Truss & Kwarteng must pay penalty for fiscal madness

LIZ TRUSS and the Tories are now a busted flush.

In the space of three weeks the Prime Minister who no one voted for and her Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, have crashed the UK economy, shredded the pound and the Conservatives’ so-called reputation for sound handling of the nation’s finances.

They have turned the UK into a laboratory for ultra right-wing free market theories, which they believe will do us good but everyone else knows will ruin the country.

When these uncosted plans to make the richest one per cent richer came into contact with reality, chaos ensued.

First the pound tanked to a historic low on international currency markets, which means interest rates, mortgages, food and fuel imports and borrowings are about to become more expensive.

When the IMF, the international financial watchdog, issued a warning statement about this train wreck of a mini-budget, the Chancellor gave a no-comment response.

That in turn sparked a massive crisis of confidence in the financial markets, which saw the pension funds that millions pay into each month for their retirement head for meltdown.

Not content with making the poor pay for the energy crisis bailout while rewarding corporations with a tax cut, Truss and Kwarteng were willing to see everyone’s pensions go into meltdown – all in support of a slash-and-burn approach to the economy that puts ideology before good sense.

Even the City traders and money marketeers – normally the Tories’ best pals – have taken one look at Kwarteng’s crazy plans and panicked.

Nicola Sturgeon is right to say that this current crisis is potentially more damaging than the 2008 banking crash.

Back then the banks lost their own money and we had to bail them out. This time it’s the whole economy – our pensions, shares and the finances of government – that are spiralling.

On Black Wednesday in 1992 the Conservatives lost their reputation for economic competence and it took them the best part of 20 years to regain it.

Truss and Kwarteng have taken just five days to show the Tories STILL can’t be trusted with our money.

For gambling with all our futures the swaggering Chancellor has to be sacked immediately if the economy is to survive another pummelling on the markets.

For choosing to benefit the rich over the poor, and giving corporation tax cuts while using our borrowing to pay for the energy crisis, Truss should answer too.

This was not in any Tory manifesto and no one voted for this chaotic, right-wing experiment at our cost.

Truss needs to face up to her failure. A general election needs to be held NOW to save the country from ruin.