British prime minister defends controversial tax reduce

After the rise of criticism within its majority, Truss broke the silence to defend the plan that caused a storm in the country.

the prime minister of UKLiz Truss, defended this Thursday (29) her tax cut policydespite the agitation it caused in the markets, which forced an intervention by the Bank of England (BoE).

“We had to take urgent action to make our economy grow, to make Britain move forward and also to tackle inflation,” Truss told the BBC.

“And, of course, that means making controversial and difficult decisions, but I’m prepared to do that as prime minister,” she added.

After criticism mounted within its majority, conservative Truss broke a several-day silence to defend the plan that has caused a storm in the country since Friday.

The budget plan of the head of government includes high public aid for energy bills and considerable tax cuts.

Estimated by economists at somewhere between 100 and 200 billion pounds (between 106 and 212 billion dollars), the plan provoked great concern in the markets.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a warning and asked London to reconsider some measures.

The pound sterling price fell on Monday to an all-time low of USD 1.0350 and has since recorded a slight recovery. The British currency fell again this Thursday against the American currency.

The BoE had to step in on Wednesday and buy government bonds “to restore normal conditions” in a scenario of sharply rising interest rates on British bonds.

“There are a lot of people with a lot of different opinions, but I don’t think anyone is arguing that we had to act to deal with a very, very difficult economic situation,” Truss insisted.

The UK, which has the highest inflation rate in the G7 at nearly 10%, is already in recession, according to the Bank of England.

Source: AFP