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Wales Online
Wales Online
Politics
Cathy Owen

Kwasi Kwarteng refuses to step down but fails to rule out changes to the mini budget

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has said his "total focus" is on delivering on the mini-budget and said he won't step down but failed to rule out changes to some of the measures he announced in the mini-budget. He was speaking during interviews with journalists while on a business trip to America.

The Prime Minister is under increasing pressure from some of her own MPs to reconsider her tax cuts, and the Chancellor on Tuesday afternoon defended the economic plans, and her position.

Speaking from Washington, Mr Kwarteng: "I speak to the Prime Minister all the time, and we are totally focused on delivering the growth plan."

He insisted that their "position hasn't changed", and stuck to the narrative that he will come up with the medium-term fiscal plan on October 31.

Asked by BBC journalist F aisal Islam if a corporation tax U-turn was on the cards, he didn't really answer the question but said: "What I'm totally focused on is delivering on the mini-budget."

He was asked again if there was the possibility of a rethink on cutting corporation tax, and he replied: "My total focus... is on delivering on the mini-budget and making sure that we get growth back into our economy. That's the central prize, that's the main focus of my job."

Asked about discussions in London about scrapping measures in the mini-budget while he was in Washington, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said: "I speak to No 10, I speak to the Prime Minister all the time. We are totally focused on delivering the growth plan. What we were facing was a tax high of 70 years and no growth."

He said his talks with the International Monetary Fund had illustrated that "growth is a central focus of the international community" and the Government was "quite right to focus on growth".

"People are talking about some of the ideas that we have put forward," Mr Kwarteng said.

In response to speculation about a possible U-turn on corporation tax, the Liberal Democrats called for Kwasi Kwarteng to resign.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: "This U-turn would come too late for many struggling families facing mortgage misery. The only way to restore credibility is for Kwasi Kwarteng to resign or be sacked. This Chancellor has done enough damage and needs to go.

"His botched budget then needs to be scrapped altogether and replaced with a fair and responsible plan, including emergency support for mortgage borrowers bearing the brunt of this Conservative chaos.

"Too many homeowners are being forced into making heartbreaking decisions because Truss and Kwarteng decided to hand out unfunded tax cuts for the super wealthy.

"They will never forgive the Conservatives for this disastrous experiment, playing fairytale economics with people's lives."

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