Defiant Truss: I was right over tax cuts
‘We cannot afford to be a low-growth country’
DEFIANT Liz Truss defended her legacy as she bowed out as the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history.
Speaking in front of the iconic black door of 10 Downing Street yesterday, Ms Truss insisted she was right to pursue low-tax, high-growth policies to boost the economy.
She said her disastrous time in office had left her “more convinced than ever we need to be bold”.
In her final speech as Prime Minister, after just 49 days in office, she said Britain must make the most of Brexit by slashing taxes.
She told the nation: “I believe in Britain, I believe in the British people and I know that brighter days lie ahead”.
Her departure brought to an end a turbulent and at times chaotic premiership, marked in its final days by a series of humiliating policy reversals.
Government borrowing costs soared after then Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said he would cut corporation tax, income tax and remove the top rate of tax altogether.
The Bank of England had to take emergency action to prevent pension funds from collapsing and Jeremy Hunt was brought in to No 11.
After initially defending her agenda, Ms Truss abandoned almost all of it in a bid to calm markets but saw support from her own MPs ebb away.
Having chaired her final Cabinet meeting yesterday before leaving Downing Street for the final time as PM, she said: “I am more convinced than ever we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face.”
After quoting Roman philosopher, she added: “We simply cannot afford to be a low-growth country where the Government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth and where there are huge divides between different parts of our country.
“We need to take advantage of our Brexit freedoms to do things differently.” She said the UK must cut taxes, adding that maximising the benefits of leaving the EU “means delivering more freedom for our own citizens and restoring power in democratic institutions”.
Ms Truss went on: “It means delivering growth that will lead to more job security, higher wages and greater opportunities for our children and grandchildren.” Ms Truss said one of her Government’s biggest achievements had been providing support for millions of people to help with crippling energy bills this winter.
The former Prime Minister initially wanted to cap the annual amount people pay at £2,500 for two years.
The surge in wholesale gas prices has been largely blamed on Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. A firm supporter of Kyiv, Ms Truss said: “We must be able to outcompete autocratic regimes, where power lies in the hands of a few.
“And now more than ever we must support Ukraine in their brave fight against [Vladimir] Putin’s aggression. Ukraine must prevail.
“And we must continue to strengthen our nation’s defences.
“That is what I have been striving to achieve… and I wish Rishi Sunak every success, for the good of our country.”
Flanked by her husband Hugh O’Leary and daughters Frances, 16, and Liberty, 13, Ms Truss said she would go back to being a backbench MP for her SouthWest Norfolk constituency.
After the speech,
Ms Truss went to Buckingham Palace to offer her resignation to the King.
From there she left for a holiday. A No 10 source said Ms Truss still thought her economic plan was the right one and believed she would “keep making that point from the backbenches”.
Ms Truss will now be able to claim the Public Duty Costs Allowance currently set at £115,000 a year, to which all former prime ministers are entitled. The allowance is a reimbursement of incurred expenses for office and secretarial costs “arising from their special position in public life”. Such costs can also include “Met police protection on public visits”. In 2020-21, figures show Sir John Major and Sir Tony Blair claimed the maximum allowance, Gordon Brown claimed £114,712, David Cameron claimed £113,423 and Theresa May £57,832.