Britain’s PM has apologized for causing market chaos but insisted on leading the Tories in the next election
British Prime Minister Liz Truss said on Monday she had no intention of stepping down, despite pleas from fellow Tory MPs. The statement comes as she fights for political survival over her controversial economic policies, which have sparked market turmoil.
Speaking to the BBC, the embattled PM said she was « Stay because I was elected to deliver for this country and that’s what I’m determined to do..”
She went on to say that she would lead the Conservative Party in the next election, adding that she “does not focus on internal debatesamong the Conservatives. “We are going through very difficult times. We simply cannot afford to spend our time talking about the Conservative Party rather than what we need to do. This is my message to my colleagues.”
Truss, however, apologized for the mistakes she made in her first month as prime minister, taking responsibility for her ill-fated economic plan, which sparked market chaos. She explained that she « wanted to do something to help people with their energy bills, to deal with the issue of high taxes“, while admitting that his government « Got too far too fast » with its policies.
The Prime Minister said that to remedy the situation, she had appointed a new chancellor with a new strategy « Restore economic stability. »
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The comments come after several Tory MPs urged Truss to step down, citing his inability to deal with the economic crisis. While Truss inherited double-digit inflation and an economy on the verge of recession, she initially backed the controversial ‘mini budget’ which aimed to increase borrowing and keep corporation tax at 19 % instead of increasing it to 25%.
The plan backfired, with markets plunging into turmoil and the pound plummeting to a record high against the US dollar. Truss subsequently dropped the budget and sacked Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, replacing him with former Foreign Office chief Jeremy Hunt.
A recent poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies shows that if a general election were held today, the Conservatives would lose over 300 seats in the House of Commons and Labor would win a majority in Parliament.
