UK's Truss vows to listen as she reels from policy U-turns
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss has insisted she is leading “a listening government” that learns from its mistakes, as she tries to restore her shaky authority and reassure financial markets spooked by her government’s see-sawing economic pledges.
Truss told the BBC in an interview that was broadcast Tuesday that she and her ministers were determined to “reflect on how we could have done things better.”
“Is everything the government (has) done absolutely perfect? No it’s not,” she said. “I fully acknowledge that. And we have learned from the feedback we’ve received.”
That “feedback” has been dramatic: Truss’ four weeks in office have seen the pound plunge to record lows against the dollar, the Bank of England take emergency action and the opposition Labour Party surge to record highs against her Conservatives in opinion polls.
Now Truss also faces a battle with her party over her economic plans, with some lawmakers warning they will oppose any attempt to slash welfare benefits to help pay for lower taxes. Truss said “no decision has been made yet” on whether to cut benefits in real terms by raising them by less than inflation.
Truss is on a mission to reshape Britain’s economy through tax cuts and deregulation in a bid to end years of sluggish growth. But she is trying to ride out a series of U-turns over her first big policy: a stimulus package that includes 45 billion pounds ($50 billion) in tax cuts, to be paid for by government borrowing. Its announcement on Sept. 23 sent the pound tumbling to a record low against the dollar and increased the cost of government borrowing.
The Bank of England was forced to intervene to prop up the bond market and stop a wider economic crisis. Fears that the bank will soon hike interest rates caused...
