Just weeks after taking power, Prime Minister Liz Truss and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made a remarkable impact – their disastrous kamikaze mini-Budget crashed the economy, causing market panic, and forcing the Bank of England to intervene.
They have made our country an international laughing stock. It is hard to think of a more catastrophic act of self-harm.
And who pays for their mistakes? We do.
In the middle of an appalling cost-of-living crisis, people are now facing eye-watering mortgage rate and rent hikes that far outweigh any benefits from unfunded tax cuts, the vast majority of which benefit the richest.
Rather than admit their mistake and reverse their ruinous mini-Budget, the Conservatives will instead force tens of billions more in cuts to public services that are at breaking point.
And we can already see them sharpening their knives.
“With demand and costs increasing, how are councils expected to find even more cuts?”
Local Government Minister Paul Scully says there is ‘undoubtedly’ fat to be trimmed, a statement as insulting as it is untrue.
Extra cost pressures from higher energy costs and inflation have created a funding gap of £2.4 billion this year; with both the demand for, and the cost of, providing services increasing, how on earth are councils expected to find even more cuts?
The Tories have made everybody worse off. They have proven themselves incapable of governing. They have no mandate for their failed experiment.
Labour would provide responsible finances based on sound money, strong fiscal rules and long-term growth to the economy.
It’s time for a General Election.