Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Occupied Palestine: Israeli occupation forces demolishe residential homes east of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen correspondent: An Israeli drone attacked the main road in the town of Harouf, South Lebanon.
Lebanese President: Israeli aggression on Blida took place in aftermath of meeting of ceasefire monitoring committee.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asks Commander of Lebanese Army to confront any Israeli incursion into liberated Lebanese territory in the South.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli aircraft launch series of strikes on area of Jarmaq, South Lebanon.
Reuters: Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to restart peace talks in Istanbul.
Al-Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Blida municipality building two hours after occupying it, and the Lebanese army enters
Pakistani army: 6 soldiers and 7 militants killed in clash near the Afghan border
Israeli media: Sirens sound in the settlement of Kerem Shalom in the Gaza envelope area
Afghan source to Al Mayadeen: We still believe in dialogue and prioritize diplomatic solutions with Pakistan; though we are ready for all possibilities.

British PM humiliated on economic package retreat

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen English
  • 3 Oct 2022 14:37
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announced backing down on top rate tax cuts decision that sent the UK financial market into a deep spiral last week.

  • x
  • British PM humiliated on mini-budget retreat
    UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwareng.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss hits a humiliating U-turn on tax cut decision included in the previously announced economic package, just one day after she announced being  "absolutely committed" to it.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss does an embarrassing U-turn, one day after declaring that she was "totally committed" to the tax cut decision, which was part of the previously announced economic package.

Almost one week ago, PM Truss and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwareng, announced huge tax cuts funded by a significant increase in borrowing in a new "mini-budget" that led to a sharp slide in UK bonds and currency, were the Sterling hit a 41 year low against the dollar, and an extreme negative reaction from the financial markets.

Read more: UK: inflation reaches its highest since 1982

Only a small number of Conservative MPs supported the mini-budget; others opposed it, most notably Julian Smith, a former whip for the party, who said it was wrong to enact a "huge tax cut for the very rich at a time of national crisis and real fear and anxiety among low-income workers and citizens." It is regarded as an unusual occurrence that the IMF joined the voices in denouncing the mini-budget.

Following the massive turbulence that hit the markets and the public outrage, UK government announced on Monday dumping the 45% to 40% tax-cut plan on incomes over £150,000, to which Kwarteng tweeted, "We get it, and we have listened," stating that, "It is clear that the abolition of the 45p tax rate has become a distraction from our overriding mission to tackle the challenges facing our economy." The news drived the Sterling sharply upwards against the USD, where it settled at 1.1212 at 7:30 following the confirmation that the cut was scrapped.

Read more: 60% of UK companies to close as energy prices soar

Related News

UK unemployment hits 3.6%, no clear end in sight

UK food prices on the rise and so is every other bill

In a talk with the BBC on Sunday, Truss claimed that the decision on cutting tax from high earners was made by Chancellor Kwasi and that she hadn't discussed it with her cabinet, in what appeared to be like "throwing (Kwarteng) under a bus," as MP Nadine Dorries described it.

Stating that the plan reveal did not go as planned due to communication errors with the UK minister of Finance, Truss tweeted, “Our focus now is on building a high growth economy that funds world-class public services, boosts wages, and creates opportunities across the country," adding that, "The abolition of the 45pc rate had become a distraction from our mission to get Britain moving.”

Read more: Truss freezes energy bills for 2 years, costs government £150 billion

"I'm very pleased that we've decided not to proceed with that because it was drowning out the elements of an excellent plan," stated Kwarteng to the BBC, while assuring that he did not consider resigning "at all".

Former UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, described the decision to back down on the top rate tax cuts as sensible, stating the BBC cutting taxes from the people who least need them, "jarred for people in a way which was unsustainable.”

Following the recent events, a survey conducted by YouGov revealed that 51% of UK citizens believe that PM Truss should resign, while 54% think that Kwarteng needs to go.

Earlier, Tory members urged new PM Liz Truss to kick Kwarteng to the curb as they viewed her new government formation as a situation in dire straits. One member said: “Kwasi will have to go. She won’t have any option. They are actually crashing the economy and she will need somebody to blame.”

The party's former chancellor, Ken Clarke, labeled the Truss government to have initiated with a  “catastrophic start”, and hoped that the mini-budget initiative would be “torn up”, but in a statement to Sky News, in his opinion, Kwarteng's resignation would not improve the crisis, adding: “We cannot have a different chancellor every other week.”

  • Sterling Pound
  • British Prime Minister
  • Liz Truss
  • UK
  • Kwasi Kwarteng

Most Read

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

Arab League chief exposes secret US deal shielding 'Israel’s' nukes

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025
Hi-tech holocaust: Microsoft’s role in Gaza genocide

Microsoft's role in world’s first AI-driven genocide, in Gaza, exposed

  • Technology
  • 28 Oct 2025
What Marr evidently didn't seem to understand was that Hedges isn't saying that Western journalists manipulate the truth, but that they systematically amplify Israeli narratives they know are false. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Western journalists know they have a case to answer for their betrayal of Gaza, and it frightens them

  • Opinion
  • 24 Oct 2025
Sheikh Naim Qassem speaks during an interview with Al-Manar TV, October 26, 2025 (Screenshot)

Hezbollah ready to face 'Israel' in case of war: Sheikh Naim Qassem

  • Politics
  • 27 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
ap
Politics

Hamas calls on int’l community to act against Israeli settlement plan

In this Nov. 9, 2017, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, right, chats with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (AP)
Economy

Ex-US diplomat says Trump-Xi deal 'tactical retreat', not lasting deal

An unarmed Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, during a test in 2002. (US Air Force)
Politics

JD Vance defends Trump's nuclear test plan as 'crucial for security'

Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the "million man" protest against military conscription, in occupied al-Quds, October 30, 2025 (AFP)
Politics

Haredi mass rally in al-Quds exposes Zionist regime's growing crisis

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS