As soon as she took over as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, exactly a month ago, Liz Truss promised in her inauguration speech “to put the nation on the path to success”. In 30 days in office, however, the path was more of turmoil, which hit the financial market, the course of the crises that the British face and the popularity of his Conservative Party – which has its future in power already under threat.
The mood is such that this Wednesday (5th) the politician used the speech that closed the party’s annual congress to make an emphatic defense of his plan, trying to consolidate an authority that is increasingly questioned.
It’s true that she inherited multiple problems from Boris Johnson: inflation above 10% for the first time in 40 years, rising cost of living, disrepute due to “partygate” – a scandal of politicians breaking isolation rules in the pandemic that, in the end, , would lead to the downfall of the predecessor. There was also the imponderable of the death of Queen Elizabeth II on the second day of the administration, with national mourning overturning the commitment to act quickly.
The point is that, when the new finance secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced on the 23rd a 45 billion pound tax cut package – the biggest in 50 years – and a loan increase, the situation worsened.
The market reacted badly. The British currency fell to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, and the Bank of England was ready to buy 65 billion pounds of government bonds to save pension funds. Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made a rare public critique of the world’s sixth largest economy. And on Wednesday, interest rates soared above 6% on average – the highest rate since the 2008 financial crisis –, impacting millions of Britons with mortgages.
Accused of increasing the country’s debt and ruling for the rich, Truss says this is the only way for the economy to grow. “In these difficult times, we must act. I am determined to move the UK forward to weather the storm,” she said, in a speech of more than 30 minutes, in which she was given a standing ovation by the Conservatives, but was briefly interrupted by activists from the NGO Greenpeace with the track “Who voted for this?”.
“Cutting taxes is the right thing to do, morally and economically. For a long time the economic debate has been about how to share a limited pie. Instead, we have to make the pie grow so that everyone can get a bigger piece,” said the first Minister. “Whenever there is change, there is disorder. Not everyone will be in favor, but the whole world will benefit from the result.”
For Tony Travers, a professor in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics, the government’s biggest failure was that it made a hasty plan. “Politicians will say it’s your fault [Vladimir] Putin, that the same happens in other countries, is a global phenomenon. But nobody in the financial market believes that,” he said.
“They announced a radical tax cut and energy subsidy without preparing the political system or the market and without including in the scenario institutions that give credibility to the government, such as the Office of Budgetary Accountability.”
The devaluation of the currency, on the other hand, does not worry the specialist so much. “Pound crises are a part of British public life. In recent history there was one because of the Suez Crisis in 1956, another epic on Black Wednesday in 1992. These ‘dramas’ and their political impacts are nothing new; the UK recovers and moves on.”
Under pressure, however, Kwaseng and Truss backtracked this week and gave up on lowering the income tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 a year. Despite the rocky start, Travers doesn’t believe Truss is threatened — yet.
“It’s very hard to imagine the Conservatives getting rid of it so quickly. They’ve had four leaders, and therefore four prime ministers, since 2010. Having the fifth would make them look like a desperate political party seeking to transfer its problem to the country. is safe.”
The same cannot be said for the caption itself, however. A YouGov poll last week showed Truss less popular than Boris at his worst and gave Labor a 33 percentage point lead over rivals. In the British system, voters vote for the deputies that make up Parliament, and the leader of the acronym that holds the majority is the prime minister.
The next general election is in 2024, but the opposition is seizing the moment. Labor leader Keir Starmer said “the government has lost control of the economy”, and even a conservative, former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, said Truss could face a vote of censure from his coreligionists if he doesn’t start to improve. your approval.
“Under Starmer’s leadership, the party has become more moderate. But the most beneficial thing for Labor is that the Conservatives have done their own image harm. Historically, they are known for managing the economy well, having been in power for 65% of the time since 1945. By tarnishing that reputation, they tarnish why they’ve been successful for so long,” says Travers.
“Conservatives have been in power for more than 12 years and have stayed long periods for a single party in a democracy. They are also fighting the inevitable loss of support that any acronym has over time in this system. But, as in a weather forecast, the weather is worse now than at any point in the last 12 and a half years.”
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
