Liz Truss says she will ‘absolutely’ not cut public spending despite warning of £62bn shortfall

Published

3 years ago

October 12, 2022

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Liz Truss has pledged not to cut public spending to balance the books in her first PMQs since the chancellor’s contentious mini-budget – despite a leading economics-focused think tank warning the government is billions short of the sums needed.

The prime minister insisted she was “absolutely” not planning public spending reductions, but vowed that taxpayers’ money would be used well.

Her pledge comes as the government continues to be under pressure for the market turmoil that erupted after the government announced its £45bn package of unfunded tax cuts last month.

Speaking to Sky News after PMQs, Mel Stride, the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said that Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng should not take the reversal of some of his tax cuts “off the table”.

He said that “holding the line” on the measures announced in his mini-budget will be even more difficult following Ms Truss’ comments on public spending, and that 31 October – the date of the chancellor’s debt-cutting plan being published – is a moment for a “reset”.

He told political editor Beth Rigby: “(Chancellor Kwarteng) has to be so careful that he doesn’t take any chances, he has to be sure the markets are going to like what they hear, that’s why I think rowing back on the tax cuts have to remain on the table.

“It’s extraordinarily important that whatever the chancellor comes forward with on the 31st, that it cuts it with the market.

“If there is any doubt in his mind about anything he is doing, he would do well to think again, he has got to play it ultra safe.”

Truss says last thing country needs is a general election – politics latest

Economists have suggested that to gain a grip on the national finances, the government will have to make spending cuts or tax rises worth tens of billions of pounds.

The “Green Budget”, from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Citi, the investment bank, warned this week that the chancellor would have to cut spending or raise taxes by £62bn if he is to stabilise or reduce the national debt, as he has repeatedly promised in recent weeks.

That shortfall is a direct consequence of the measures announced since the Truss government took office, which include its reversal of various tax increases such as corporation tax and national insurance and its energy price guarantee.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng would instead have to carry out dramatic cuts, the think tank said, potentially reducing government investment and slashing public spending on departments that have already been squeezed during the austerity years.

The cost of government spending increased on Wednesday, with the pound falling against the dollar.

‘Kamikaze budget’

At PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer reminded Ms Truss that during her leadership campaign over the summer she had pledged: “I’m not planning public spending reductions.”

Asked if she was going to stick to that, the prime minister replied: “Absolutely… We are spending almost £1tn of public spending. We were spending £700bn back in 2010.

“What we will make sure is that over the medium term the debt is falling. But we will do that not by cutting public spending but by making sure we spend public money well.”

The Labour leader once again called for the government to reverse their “kamikaze budget”, warning Conservative MPs that voters will not forgive their party if they “defend” it.

‘Ducking responsibility’

Sir Keir also accused the prime minister of “ducking responsibility” for the consequences of her government’s economic policies and of being “lost in denial”.

“Who voted for this?” he questioned.

Ms Truss responded: “The way that we will get our country growing is through more jobs, more growth, more opportunities, not through higher taxes, higher spending and his friends in the union stopping hard-working people getting to work.”

‘No-fault’ evictions pledge

Also during PMQs, Ms Truss committed to honouring a 2019 Tory manifesto pledge to scrap “no-fault” evictions of private renters in England.

There had been reports earlier this week that the government could try and shelve the commitment.

On Tuesday, Downing Street said no decisions had been made on whether to pause a promised ban on Section 21 notices, which allow landlords to evict a tenant without giving a reason.

Labour MP Graham Stringer asked Ms Truss: “Can the PM reassure the 11 million private renters in this country that she will carry out her commitment to get rid of no-fault evictions?”

Ms Truss replied: “I can.”

Energy help

The prime minister also announced that Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, is working on a scheme to help households and businesses bring down their energy costs.

Last Friday, Ms Truss ruled out launching an energy-saving public information campaign after warnings from the National Grid Electricity System Operator that planned three-hour power blackouts could be imposed in some areas.

Only two days ago Downing Street had defended Ms Truss’s decision not to launch a “bespoke” energy-saving public information campaign during the energy crisis, saying it is down to individuals to decide what is right for them.

