[ad_1]
Kwarteng says he is ‘not going anywhere’
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, said his “total focus is on delivering on the mini-budget” in response to speculation about a U-turn on the measures.
Kwarteng said he is “not going anywhere” and refused to rule out any changes in the future. He acknowledged that there was “some turbulence” after the mini-budget but said it’s a “very dicey situation globally”.
Speaking from an International Monetary Fund summit, he said:
I speak to Number 10, I speak to the prime minister all the time – and we are totally focused on delivering the growth plan.
Asked whether Liz Truss will be prime minister next week and whether he will remain chancellor, Kwarteng replied:
Absolutely 100%, I’m not going anywhere.
Key events
Filters BETA
The international trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, has urged fellow Tory MPs to unite behind Liz Truss and the government’s growth plans.
She said she agreed with the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, that “to even talk about changing the leader at this time would be disastrous”.
Speaking during a visit to a distillery in East Lothian, Badenoch dismissed talk of a general election. She said:
I’m very focused on the prime minister’s growth agenda, selling exports and making sure that we continue to grow and create jobs for people. That is absolutely not the sort of thing that is on my mind at all.
John Stevens from the Daily Mirror quotes Treasury sources as saying that Kwasi Kwarteng has not left Washington DC.
The chancellor is not attending an IMF meeting of G20 finance ministers because he is in a bilateral meeting with another finance minister, he said.
Kwasi Kwarteng has NOT fled Washington DC, according to Treasury sources
He’s not in main IMF meeting right now as he’s taking part in a bilateral meeting with another finance minister
— John Stevens (@johnestevens) October 13, 2022
Downing Street has refused to comment on reports that discussions are ongoing at No 10 on U-turns in the government’s mini-budget.
Asked whether an imminent change is possible, a No 10 spokesperson said
Again, I just have to repeat that our position hasn’t changed and the Chancellor was very clear that he and the PM are working to deliver the growth plan.
Asked if talks are being held on possible U-turns, the official said:
Again, work is ongoing between the Chancellor and the prime minister, as you’d expect, ahead of the medium-term fiscal plan. The focus of both the Chancellor and the PM are on delivering the growth plan and the position has not changed.
On whether there had been discussion about dropping the corporation tax cut, they said:
I wouldn’t comment on meetings the prime minister has.
A former Conservative chief whip, Julian Smith, has cryptically tweeted the dictionary definition of the word “confidence”.
Confidence
/ˈkɒnfɪd(ə)ns/noun
11. ⁰the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something.— Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) October 13, 2022
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, reportedly did not attend a meeting of G20 finance ministers at the IMF in Washington.
Sky News’ Mark Stone says the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, was at the meeting but was told Kwarteng’s deputy would stand in for him.
G20 Finance Ministers & Bank Chiefs are in a long meeting at IMF now.
BoE Governor Bailey there but Chancellor is not.
Treasury team seen outside meeting telling organisers that Kwarteng’s deputy will stand in.
We know that Kwarteng did meet G20 counterparts for breakfast. pic.twitter.com/CTEgE70alh— Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) October 13, 2022
Asked if he knew why the chancellor was not present at the meeting, Bailey said: “That’s a question for the chancellor.”
The Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, just left the G20 finance ministers meeting at the IMF.
I asked him if he knew why the chancellor wasn’t in attendance.
“That’s a question for the chancellor” he told me.
— Mark Stone (@Stone_SkyNews) October 13, 2022
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, was speaking to reporters in Washington earlier today where she was asked about reports of a UK government U-turn over its mini-budget.
Speaking before Kwasi Kwarteng’s interview, Georgieva said it is sometimes right for a “recalibration” of policies.
She said:
I do believe it is correct to be led by evidence, so if the evidence is that there has to be a recalibration, it is right for governments to do so.
She added:
Don’t prolong the pain – make sure actions are coherent and consistent.
While the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, has insisted “our position has not changed” in his earlier interview, the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot points out that this isn’t the same as saying “our position will not change”.
