Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

US, Germany throw shade at Liz Truss’ economic plan amid UK market turmoil

US, Germany throw shade at Liz Truss’ economic plan amid UK market turmoil

Even Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is making fun of the pound.
With friends like these, does Liz Truss need enemies?

Two of the U.K.'s top international allies — the United States and Germany — have taken potshots at the economic agenda being pursued by the country's new prime minister, as markets reeled from her plan to go for debt-funded tax cuts in a bid to grow the economy.

In a withering rebuke to the British leader, whose chancellor last week unveiled a mini-budget that triggered a market rout and a steep fall in the value of the pound, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo predicted the Truss plan would only add to inflation.

"The policy of cutting taxes and simultaneously increasing spending isn't one that is going to fight inflation in the short term or put you in good stead for long-term economic growth," Raimondo said at a Brookings Institute event. And she added: "Investors, business people want to see world leaders taking inflation very seriously — it's hard to see that from this government."

Kwarteng's budget slashed taxes and increased government borrowing, rather than introducing spending cuts. It came on top of a multibillion-pound plan to cap energy prices for consumers and businesses.

In a widely criticized move, the U.K. chancellor — who fired his top Treasury official in one of his first acts in office — did not involve the country's independent fiscal watchdog, which normally scrutinizes the government's numbers.

In Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz unveiled his own €200 billion plan to freeze gas prices. But Finance Minister Christian Lindner pointedly said: "We are explicitly not following the U.K.’s example down the path of an expansionary fiscal policy."

Even Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — whose own currency has been volatile this year — found it hard to resist a dig at the U.K. Thursday. “The pound has blown up,” he said at a televised event in Ankara.

In a round of interviews with radio and TV journalists Thursday, Truss insisted she needed to take "decisive action" and refused to change course. She argued that record falls in the pound and surging borrowing costs are part of a "global crisis" sparked by the war in Ukraine.

A series of voting intention opinion polls taken amid the market turmoil suggest that Truss has failed to convince the public of her plan's merits.

One YouGov poll, conducted for the Times newspaper, put the opposition Labour Party 33 points clear of the Conservatives, with 54 percent of the vote compared to just 21 percent for Truss' struggling Tories. POLITICO's poll of polls has Labour on 46 percent, and the Conservatives on 29 percent.

Senior Conservative MP Charles Walker told Channel 4 News Thursday night that the polls, if replicated at an election, would mean the Tories "cease to exist as a functioning political party."

“This is a moment of danger for the country and the government has got to heed the warning shot that has been put across its bows and get its act together," he said. "And we've made our bed, we've got to lie in it, this is where we’re at now. It's a very lumpy bed."
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×