Liz Truss made a public apology in the Commons as she faced Prime Minister’s Questions for the first time since her economic plan was ditched by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
The Prime Minister told MPs: “I have been very clear that I am sorry and that I have made mistakes.”
On Monday, Mr Hunt reversed almost all of the tax cuts announced by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, in September as he sought to calm financial markets following weeks of turbulence.
Ms Truss 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.”
Shouts of “Resign” could be heard as she spoke.
The Prime Minister is battling to retain her position and has risked a fresh fight with Tory MPs by making a vote on a Labour motion on fracking a test of confidence in her administration.
She told MPs “I am a fighter, not a quitter” as she battled to save her job – echoing the 2001 declaration made by Labour grandee Peter Mandelson.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer mocked Ms Truss, saying: “What’s the point of a Prime Minister whose promises don’t even last a week?”
He added of A book which is being written about her: “Apparently it’s going to be out by Christmas. Is that the release date or the title?”
In other developments, Ms Truss:
- Committed to the triple-lock on pensions, meaning the state pension will increase in line with the 10.1% inflation figure from April, after being threatened with a backbench revolt.
- Declined to give the same guarantee to link increases in benefits to inflation.
- Insisted she backed social care reform following a Times report that plans for a cap on costs was being delayed for a year.
Her own MPs posed some of the most challenging questions on issues including fracking, social care, international aid spending and the benefits increase, in a sign that there was little appetite to rally round the beleaguered leader.
But the Foreign Secretary warned restless Tory colleagues against “defenestrating” another Prime Minister as he suggested a leadership contest would neither win the hearts of the British public nor calm the markets.
James Cleverly insisted “the plan is not to make mistakes” but “they do happen”.
During a round of broadcast interviews he said he understands why people are “frustrated” with the Tory leader, adding that dire polls for the party are obviously “disconcerting” for the Government.
But he said he is “far from convinced” of the benefits of another leadership campaign, cautioning against an “emotional response” from those “angry” about the current predicament.
One of the factors keeping Ms Truss in office, despite being forced to abandon the economic platform that got her elected as party leader, is the lack of an obvious successor.
Mr Cleverly suggested those who ousted Boris Johnson did not have a plan for what to do next, with many now turning on the new PM.
He told Sky News: “What I’m not convinced by – far, far from convinced by – is that going through another leadership campaign, defenestrating another Prime Minister, will either convince the British people that we’re thinking about them rather than ourselves, or convince the markets to stay calm and ensure things like those bond yields and gilt yields start coming back down.
“Being angry – again, I totally get it. But that’s an emotional response, it’s not a plan.”
