Mistakes made on a small budget, new prime minister says
The new prime minister, Jeremy Hunt, is discussing plans for the position this morning on Sky News.
He said the Liz Truss government had made a “mistake” and “had difficult decisions ahead.”
he says:
I want to do the right thing for the British people.
It is a great honor to do the work that the Prime Minister has asked me to do, but I want to be honest with people. We are faced with a very difficult decision.
The last few weeks have been very tough, but the situation is, of course, coming out of the pandemic and cost of living crisis.
What people want, what markets want, what countries need now is stability. No prime minister can control the market.
But what I can do is show that we can pay our taxes and spending plans, and that will require some very difficult decisions about both spending and taxes.
he adds:
I made a mistake. It was a mistake to seek hard decisions on taxes and spending across the board in order to lower the tax rates paid by the very wealthy.
It was a mistake to blindly make these projections without giving people confidence in the Office of Budget Responsibility that the amounts would add up.
The Prime Minister has acknowledged that, which is why I am here.
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Key points from Jeremy Hunt this morning…
In his first full day as prime minister, Jeremy Hunt conducted a series of interviews, pointing out:
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He refused to promise to increase benefits to match inflation.
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Liz Truss claims to have “listened” to a crisis caused by a small budget. She will be judged by her actions over the next 18 months in the next election.
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He warned that all government departments, including the NHS and defense, would face spending cuts. A “hard decision” is coming.
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I pledged that the money I was supposed to receive from health care and social security taxes would be protected.
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Some taxes will go up. Others don’t get off “as much as people wanted.”
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The Conservatives are united “over the most important issues”, including growth and Brexit.
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He will meet with the Treasury later today and with Truss tomorrow.
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It was a “mistake” to cut taxes for the richest and “fly blind” without the trust of the Office of Budget Responsibility.
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He declined to make any specific commitments for the Oct. 31 financial report.
Liz Truss is also paying tribute to the one-year anniversary of the murder of the late David Ames (see also 9:06 am).
The Prime Minister said:
On the anniversary of Sir David Ames’ death, we cherish his memory and remember his tremendous contributions to politics, the people of Southend and our country.
My thoughts today are with his wife Julia, the Ames family, and everyone who knew and loved him. pic.twitter.com/Tt44GQeHjG
— Liz Truss (@trussliz) October 15, 2022
Shadow prime minister declares ‘conservative crisis’ after Jeremy Hunt’s first interview
Rachel Reeves The Shadow Prime Minister responded to Jeremy Hunt’s first interview by declaring, “The Tory crisis – happened in Downing Street and paid for by working people.”
She condemned the “contradictory and chaotic message from Downing Street”, calling it “completely unacceptable”.
she said:
There was damage. Clearly they have no plan to clean up the mess.In a time when people’s mortgages are skyrocketing and businesses are losing certainty, the contradictory and chaotic messages emanating from Downing Street are utterly unacceptable. not.
We don’t just need a new prime minister. We need a labor government. Only Labor can provide the leadership and planning Britain needs to solve this crisis and grow its economy.
Boris Johnson’s former press secretary, Will Walden, said Jeremy Hunt equates to an “interim prime minister.”
Trussonomics is clearly “jumping up,” he told Sky News, and Liz Truss “didn’t get close” to calm his nerves at a press conference yesterday. The prime minister’s performance was “deaf” and showed no sympathy.
Pippa Kreller
‘It feels like it’s game over’: From The Guardian political editor Pippa Kreller:
Liz Truss sent a message to Conservative MPs on social media within minutes of her announcement that she was one of the last two in July’s Conservative leadership election.
“Thank you for trusting me,” she tweeted. “Ready to land from day one.”
But her first message was no more prescient.
Since her inauguration just 38 days ago, Truss’ premiership has descended rapidly toward the solid ground of economic realities. She is currently fighting for political survival.
That comes after a chaotic 24 hours when Truss and her prime minister publicly claimed they were sticking to a plan to not pay corporate taxes.
Kwasi Kwarteng’s midnight dash from Washington confirmed that the situation had reached a crisis point. As the sun rose over Westminster, rumors were already circulating that he was about to be sacked. He claimed he already knew she wanted to “carry the can” through the mini-budget disaster.
Truss hopes that removing Quarten as prime minister will take her heat away and at least buy her valuable time to stabilize the ship of the rebelling Tories. As her reply shows, their radical plan to tear the economy apart and boost growth was truly a joint effort.
Kwarteng emphasized to the prime minister that it was “your” vision, but she replied, “We share the same vision.”
Despite the finger pointing, the pair have been on the same ideological journey for years, bumping up their ill-fated budget with coffee and biscotti at Kwarteng’s Greenwich home in August.
Here’s the rest of the article:
Labor leader Keir Sturmer has paid tribute to David Ames, one year after the murder of a Conservative MP.
A 69-year-old man was stabbed to death while meeting voters in Lee-on-Sea, Essex on October 15, 2021.
Sturmer tweeted:
It’s been a year since the senseless death of our friend and colleague David Ames.
David’s dedication to public service, carried out with innate and consistent kindness, will be forever admired.
Thinking of his wife and children, I hope his memory will be comforting.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 15, 2022
Kwarteng says Truss only bought himself ‘a few weeks’ by firing him
on today’s cover The Times, Kwasi Kwarten Liz Truss says layoffs only bought her ‘a few weeks’ With him as prime minister, we reversed the mini-budget.
Actor Miriam Margolyes calls Jeremy Hunt a ‘fuck’ on live
Actor Miriam Margolyes told Jeremy Hunt that she wanted to say “shit” after appearing on Radio 4 shortly after the new prime minister.
Speaking to Today at the end of her interview about Robbie Coltrane’s obituary, she said:
when i saw him [Hunt] So I just said: “What a terrible job, good luck.”
And what I really wanted to say was “fuck you bastard”, but you can’t say that.
Mr Hunt said Mr Truss had won the leadership election “fairly” but admitted that “some people, including myself, did not vote for prime minister”.
Hunt asks how long Liz Truss will be prime minister? “I think what the country wants now is sustainability.”
He adds:
“I don’t want to pretend it hasn’t been a very difficult few weeks,” he said, but insisted the Conservatives are united in parliament over growth and a successful Brexit.
he admits:
There was a party leader election. Some people, myself included, did not vote for Prime Minister, but we do agree that she won fair and square.
Hunt claims Truss “listened” even after the budget was low.
Hunt said the UK is already debt-ridden at 97% of GDP and tax cuts must be “sustainable”.
On his pledge to lower the personal income tax, he says he “very” wants it lowered but needs to see everything “in the round.”
He argues that tax cuts are sustainable and must be funded.
The UK is already debt-ridden at 97% of GDP, the highest level of debt since the 1960s.
hunt says
There are no easy choices. Very difficult.
He adds:
“Of course” the UK will need to support the war in Ukraine, Hunt said, but the Ministry of Defense will also face cuts.
He says he cannot vouch for the prime minister’s promise to increase defense spending.