51% of Brits say UK PM Liz Truss should resign - reports

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Sep 2022 21:26

The results of a poll conducted by YouGov are not so shocking since Truss's premiership has already been tainted by some serious mistakes.

51% of Brits say UK PM Liz Truss should resign

A survey conducted by British research and data analytics firm YouGov reveals on Friday that half of the British population thinks that newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss should resign. The results are attributed to some serious mistakes that Truss has committed since her assuming the position less than four weeks ago. Her recent announcement of a mini-budget to help alleviate surging costs of living also infuriated Britons due to its meager potential to redress the economy.

Since former PM Boris Johnson had left office following a slew of scandals, expectations were set too high for Truss who can barely deal with important issues like inflation and the high costs of living. Prior to her victory over finance minister Rishi Sunak, Truss had promised to “deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy" amid predictions of a recession in the UK.

Last week, Truss and finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled their tax-slashing plans and used them to propose radical tax cuts without suggesting how they would be paid for. Brits expressed outrage at the idea that bankers will be allowed to put a hold on bonuses and company owners delay dividends until the new tax year, once the rate decreases.

As the package is expected to dramatically increase government borrowing, it also happens to lack a cost analysis forecast from the country's fiscal watchdog, the Office of Budget Responsibility. This, combined with the pound's recent sharp drop against the dollar, caused tremendous turmoil in the financial markets, with the pound dropping to its lowest ever level against the dollar.

With fears building up over the possibility of the UK pension fund collapsing, the Bank of England made a prompt intervention to stabilize the situation. Opposition politicians, independent analysts, and even some Tory lawmakers have assailed the plans as reckless and counter-productive.

Since unveiling the mini-budget, Truss remained quiet for a whole week until emerging Thursday to circulate on various platforms and regional television interviews in defense of her plan - an indeed disastrous attempt as she struggled to justify the viability of the package.

The 4,918 participants surveyed in the poll conducted on Friday reveal that only three percent think the mini-budget had the right ideas and only a quarter of them think she should remain in office, while more than half also thought Kwarteng should resign.

On another note, market research and consulting firm Ipsos found in their own survey that half of the people expect Labour leader Keir Starmer to become prime minister, up from 38 percent in May. The poll also revealed that 18 percent think Truss was performing well in her PM responsibilities.