LIZ Truss has come out fighting against critics of her tax-slashing mini budget today, insisting action HAD to be taken to boost economic growth.
The PM told BBC local radio this morning that she needed to make “controversial and difficult decisions” on Britain’s finances to get the country through a tough winter.
A defiant Liz Truss has come out this morning to defend her mini budget amid economic chaos
And she insisted that imposing massive tax cuts “is the right plan”.
The defiant PM said: “I think we have to look at the situation we would be facing if the government hadn’t acted.
“We’ve taken action by stepping in and making sure no one is paying fuel bills more than £2,500.”
The PM blamed turbulence in the economy on Mad Vlad Putin’s war in Ukraine.
She said that Britain should never have got to a position where it became reliant on authoritarian tyrants for energy.
That, she insisted, is why the government had to make such a major intervention.
“It is unconscionable that we allowed this to happen and allowed people to face that fear that they won’t be able to pay their bills,” Ms Truss said.
The PM blasted the idea that the government should make any u-turns on last Friday’s mini budget announcements.
Among the controversial measures were slashing the 45p top tax rate and binning the cap on bankers’ bonuses.
Yesterday pension funds holding £1trillion of British savings were narrowly saved from disaster after a day of chaos.
The Bank of England took unprecedented action to prevent a run on pension funds which could have triggered mass insolvencies.
Ministers denied Kwasi Kwarteng was directly to blame, and vowed to press ahead with £45billion of tax cuts the Chancellor promised.
The Bank of England was forced into emergency action yesterday to stop a Northern Rock-style run of pension funds.
Commenting on the dramatic intervention, Ms Truss said: “We’re working very closely with the bank of England.
“The Government has done the right thing by dealing with inflation … of course these are difficult decisions.
“We are facing difficult economic times but what’s right is the UK government has stepped in.”
This morning Treasury Secretary Chris Philp denied the UK is experiencing an economic crisis.
He told LBC: “The Bank of England intervened in a targeted way yesterday… that intervention appears to have been successful.
“What is ultimately important is that we get this economy growing, we get people’s wages going up, that is what the growth plan will do.”
Yesterday the Bank spent £1billion in a bid to calm nerves.
It also said it is prepared to buy up £65billion of long-term government debt — known as gilts — at “an urgent pace” to help restore “orderly market conditions”.
It is the first time the Bank has had to do so purely because markets were being so dysfunctional.
Mortgage panic continued with lenders pulling 1,000 deals in 24 hours amid fears interest rates could reach six per cent.
PM Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were accused of going AWOL following a barrage of criticism over last week’s mini Budget.
Labour and some Tory MPs demanded the reversal of the abolition of the 45p top rate of income tax — which is being funded by Government debt and is blamed for spooking the markets.
