UK’s former finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng admitted that he and former prime minister Liz Truss “got carried away” with forming the country’s mini-budget and blew it, the Guardian reported
Kwarteng said, “People got carried away, myself included. There was no tactical subtlety whatsoever.”
He added, “There was a brief moment and the people in charge, myself included, blew it.”
Kwarteng said that Truss’s team forgot the perspective of the budget and its political and financial consequences.
The disastrous budget led to firing of Kwarteng after 38 days in the office followed by Truss’s resignation after 49 days in office.
In September, Kwartreng announced the budget with a number of tax cuts without making any concessions to spending, this led pound to collapse against the dollar, pension funds almost collapsed and skyrocketing mortgage rates.
Soon after the budget was revealed, Kwarteng said additional tax cuts were coming.
Kwarteng added, “She was in this mode where everything had to be done immediately. I was worried she was going to blow up. She kept on saying she only had two years to do things.”
Liz Truss while resigning said that she lost a battle but hasn’t lost the war.
A source told Finance Times that Truss is thinking of launching an economic tank.
(With inputs from agencies)
