Liz Truss’ beginnings at Downing Street are particularly difficult. She will therefore try to regain control on the BBC set this Sunday before facing her party’s annual Conservative Congress, where anger is mounting. The British Prime Minister has indeed endured a politically and economically nightmarish week that ended with demonstrations on Saturday.
Thousands of Brits have taken to the streets to protest the cost of living crisis, at times burning bills as the government grapples with fiscal policy after a week of chaos in financial markets.
“Doing nothing was not an option”
Inflation at its highest, sterling at its lowest, worries about the approaching winter… The new Conservative government had promised immediate action to deal with the crisis, but last week’s announcement of massive tax cuts for the wealthiest has sparked more anger and incomprehension than anything else .
The majority of Britons gave a cold welcome to the “mini-budget” presented by the government last week. The announcements also panicked markets, sending sterling to an all-time low, prompting intervention from the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank. But “doing nothing was not an option,” Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng told the Telegraph on Friday night to justify the massive tax cuts, the funding of which remains unclear. He promised a medium-term debt reduction plan, but rating agency Standard & Poor’s was skeptical and downgraded its forecast for UK sovereign debt sustainability.
The incomprehension of the markets is now joined by the anger of the British. According to a recent YouGov poll, more than half (51%) of the population believes Liz Truss, who has been in office for less than a month, should step down. Often smothered by inflation approaching 10% and worried about whether they can warm up or pay off their loans this winter, some are refusing to pay their bills in October. The government has announced a freeze on energy price caps, but prices have still doubled in a year.
Brief social truce when the queen dies
In this context of heightened social discontent, the mobilizations, which have multiplied since June in all sectors, resumed with renewed vigor after a truce respected after the death of Elizabeth II on September 8th. Railway workers went on strike across the country on Saturday – the biggest since the beginning of the year – with only 11% of traffic being secured. Despite the severe disruption, rail mobilization is understood and supported by most Brits, according to an Ipsos poll.
Climate activists from the group Just Stop Oil, who took part in the protests, blocked several London bridges and called on the government to “solve the cost of living crisis and the climate crisis by halting new investment in oil and gas”.
A congress that promises to be dark
But more than the road, Liz Truss will first have to fight against her coming of age. More unpopular than ever, the Tories are meeting in Birmingham for four days from this Sunday for their annual congress. And given the context, this high mass promises to be somber. According to the British press, letters of defiance against Liz Truss are already arriving. Some Tories are stunned by the blurry budget announcements, while others are already missing former Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite his antics and lies.
The high mass of the conservatives is therefore likely to take place in sparse ranks: neither Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss’ rival in the election campaign for party leadership, nor Boris Johnson should actually make the trip.
Kwasi Kwarteng will speak at the convention on Monday while Liz Truss will wrap up the rally on Wednesday. And if the duo has ruled out backtracking for the time being, they accepted on Friday that Britain’s public budget forecasting agency OBR will submit a “first version” of budget forecasts to the executive next week, taking into account the government’s costly economic plan.