Mr Kwarteng has already dropped plans to abolish the 45% tax rate on earnings over £150,000 after internal criticism of the policy, though he has insisted he remains committed to the rest of his mini-budget.

Asked what happens after the Bank stops buying bonds on Friday, the chancellor said: “Well, it’s a matter for the governor.”

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World

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

Published

3 hours ago

July 14, 2025

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At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

At least 30 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Sweida in clashes between local military groups and tribes, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

Officials say initial figures suggest around 100 people have also been injured in the city, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups.

The interior ministry said its forces will directly intervene to resolve the conflict, which the Reuters news agency said involved fighting between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes.

It marks the latest episode of sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minority groups have increased since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The violence reportedly erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida.

Last April, Sunni militia clashed with armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, and fighting later spread to another district near the capital.

But this is the first time the fighting has been reported inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports the fighting was centred in the Maqwas neighbourhood east of Sweida and villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city.

It adds that Syria’s Ministry of Defence has deployed military convoys to the area.

Western nations, including the US and UK, have been increasingly moving towards normalising relations with Syria.

Concerns among minority groups have intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.

That was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.

The city of Sweida is in southern Syria, about 24 miles (38km) north of the border with Jordan.

World

Meredith Kercher’s killer faces new trial over sexual assault allegations

Published

16 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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Meredith Kercher's killer faces new trial over sexual assault allegations

The man convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been charged with sexual assault against an ex-girlfriend.

Rudy Guede, 38, was the only person who was definitively convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Ms Kercher in Perugia, Italy, back in 2007.

He will be standing trial again in November after an ex-girlfriend filed a police report in the summer of 2023 accusing Guede of mistreatment, personal injury and sexual violence.

Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was released from prison for the murder of Leeds University student Ms Kercher in 2021, after having served about 13 years of a 16-year sentence.

Since last year – when this investigation was still ongoing – Guede has been under a “special surveillance” regime, Sky News understands, meaning he was banned from having any contact with the woman behind the sexual assault allegations, including via social media, and had to inform police any time he left his city of residence, Viterbo, as ruled by a Rome court.

Guede has been serving a restraining order and fitted with an electronic ankle tag.

The Kercher murder case, in the university city of Perugia, was the subject of international attention.

Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old British exchange student, was found murdered in the flat she shared with her American roommate, Amanda Knox.

The Briton’s throat had been cut and she had been stabbed 47 times.

Ms Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were placed under suspicion.

Both were initially convicted of murder, but Italy’s highest court overturned their convictions, acquitting them in 2015.

World

IDF blames ‘technical error’ after Gaza officials say children collecting water killed in strike

Published

19 hours ago

July 13, 2025

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IDF blames 'technical error' after Gaza officials say children collecting water killed in strike

The Israeli military says it missed its intended target after Gaza officials said 10 Palestinians – including six children – were killed in a strike at a water collection point.

Another 17 people were wounded in the strike on a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al Awda Hospital.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant but a “technical error with the munition” had caused the missile to fall “dozens of metres from the target”.

The IDF said the incident is under review, adding that it “works to mitigate harm to uninvolved civilians as much as possible” and “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians”.

Officials at Al Awda Hospital said it received 10 bodies after the Israeli strike on the water collection point and six children were among the dead.

Ramadan Nassar, who lives in the area, said around 20 children and 14 adults were lined up Sunday morning to fill up water.

When the strike occurred, everyone ran and some, including those who were severely injured, fell to the ground, he said.

In total, 19 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, local health officials said.

Two women and three children were among nine killed after an Israeli strike on a home in the central town of Zawaida, officials at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.

Israel has claimed it hit more than 150 targets in the besieged enclave in the past day.

The latest strikes come after the Israel military opened fire near an aid centre in Rafah on Saturday. The Red Cross said 31 people were killed.

The IDF has said it fired “warning shots” near the aid distribution site but it was “not aware of injured individuals” as a result.

The war in Gaza started in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage.

More than 58,000 Palestinians have since been killed, with more than half being women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

US President Donald Trump has said he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war.

But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were no signs of a breakthrough, as a new sticking point emerged over the deployment of Israeli troops during the truce.

Hamas still holds 50 hostages, with fewer than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.