unpopular than Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn ever were.
She said: “I will lead the Conservatives into the next General Election.”
The Prime Minister said she was “not focused on internal debates” within her party and apologised to colleagues for the mistakes she said she had made.
