Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss apologised for "mistakes" in her programme that caused investor confidence to evaporate and her poll ratings to plunge before nearly all of it was finally shredded on Monday (October 17), but said she would not step down.
"I recognise we have made mistakes, I am sorry for those mistakes, but I fixed the mistakes. I have appointed a new chancellor, we have restored economic stability and fiscal discipline," she said during an interview with British media.
Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, who was appointed on Friday (October 14) after Truss sacked her close ally Kwasi Kwarteng, jettisoned the remaining major planks of her tax-cutting agenda on Monday, including scaling back her vast energy support scheme.
Truss and Kwarteng attempted to upend British fiscal policy by unveiling 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts last month to snap the economy out of stagnation.
But the response from bond investors was brutal and borrowing costs surged. Lenders pulled mortgage offers and the Bank of England eventually had to step in to stop pension funds going under.
Truss, who became leader less than six weeks ago, is facing a possible revolt from her lawmakers as soon as this week, according to reports.
But she remained defiant, saying that she would be "focusing on delivering for the British public."
"Now is the time to focus on delivering, making sure that we are delivering on our energy package...that's what I'm thinking about as prime minister," she said.
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