Having landed in New York for her first trip abroad as Prime Minister, and ahead of both her meeting with Joe Biden and her speech to the UN General Assembly, Liz Truss gave a series of interviews about the upcoming mini-Budget.
She vowed to review all tax rates to relieve the burden on households and businesses during the cost-of-living crisis it what was seen as a ‘break from Treasury orthodoxy’. Truss said she was “prepared to be unpopular” when asked about public support for a windfall tax on energy and a repeal of the cap on bankers’ bonuses. She also opposed suggestions her economic plan would see the Bank of England raise interest rates. Number 10 denied Biden was criticising her policies as “trickle-down economics”.
Back in the United Kingdom, Mel Stride, the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee urged Kwasi Kwarteng to ensure the mini-Budget was accompanied by independent forecasts outlining the state of the public finances.
Truss provided her wholehearted support to Mark Fullbrook, her Chief of Staff, after it was revealed that he had been questioned as a witness as part of an FBI investigation.
With acknowledgments to Harry Cole and James Heale‘s Out of the Blue: the Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss