The British Conservative Party’s economic reputation and growth agenda have been left “in tatters”, former British Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Friday.
Hammond made the remarks in an interview on BBC Radio 4.
“[Truss’ government] haven’t fully resolved the economic issue, and I don’t think they can resolve the political damage that has been done,” Hammond said.
“I’m afraid to say that we have wasted years and years of hard work building and maintaining a reputation as a party of fiscal discipline and skill in government. And many of the arguments we regularly make against Labor over fiscal management will seem extremely soft in light of what has happened over the past few weeks,” he added.
Hammond’s comments come as the UK faces significant economic turmoil. He spoke before Truss gave a press conference in Downing Street where she officially announced a major corporate tax reversal.
Hammond criticized Truss’ economic policy on growth and said she “should revert to more conventional economic policy.”
“Liz Truss’ economic program was very simple: you cut taxes and growth comes automatically. This approach of using borrowing to fund the cost of tax cuts until growth kicks in, if it ever happens, is no longer on the agenda,” he said. he declares.
Hammond thinks Truss can survive as prime minister and has not called on her to resign. “I don’t believe the country will tolerate another leadership change without a general election,” he said.
What Truss says: By sacking Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng and announcing another U-turn on her mini-budget, Truss acknowledged the difficulty of her task on Friday but said she “acted decisively” to calm markets.
Truss says Jeremy Hunt, its new chancellor, is “one of the most experienced and respected ministers and parliamentarians”.
Facing heavy criticism, she refused to apologize to her party or the public for the instability caused by her economic plan.