The key thing is that “our position hasn’t changed” is not the same as “our position will not change.”
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) October 13, 2022
A former cabinet minister has told the News Agents podcast’s Jon Sopel that Liz Truss “has unleashed hell on this country”.
Sopel says the language being used by senior Tories about the PM is like nothing he has seen before.
A cabinet minister until a few weeks ago has just told me @trussliz ‘has unleashed hell on this country.’ The language being used by senior Conservatives, the incredulity, the cold fury is like nothing I’ve seen in decades of covering UK politics
— Jon Sopel (@jonsopel) October 13, 2022
Aubrey Allegretti
Despite the chaos in Downing Street as officials rake over bits of the mini-budget, Liz Truss put aside around 50 minutes for one of her first “listening exercises” with a handful of Tory MPs.
She sought to defuse tensions in the party by inviting them to chat about issues and pet projects in their area over tea and Pret a Manger sandwiches.
The PM and a seemingly random assortment of backbenchers from different intakes and regions chatted predominantly about infrastructure, sources told the Guardian.
One Truss supporter who attended said she was “very buoyant”, but a sceptic said it was just incredibly awkward.
“It’s so fucking transparent,” they sighed. “We’re only there because she’s in trouble.”
There was no mention of the elephant in the room – the looming prospect of further U-turns on the mini-budget.
The editor of ConservativeHome, Tim Montgomerie, says he would resign if he were in Liz Truss’s position after the country and markets “resoundingly” rejected the PM’s signature agenda.
If I was Liz Truss I wouldn’t wait to be thrown out of office by my party. I hope I’d resign. The country and markets have resoundingly rejected my signature agenda. It would be entirely self-serving to stay in office without mission, without credibility and without popularity.
— Tim Montgomerie 🇬🇧 (@montie) October 13, 2022
Peter Walker
The work and pensions secretary, Chloe Smith, refused point blank to answer questions about the possibility of more U-turns when quizzed following a speech in Westminster about getting more people into jobs.
Asked if more tax cuts might be reversed, Smith said:
I think you know that I’m not in a position to answer your question this afternoon.
She added:
I’m going to have to say that quite straightforwardly to you and anyone else who would like to ask the same question – as you know, that will be a matter for the chancellor.
Asked a similar question later on in the Q&A, Smith simply ignored the question.
Former chancellor Osborne says U-turn is ‘inevitable’
The former Conservative chancellor George Osborne has questioned why Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng would wait till 31 October to perform an “inevitable U-turn” on their mini-budget.
Given the pain being caused to the real economy by the financial turbulence, it’s not clear why it is in anyone’s interests to wait 18 more days before the inevitable u-turn on the mini budget
— George Osborne (@George_Osborne) October 13, 2022
Labour’s former shadow chancellor Ed Balls says he agrees with Osborne.
Here are some more lines from the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, who has just been speaking from Washington where he is attending the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting.
He said:
Our total focus is on delivering on the mini-budget shortfalls and making sure that we get growth back into our economy. That’s the central prize. That’s the main focus of my job.
Asked if it was “humiliating” that officials were discussing filleting the fiscal statement he made just weeks ago, Kwarteng replied:
I speak to No 10. I speak to the prime minister all the time. We are totally focused on delivering the growth plan.
Asked if he would consider his position as chancellor if he had to U-turn on a major part of the mini-budget, he once again refused to answer this directly and said he was “totally focused on the growth agenda”.
The chancellor was also asked if he would acknowledge there were specific problems in the UK following his statement. He said:
What I am going to acknowledge is the fact that it is a very dicey situation globally. That’s what people are saying to me.
He added:
I think there was some turbulence after the meeting, but we’re sitting here talking about the global challenges. Everybody is focused on inflation, everybody is affected by potential interest rate rises, everybody’s affected by the energy price spikes, which have been exacerbated by Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.
