Per editor: Zhang Jinhe
According to the BBC and Sky News Network, on the 19th local time, Jason Stein, one of the most senior advisers to British Prime Minister Truss, has been suspended and will be formally investigated by the Department of Etiquette and Ethics.
Britain's Sky News reported that there were previous allegations that he was responsible for an unauthorised negative briefing against a former cabinet minister.
According to reports, Stan was a key aide during Truss's campaign for Conservative Party leadership and has been serving as acting head of political communications at 10 Downing Street.
Rigby, political editor of Sky News UK, said it was "another crisis in Truss's team".
The British Prime Minister's Office reportedly did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.
Truss apologized
According to CCTV news on the 18th, on the evening of October 17, local time, British Prime Minister Truss apologized to the senators in a meeting with some Conservative MPs, saying that the government led by him made mistakes in the formulation of the "mini budget". Truss's press secretary told reporters that Truss thought he had "wanted to do too much and was too hasty" and apologized for it. The UK government's "mini-budget" is an "advance budget report" before the official budget, which provides a rough plan for the government's spending for the coming year.
British Prime Minister Truss. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
In an interview with the media that night, Truss apologized for the mistakes he had made in his few weeks in power, but also said that he would lead the Conservative Party to the next general election. It was Truss's first speech after nearly all of the tax cuts announced under his "mini-budget" policy were canceled. In just a few weeks in office, British Prime Minister Truss has changed policy several times and replaced Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwarten, which has aroused fierce criticism within the Conservative Party.
According to China News Network, on October 17, local time, the new British Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunt issued a statement announcing the cancellation of almost all tax cuts in the British government's "mini budget" plan. Reuters said the announcement was two weeks earlier than originally planned and Hunt was working to stem a sharp drop in investor confidence in the Truss-led government. Since recently replacing the dismissed Kwarten, Hunt has struggled to rewrite Truss's economic plan.
The Financial Times reported on the 17th that Hunter admitted that the "mini-budget" policy introduced by the Truss government in September "went too far and too fast." He also criticized his predecessor, Kwarten, for making two major "mistakes" and said two measures were being "corrected."
At present, the British people are suffering from inflation, and household energy bills will soar to all-time highs. Analysts pointed out that in the context of the overall rise in prices and the soaring cost of living, the government's large-scale tax cuts will further stimulate the inflation rate in the UK.
A senior British official said, "Truss has clearly not done enough, there will be more U-turns and more pain to come." I don't think they realized that it could get worse. The Financial Times pointed out that any further U-turn in government policy is likely to further jeopardize the prime minister's position.
Some senior MPs predict that she will struggle to weather the current crisis. British media pointed out that more than 100 Conservative MPs are ready to submit a no-confidence motion against Truss this week.
British Prime Minister Truss. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
On September 23, the British government announced the country's largest tax cut in 50 years, but it caused market turmoil and was widely questioned and criticized. Under pressure, the British government's tax cuts took a major turn on October 3, when the government announced that it was abandoning the plan to eliminate the top income tax rate.
In just over 10 days, the British government made major policy adjustments. Truss announced on the 14th that she would retain the corporate tax increase plan announced by the previous government, and she had promised to cancel the increase in the Conservative Party leadership campaign.
She also fired Hunter's predecessor, Kwarten, but Truss failed to use those moves to appease the market. After her hurried Downing Street press conference, which lasted about 8 minutes, the British gilt market suffered a new sell-off, and the turmoil caused by the tax cut plan continued.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer: "Nearly all" tax cuts will be removed
According to CCTV news on the 17th, the new British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt issued a statement on the 17th, saying that "almost all" tax reduction measures in the large-scale tax reduction plan announced by the government in September this year will be canceled. Hunter said in a video speech on the same day that the cancellation of tax cuts is aimed at ensuring the stability of the British economy and enhancing confidence in the government's fiscal policy.
The new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt. Image source: Xinhua News Agency
According to the statement, the UK personal income tax base rate will remain at 20%, cancelling the decision to reduce it to 19% from April 2023. The previously announced dividend tax reduction and the VAT exemption scheme for overseas tourists will also be canceled. The statement said the removal of the tax cuts would generate about £32 billion a year for the British government.
The statement also said that the previously announced energy price protection scheme will only last until April 2023, instead of the two years previously announced. At that time, the UK Treasury will decide after a reassessment how to continue to support UK households and businesses on energy bills.
At the same time, on October 17, local time, Jeremy Hunt announced that he would set up a new economic advisory board to assist the government in making up for the losses caused by the "mini budget" released last month. The committee will provide the UK Government with national and international economic and financial advice.
The new British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, replaced the dismissed Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwarten on the 14th local time. On the 17th, Hunter issued a statement saying that "almost all" of the tax cuts announced by the government in September this year would be canceled. The UK government's "mini-budget" is an "advance budget report" before the official budget, which provides a rough plan for the government's spending for the coming year.
Daily economic news is synthesized from China News Network and CCTV News
Daily economic news