'This is the right plan' - Truss stands firm on budget and dodges QEH question

Since the mini-budget was announced last Friday the pound hit a record low and the Bank of England had to intervene by buying government bonds due to pension funds being at risk of collapse.

Asked about the financial turmoil that has occurred, Ms Truss said: "We have to look at the situation we would be facing if the government hadn't acted - fuel bills of up to £6,000, very high inflation, slowing economic growth.

"That is why we had to act first by making sure that nobody is having to pay a typical fuel of more than £2,500.

"In doing that we are curbing inflation by up to 5pc and cutting the amount people have to pay by taking action to reduce the tax burden and get the economy going to avoid the economic slowdown that was projected.

"There are elements of controversy, as there always are, but my priority was supporting the British people in what will be a difficult winter."

Speaking to BBC Radio Norfolk in a series of brief local radio interviews on Thursday morning, presenter Chris Goreham made the point that it was not simply controversy as the IMF, the Bank of England, the Bishop of Norwich and the RSPB were among many groups to have spoken out against elements of the budget.

He asked if the prime minister's judgement is better than that of those trusted organisations and individuals.

Ms Truss said: "As prime minister, I have to do what I believe is right for the country and what’s going to help move our country forward

"There are many people with many different opinions but what I think nobody is arguing with is that we had to take action with what's a very difficult financial situation, caused by Putin's appalling war in Ukraine and the aftermath of Covid."

She went on to say that the UK must be on "the front foot", pulling the levers to drive economic growth with jobs and infrastructure improvements as well as reductions in tax and energy bills.

"It's not just Britain facing difficulties, it's a global problem," Ms Truss said. "This is the right plan that we have set out.

"This is about making sure people are going into the winter not worried about high fuel bills, which is what we were looking at.

“It was simply unconscionable that we could have allowed that to happen.”

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the mini-budget last week (Image: Archant)

The Radio Norfolk interview concluded with a question about the replacement of the QEH in King's Lynn, believed to be the most dilapidated in the country.

The PM said: "As a Norfolk MP, I have been working hard to see improvements and have seen the difficult situation with the roof."

The roof of the QEH is currently held up by 1,500 props.

She continued: "I hope the new health secretary, Theresa Coffey, will visit soon to see the situation and make sure that action is taken.

"She will be the one that delivers but I'm not making promises on her behalf."

In a later interview with BBC Radio Lancashire, Ms Truss defended the government’s decision to lift the moratorium on fracking for shale gas.

She said: “We will only press ahead with fracking in areas where there is local community support for that.

“We simply don’t want to be in that position (where the UK is dependent on global energy prices) so what I want to see is more home-grown energy in the UK."

And said it was “simply not true” when asked by BBC Radio Nottingham whether her mini-budget was a “reverse Robin Hood” that disproportionately benefited the most wealthy.

She said: “The biggest part of the package we announced is the support on energy bills, making sure that people across this country are not facing energy bills of more than £2,500 and that businesses can get through this winter."