And so we reach the scene tediously familiar to even the most casual observers of this Conservative drama: the action after yet another huge debacle, wherein leading proponents search for a scapegoat. In the weeks that have passed since the mini-budget meltdown, the frenzied hunt has been especially remarkable. Liz Truss has blamed her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng; he has blamed the Queen’s death; her business secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, on Wednesday blamed the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, and the Bank has paid this back (with interest, one might say, were that word not such a gruesome reminder), with its senior staff repeatedly laying the blame at ministers’ feet.
So far, so predictable – as is the usual buffet of U-turns and confusions. At Wednesday’s prime minister’s questions, Ms Truss backtracked on her backtracking over the ban on no-fault evictions and left observers scratching their heads as she swore there would be “absolutely” no cuts to public spending. Since the full budget is meant to demonstrate just how the government will close its budget deficit, by laying out spending cuts, one may guess that even more of the mini-budget is now heading for the bin. That would be a highly unusual move, and would leave Mr Kwarteng little option but to resign – yet so precarious and chaotic has this government been in its six long weeks that this may be the safest and wisest course of action.
