Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Tim Hanlon & Lizzy Buchan

Kwasi Kwarteng cuts short US trip as Liz Truss faces crisis with tax U-turn expected

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has cut short a trip to Washington and returns to UK for crisis talks over the disastrous mini-budget.

Mr Kwarteng has been in the US capital for this week's global finance minister meetings but is now flying home early to work on the Government's medium-term financial plan.

Liz Truss has been given 17 days to save her premiership by mutinous Tories, with whips said to be warning she could face a leadership challenge if the Chancellor's Halloween financial statement fails to calm the economic turmoil.

The Prime Minister is considering further U-turns on her crisis-hit economic plan, which led to the pound sink to record lows against the dollar and forced the Bank of England to intervene to shore up the financial markets.

Mr Kwarteng is due published his medium term fiscal plan on October 31, alongside independent fiscal forecasts.

But speculation is mounting that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister could junk their bid to axe a planned corporation tax rise, another key part of the mini-Budget.

A Treasury spokesman said Mr Kwarteng had a "successful" two days at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank's annual meetings before heading home to "work at pace" on the medium term fiscal plan.

Kwasi Kwarteng pictured alongside Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England (Simon Walker / HM Treasury)

Friday is set to be a crunch day in the financial markets, with the Bank of England's emergency bond-buying scheme due to come to an end.

Trade Minister Greg Hands claimed it was "not unusual" to return early from an international visit but hinted that a U-turn was looming.

Asked if more reversals were coming, he told Sky News: "Let's wait and see. You won't have long to wait for the 31st of October for the Chancellor to lay out those plans. I do say that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are absolutely resolute, determined.

"The growth plan (is) the centrepiece, but we'll have to see some of the detail including a full forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility on the 31 October."

Mr Hands said the PM had "total confidence" in the Chancellor and said he was an "an incredibly capable person, a very, very bright person who makes good judgment calls".

Asked if his position was tenable, Mr Hands said: "Totally. I mean, Kwasi Kwarteng himself said yesterday he is 100% sure he will still be in position. I know the Prime Minister has got total confidence in Kwasi Kwarteng."

Mr Hands dismissed the idea that Ms Truss had 17 days to save her job and told LBC: "The PM has my confidence.

It comes after the Government was forced to U-turn over plans to axe the 45p top rate of income tax, with other parts of the mini-Budget at risk as the PM scrambles to reassure markets and rescue her administration.

Ms Truss's key pledge to scrap the planned increase in corporation tax from 19% to 25% is widely seen as a likely casualty in the coming days.

There are reports that senior Tories are plotting the possibility of replacing Ms Truss with a joint ticket of Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt.

Pressure is growing on Liz Truss who may introduce further changes to the mini-budget (UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag)

Downing Street on Thursday did not deny that the potential exists for a reversal on the corporation tax policy, one of the landmark promises made by Ms Truss in her pitch to become Tory leader.

It came amid reports that talks were under way between No 10 and the Treasury on abandoning elements of the £43 billion tax-cutting plan.

Speculation was fuelled further when the Chancellor, in an interview with the Telegraph, only said "let's see" when asked about the expectation from financial markets that the Government could ditch its corporation tax promise.

Friday is set to be a crunch day in the financial markets, with the Bank of England's emergency bond-buying scheme due to come to an end.

Officials stepped in two weeks ago after the mini-budget sent markets into chaos amid concerns over higher borrowing costs, triggering concerns in particular about the fate of pension funds.

A growing expectation on Thursday of a Government U-turn on corporation tax appeared to reassure the finance industry, after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey spooked the markets by insisting that the emergency support would not be extended.

Mr Kwarteng also insisted to the Telegraph that there would be "no real cuts to public spending", appearing to double down on comments made in the Commons by the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

But he told the paper: "Let's face it, there are difficult choices within that you have to prioritise.

"You have to make sure that you know the public is getting value for money. And I make no apologies for that, there has to be some sort of fiscal discipline."

Mr Kwarteng reportedly said he is flying home to work on the Government's medium-term financial plan (REUTERS)

In the same interview, he was insistent that his party could still be trusted with the public finances.

"We're Conservatives. Fiscal discipline runs right through our DNA", he told the paper.

The Government's plans revolve around securing an increase in economic growth - with a target of an annual rise of around 2.5% in gross domestic product (GDP).

The crucial date will be October 31, when the forecasts presented by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) alongside the Chancellor's statement will give an assessment on whether such a plan is realistic.

Mr Kwarteng on Thursday was insisting that his position was safe, telling broadcasters in Washington: "I am not going anywhere."

It comes amid speculation in Westminster about the fate of the Chancellor, only a few weeks into the job, if his financial plans are torn up in the coming days.

Former Tory chancellor and party grandee Ken Clarke said that Ms Truss could not be able to make Mr Kwarteng a "scapegoat", but it comes amid mounting anger and unrest within the Conservatives about the crisis of recent weeks.

Former veterans minister Johnny Mercer also tweeted that the situation "needs a course correction from No.10.

"Get on and do it - we all know it's coming."

But amid reports of a "coronation" of a new leader to save the Tories from a crushing defeat at the next election, some warned against such a drastic move.

One senior Tory told PA that any move to replace Ms Truss would be "completely bonkers" and "premature", while Truss ally Sir Christopher Chope insisted on BBC Newsnight that she would not be forced by the "anti-growth coalition" into a humiliating retreat on corporation tax.

"If we were to increase corporation tax having said that we're not going to, that would be totally inconsistent with the Prime Minister's policy of promoting growth, growth and growth," he said.

The Mirror has contacted Downing Street for comment.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.