As UK Prime Minister Liz Truss delivered a speech on Wednesday pledging to maintain the “stopping” of her tax-cutting economic program, the newly elected leader faced a different kind of disruption: Greenpeace activists. .
Truss was speaking to delegates at a conservative conference in Birmingham, central England, when two Greenpeace activists rolled out a banner reading “Who voted for this?” and shouted slogans including “Who voted for fracking?”
Security escorted the activists out of the hall as the audience whistled.
Truss shrugged off the interruption with a laugh and said, “Later in my speech, my friends, I’ll talk about the anti-growth coalition. But I think they got to the room a little too soon.”
UK LIZ TRUSS’S TAX CUTTING PLAN AFTER MARKET CHAOS
Two Greenpeace activists briefly interrupted British Prime Minister Liz Truss during a speech on Wednesday.
(AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Last month, the government lifted England’s ban on fracking, opening the door to domestic shale gas production in the midst of a European energy crisis.
“Whenever there is a change, there is an interruption,” he said. “Not everyone will be in favor. But everyone will benefit from the result: a growing economy and a better future. This is what we have a clear plan to implement.”
Protesters hold a banner as British Prime Minister Liz Truss gives a speech at the Conservative Party conference at the ICC in Birmingham, England on Wednesday.
(AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Truss defended the chaotic launch of his economic measures, stating that in extraordinary times “it would have been wrong not to proceed quickly with our energy and fiscal plan”.
Truss has vowed to stick to his plan to reshape the British economy through tax cuts and deregulation in an effort to end years of slow growth. He said cutting taxes was “the right thing to do, morally and economically”.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss gave a speech at the Conservative Party conference at the ICC in Birmingham, England on Wednesday.
(AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The pound, which has been on a rollercoaster since Truss presented his economic proposals last month, fell roughly 1% to $ 1,136 after the speech.
The currency hit an all-time low of $ 1.03 just after Truss announced an incentive package that includes £ 45 billion ($ 50 billion) of tax cuts payable on government loans on September 23.
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The Bank of England was forced to intervene to support the bond market and stop a broader economic crisis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
