Ben Kerrigan-
Liz Truss has apologised for her “mistakes” and pledged to lead the Tories into the next general election as she fought for her job after a bonfire of her tax-cutting plans.
The Prime Minister is in survival mode premiership after her economic agenda was left in tatters by the dismantling of her former chancellor’s landmark mini-budget.
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Speaking after she sat silent in the Commons as Jeremy Hunt – the new Chancellor – told MPs he was scaling back the energy support package and ditching most of the tax cuts announced by his predecessor, Ms Truss said she wanted to “accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made”.
The Prime Minister said she has “adjusted what we’re doing” after the Government’s fiscal policies spooked the markets, putting in place a new Chancellor with a fresh strategy to “restore economic stability”.
“I do think it is the mark of an honest politician who does say, yes, I’ve made a mistake,” she said.
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Liz Truss insisted she will lead the Tories into the next general election, despite U-turns leaving her battling to salvage her authority.
The PM apologised for making mistakes, after the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt junked almost all of her tax-cutting plans to stabilise market turmoil.
She added her month-old premiership “hasn’t been perfect,” but she had “fixed” mistakes.
And she said it would have been “irresponsible” not to change course.
In an interview with the BBC, she said she was still committed to boosting UK economic growth, but acknowledged it would now take longer to achieve.
“I remain committed to the vision, but we will have to deliver that in a different way,” she said.
It comes after a dramatic day at Westminster, after Mr Hunt announced that nearly all the tax cuts announced at last month’s mini-budget would be scrapped.
In her interview, Ms Truss said she accepted responsibility for going “too far, too fast” – and she wanted to “say sorry for the mistakes that have been made”.
She added that she remained committed to a “low tax, high growth economy” – but preserving economic stability was now the “priority”.
“I do think it is the mark of an honest politician who does say ‘yes, I’ve made a mistake. I’ve addressed that mistake. And now we need to deliver for people’.
“It would have been completely irresponsible for me not to act in the national interest in the way I have.
Five Conservative MPs are openly calling for her to resign, with others briefing in private that her time in No 10 is up
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, tipped as a replacement for Truss, accused colleagues of playing “political parlour games”
A growing number of Conservative MPs are plotting ways to oust the prime minister, who was forced to sack her close friend Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor following a furious market response to her tax-cutting agenda.
Earlier Monday, Jeremy Hunt, Truss’ hastily-appointed replacement chancellor, tore up the manifesto which Truss ran on to ultimately win the summer’s Tory leadership contest.
“Growth requires confidence and stability,” Hunt said- an indication Ms Truss has been unable to provide either since her appointment as prime minister on September 6.