Truss Fights for Survival as Prime Minister After Her Economic Plan Ends in Ruins

Prime Minister Liz Truss departs 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament, in London, on Oct. 19, 2022. Stefan Rousseau/PA Media

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is fighting for her political survival as MPs from her own party turn against her following the catastrophic consequences caused by her economic plan.

Truss became prime minister on Sept. 5, although her position has been seriously weakened after her “mini-budget,” which included £45 billion ($50 billion) of unfunded tax cuts, spooked financial markets and caused the pound to fall and borrowing costs to soar.

On Oct. 17, new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt overturned almost the entire economic plan set out just three weeks ago by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, with the prime minister’s enthusiastic backing.

After issuing a public apology on the BBC on Oct.  17, Truss was forced to apologise again in the House of Commons on Oct. 19.

“I have been very clear that I am sorry and that I have made mistakes,” she told MPs.

“The right thing to do in those circumstances is to make changes, which I have made, and to get on with the job and deliver for the British people.”

‘Opposition in Waiting’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his party is now the “government in waiting” and the Conservatives are “an opposition in waiting.”

He said the Tory government’s mandate is “built on fantasy economics and it ended in disaster.”

“The country’s got nothing to show for it except the destruction of the economy and the implosion of the Tory Party,” he said.

As Truss’s entire economic plan had been ditched and her chancellor sacked, Starmer asked, “So why is she still here?”

Truss responded by saying: “I am a fighter and not a quitter. I have acted in the national interest to make sure that we have economic stability.”

Tory Infighting

What could be more worrying for the prime minister is the growing sense of unease among her own MPs over her continued leadership.

On Oct. 19, Steve Double became the latest Conservative MP to publicly question her position.

Double said her position is becoming “increasingly untenable” and she will reach a point “quite soon” where she will need to “consider her position” and “step aside.”

But Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned his Conservative colleagues against “defenestrating” another prime minister.

During a round of broadcast interviews, he said he understands why people are “frustrated” with Truss, adding that dire polls for the party are obviously “disconcerting” for the government.

But he said that he’s “far from convinced” of the benefits of another leadership campaign, cautioning against an “emotional response” from those “angry” about the current predicament.

Another leadership contest would neither win the hearts of the British public nor calm the markets, he said.

PA Media contributed to this report.