So everybody across the global financial community is really focusing on the same problems.
Kwarteng says he is ‘not going anywhere’
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, said his “total focus is on delivering on the mini-budget” in response to speculation about a U-turn on the measures.
Kwarteng said he is “not going anywhere” and refused to rule out any changes in the future. He acknowledged that there was “some turbulence” after the mini-budget but said it’s a “very dicey situation globally”.
Speaking from an International Monetary Fund summit, he said:
I speak to Number 10, I speak to the prime minister all the time – and we are totally focused on delivering the growth plan.
Asked whether Liz Truss will be prime minister next week and whether he will remain chancellor, Kwarteng replied:
Absolutely 100%, I’m not going anywhere.
The Conservative former minister, Dame Andrea Leadsom, has jumped to Liz Truss’s defence and said the prime minister “needs a chance to settle in” and “get things under control”.
Speaking as she picked up her damehood at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, Leadsom said:
I think we all have to give the prime minister a chance to settle in. There’s been a huge amount of turmoil over the last few weeks within the nation, and the prime minister must be given a chance to get things under control and start to make progress on what is a very important agenda of growing the economy.
The Guardian’s Peter Walker is at a speech by the work and pensions secretary, Chloe Smith, about how to get people into work.
Journalists have been told to keep questions “on the topic of the speech” rather than mini-budget U-turns, he says.
I’m at a speech where work and pensions secretary Chloe Smith is talking about how to get people into work. There will be questions, and we have been asked to keep them “on the topic of the speech” rather than mini-budget U turns. Good luck with that. pic.twitter.com/leQAUmIEIy
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) October 13, 2022
As the Mirror’s Ashley Cowburn points out, that might not work exactly as Smith’s team hopes.
Liz Truss may raise corporation tax in further budget U-turn
Pippa Crerar
Liz Truss is on the cusp of putting up corporation tax as part of a Downing Street plan to back down from the huge package of unfunded tax cuts in her mini-budget, sources claim.
The prime minister has been under intense pressure from jittery Conservative MPs to stage a major economic U-turn to calm the markets in the face of a financial storm.
However, the move would represent a massive climbdown as her promise to cancel Rishi Sunak’s plans to put up corporation tax from 19% to 25% was a central pledge of her leadership campaign.
One government source told the Guardian that No 10 officials were reviewing the mini-budget in order to shore up Truss’s premiership after Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous economic growth plan last month.
Another source suggested that the option of raising corporation tax was “on the table” as the prime minister tries to balance the books – although this may be by just one or two per cent.
They indicated that no decision would be announced until the chancellor had returned from Washington, where he is at a meeting of the International Monetary Fund, on Friday. However, there was speculation on Whitehall that the scale of the U-turn could make it impossible for Kwarteng to continue in post.
Read the full story:
The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, has told Channel 4 News’ Siobhan Kennedy that he will not be pre-empting his Halloween statement.
Just got the Chancellor on the way in to the IMF who told me.” I’ll be coming out with a statement on 31 October and I’m not going to preempt that.” @Channel4News
— siobhan kennedy (@siobhankennedy4) October 13, 2022
The Spectator’s James Forsyth writes that the government is now facing a new problem. Amid rumours the government could make a U-turn on its plan to not raise corporation taxes, the market has rallied.
Now, Liz Truss can’t afford not to U-turn.
The problem for the government is that the markets are now pricing on a u-turn, so if they don’t u-turn they will be in a worse position than they were 24 hours ago
— James Forsyth (@JGForsyth) October 13, 2022
Robert Shrimsley from the Financial Times has also made this point.
Truss now has another major problem. If she is not preparing to u-turn on the budget she can’t allow the markets to believe one is coming. So if she let’s this hare run much longer the markets will punish her even further for not doing it
— robert shrimsley (@robertshrimsley) October 13, 2022
[ad_2]
Source link
(This article is generated through the syndicated feed sources, Financetin neither support nor own any part of this article)
