Flash-in-a-pan Prime Minister Liz Truss was brutally schooled in a live interview on Sky News as she claimed she accepted ‘not very much’ responsibility
Liz Truss was brutally schooled on economics on live TV as she tried to pass the blame for her mini-Budget catastrophe.
The flash-in-a-pan Prime Minister, who unleashed economic chaos four years ago, insisted she accepted “not very much” responsibility for the chaos that led to her resignation.
She sent markets into chaos by announcing £45billion of unfunded tax cuts without commissioning an independent forecast – but claimed no one told her of the risks.
In a punchy exchange with Sky News journalist Wilfred Frost, Ms Truss – who sensationally lost her seat in 2024 – snapped: “Are you suggesting that as Prime Minister I should go online and do my own research?”
She continued to blame the Treasury and the Bank of England for her downfall and claimed she did not know about the chaos her measures would cause. Ms Truss lasted just 49 days in office before she was thrown out by her own party as market chaos sent mortgage rates soaring and led to a sharp fall in the value of the pound.
Asked how much personal responsibility she took, Ms Truss responded: “It wasn’t the mini-budget that went wrong. I think this is very important.
“What there was was a spike in the gilt market. That’s what led to the chain of events that ultimately led to my resignation.”
When Mr Frost pressed again, she shot back: “Not very much is the answer.” The former PM went on to claim she and then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were caught unaware of the dangers posed by liability-driven investment (LDI) banking strategies and quantative tightening (QT). But Mr Frost pointed out that she should “unequivocally have known” about the risks from QT.
Ms Truss hit back: “I was Prime Minister at the time. We had a myriad of issues that we were dealing with.” And in an angry exchange she then went on: “Are you suggesting that as Prime Minister I should go online and do my own research? Surely in our system you’re meant to be able to rely on the Treasury to tell you about what the risks are of making a particular announcement at a particular time?
“Otherwise, you’re making my case for me that all these people are not doing their job.”
Mr Frost responded: “With all due respect, former Prime Minister, I kind of am saying that, because the Prime Minister’s role is to be aware of all the risks out there and to make judgements.”
And he said Ms Truss should have known bond markets were volatile, saying: “It wasn’t just inflation picked up, it soared because of the Ukraine war.
“That would suggest to everyone: go cautiously, don’t go all at once. I don’t think it’s okay to say, ‘My lieutenant in the Treasury didn’t warn me about this’. You’re the captain of the ship. You went full steam ahead.”
As Ms Truss attempted to blame civil servants, the host pointed out that she had fired the head of the Treasury, Sir Tom Scholar, when she became PM, and did not consult the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
When this was pointed out to her, Ms Truss said: “I did fire the head of the Treasury, because this is somebody who did not share our views on how things should change. Are you saying there’s only one person at the Treasury who has any expertise? That’s not a credible statement.”
