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LONDON – British Prime Minister Liz Truss lost the second of her top cabinet officials on Wednesday after Home Secretary Seulla Braverman resigned.
In another day of political turmoil in Britain, Braverman stepped down as home secretary, one of the four “great offices of state” or top government posts, which also include the prime minister , the Chancellor and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The terms of his resignation are not yet clear.
Since Truss became Prime Minister at the beginning of September, two big figures have left their posts. Its former chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, was sacked last Friday.
Earlier in the day, Truss had declared herself “a fighter, not a quitter”, amid calls for her own resignation in her first public grilling since sacking her finance minister and seeing how his economic agenda fell apart.
Truss offered an apology of sorts in Parliament as he faced overwhelming criticism for first proposing big tax cuts and then reversing himself after his policies plunged financial markets.
“I’ve been very clear that I’m sorry and that I’ve made mistakes,” he told lawmakers in the House of Commons, where opposition members accused the new prime minister of governing without a viable plan and without a mandate.
As Truss struggles, so does the British economy. Just hours before appearing in Parliament, the government reported that inflation rose to 10.1 percent in September compared to last year’s prices. The rise in the cost of food was driving the increase.
The economy was in trouble before Truss became leader, although he has probably made things worse. Energy costs are rising, in part because of Russia’s war in Ukraine; the British pound is taking a beating; and the Bank of England has warned that a recession is likely before the end of the year.
In his remarks, Truss blamed global winds for the problems, not his economic growth plan, which included tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, paid for by deep borrowing and more debt.
With Liz Truss’s agenda destroyed, Brits ask if PM is still in charge
His appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions, or PMQs, only his third since becoming the country’s leader six weeks ago, found Truss mostly on the defensive. He attacked the opposition parties. But the opposition has not run Britain for the past 12 years. His Conservative Party has done it.
Labor Party leader Keir Starmer asked Truss: “What’s the point of a prime minister whose promises don’t even last a week?”
Mr Starmer said Mr Truss’s now-defeated economic plan had pushed up adjustable rate mortgages for landlords, which he charged had “destroyed” Britain’s economy.
“How can you be held accountable when you’re not in charge?” Starmer asked, referring to how her new finance chief, Jeremy Hunt, had unveiled a whole new government policy this week. Some British politicians and media have referred to Hunt as the “de facto Prime Minister”.
“I have acted in the national interest to ensure that we have economic stability,” Truss replied.
Public criticism has been brutal. A YouGov poll found that just 10% of voters have a favorable view of Truss, making her the most unpopular prime minister the organization has ever tracked. Another poll found that most members of the Conservative Party – the small section of the population that voted her into office – would now like to see her resign.
If Truss stays in office, it may be less because she is a fighter than because Conservative Party lawmakers, who would have to pressure her or vote for her, are divided over who could replace her.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was among the party members who called for patience. Speaking to Sky News, he said that “going through another leadership campaign, defenestrating another prime minister” would not “convince the British people that we are thinking of them rather than ourselves” or “convince the market to keep calm “.
“Getting angry, I totally understand, but that’s an emotional response, not a plan,” he added.
The latest double-digit inflation figure is a 40-year high and matches July’s figure after a slight drop to 9.9 percent in August. The government’s target inflation rate is 2 percent.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday showed that the rise in costs was mainly driven by food prices, which rose by 14.5 per cent compared to the same month last year. last year. This was the largest annual increase since 1980.
“After last month’s small dip, headline inflation returned to its peak seen at the start of the summer,” Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said in a statement. “The increase was driven by further increases in food, which saw its biggest annual rise in more than 40 years, while hotel prices also rose after falling this time last year.”
The increases were somewhat mitigated by lower gas and plane ticket prices, and the price of used cars has not increased as much as last year, he added.
Hunt responded to the numbers, saying he understood people across the country were struggling with higher bills.
“This government will prioritize help for the most vulnerable while delivering broader economic stability and driving long-term growth that will help everyone,” he said.
On Monday, Hunt announced that Truss’ previous pledge to help Britons with their energy bills over the next two years had been scrapped because it was too expensive. Now, support will only be guaranteed until April 2023. Hunt said more help will be “targeted” then.
The government has so far refused to fund these subsidies with a windfall tax on oil and gas suppliers, as demanded by the opposition.
Experts have warned that because of rising global energy prices, bills could rise from an average of $2,800 a year to more than $4,500 next spring.
The squeeze on household costs hits people on the lowest incomes harder because they spend a greater proportion of their money on food, fuel and energy.