Shiny stands, vast lounge areas, coffee in abundance… The annual congress of British curators, which opened its doors on Sunday 2 October in the heart of Birmingham (in the Midlands), evokes a business lounge. For the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, in office for only a month, this event should be an opportunity to arm herself and close ranks within two years of the next general election. But after the catastrophic introduction of the leader and her Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng (already renamed “Kwasi Kamikaze” by the British media), the atmosphere is not really there. The first exchanges, Sunday, were particularly squeaky.
On September 23, Mr. Kwarteng presented a “mini-budget”, in reality considerable tax gifts for the richest households (abolition of the tax rate at 45%, end of the cap on bankers’ bonuses, etc.) by suggesting, without supporting figures, that they would finance them with public debt. This announcement caused a serious crisis of confidence in the financial markets, the pound sterling reached a low point against the dollar, and the Bank of England had to intervene urgently to support the British sovereign bond market and prevent certain funds from boarders stumble. Many Britons now fear that the interest on their mortgages will soar.
On the BBC set on Sunday, Liz Truss just conceded a miscommunication: “We should have prepared the ground better. » But this ex-minister of foreign affairs renowned for her ultra-liberal dogmatism persisted in her analysis: “Our plan is the right one, it’s a very clear plan to move towards a low-tax, high-growth economy,” insisted the leader, refusing to confirm that she would keep the promise of her predecessor, Boris Johnson, to increase social benefits in proportion to inflation.
Catastrophic electoral argument
To reassure the markets, Mr. Kwarteng has pledged to cut state spending, which has already been seriously reduced since David Cameron’s 2010 austerity plan. In the columns of Timeson Saturday, Economic Rebalancing Minister Simon Clarke was even more explicit, announcing a new era of austerity: the UK has lived too long “in delusion” that he could afford a “large welfare state” and it needs “cut in the fat”says this close friend of Mme Truss.
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