The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has called UK’s Prime Minister, Liz Truss’s, original economic policies “a mistake”.
He stated that the unusual intervention and the economic turmoil that followed the government’s mini-budget had been “predictable”.
Mr Biden has long been critical of the economic theory at the heart of the UK Prime minister’s policy, namely cutting of taxes on businesses and the rich-generated growth that allows wealth to “trickle down” to all sectors of society.
“Well, it’s predictable. I wasn’t the only one that thought it was a mistake. I think that the idea of cutting taxes on the super wealthy at a time when – anyway, I just think – I disagreed with the policy, but that’s up to Great Britain to make that judgment, not me.”
Joe Biden
Mr Biden has been criticised in the past for not doing enough to support UK-US relations, preferring instead to focus his transatlantic relationship on Dublin, Paris and Berlin.
But he is not alone on the world stage in being puzzled at the way Britain is being governed and the choices being made by its politicians.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has also joked about the UK’s economic situation. He spoke to the Sunday Times about the concerns expressed by the International Monetary Fund about the state of Britain’s economy.
“If you need experience in dealing with the IMF, we are here to help!”
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Diplomats from countries suffering their own economic turmoil joke that their currency is stronger than the pound.
UK Tory urged to jettison calls for Prime Minister to step down
Meanwhile, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has insisted Liz Truss is still in charge of the government, after a series of U-turns left her premiership in jeopardy.
Mr Hunt replaced Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday, after the former chancellor was fired following financial turbulence in the wake of last month’s mini-budget and a backlash from a number of MPs in his party.
Some Tory backbenchers have been talking privately about how to remove the PM, after market turmoil led her to abandon her flagship tax policies. Mr Hunt however urged the party to unite behind her, as the pair held crunch talks to thrash out plans on tax and spending.
In an interview Mr Hunt stated that he was not “taking anything off the table” when it comes to plans for the UK economy.
He warned of “difficult decisions both on spending and on tax,” as he prepares to deliver an economic statement on 31st October to reassure investors he has a plan to get public debt under control.
However, there are newspaper reports that some Tory MPs have already begun talks about how to remove her from power, despite current party rules preventing a formal leadership challenge for a year.
Tactics reportedly under consideration include submitting no-confidence letters in a bid to force party bosses into a rule change, or changing party rules to allow MPs to bypass members and pick a new leader themselves.
READ ALSO: GSS To Begin Nationwide Demographic And Health Survey Tomorrow
