‘Carried away’: Kwasi Kwarteng admits Truss government ‘blew it’ over mini-budget
Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted that Liz Truss’s government “blew it” when it came to the economic reforms proposed in the mini-budget.
“People got carried away, myself included,” he told the Financial Times. “There was a brief moment and the people in charge, myself included, blew it.”
Kwarteng was ousted from government after he implemented Liz Truss’s economic package to foster Britain’s growth.
The October mini-budget included abolishing the top rate of income tax for highest earners as well as axing the cap of bankers’ bonuses.
The reforms however triggered turbulence in the financial markets, sending the pound spiralling and forcing an intervention from the Bank of England to prevent pension funds from collapsing.
“My biggest regret is we weren’t tactically astute and we were too impatient,” the former chancellor added.
Kwarteng’s words come as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt yesterday unveiled his plans to “turbocharge” the UK’s growth with the biggest shake-up in banking reforms for 30 years.
Hunt’s Edinburgh reforms aim to “seize the benefits of Brexit” by cutting the EU red tape for the financial sector, CityAM reported.
These include plans to drop Solvency II capital requirements on insurance firms and ease bak ring-fencing laws.