British Prime Minister Liz Truss fired her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, shortly before she is expected to scrap parts of their economic package in a bid to survive the market and political turmoil gripping the country
Kwarteng said he had resigned at Truss's request after rushing back to London overnight from IMF meetings in Washington. Truss, in power for only 37 days, will hold a news conference later on Friday, Downing Street confirmed.
Kwarteng had announced a new fiscal policy on Sept. 23, delivering Truss's vision for vast tax cuts and deregulation to try to shock the economy out of years of stagnant growth. Having triggered a market rout, Truss now runs the risk of bringing the government down if she cannot find a package of public spending cuts and tax rises that can appease investors and get through any parliamentary vote in the House of Commons.
"If you can't get your budget through parliament you can't govern," Chris Bryant, a senior lawmaker from the opposition Labour Party, said on Twitter. "This isn't about u-turns, it's about proper governance."Downing Street has so far declined to comment but Kwarteng had not been expected to appear at Truss's news conference later on Friday, fuelling speculation about his future.
In Westminster, Truss was trying to find agreement with her cabinet ministers on a way to preserve her push for growth while also reassuring the markets and working out which of the measures could be supported by her lawmakers in parliament. According to a source close to the prime minister, Truss is now in "listening mode" and inviting lawmakers to speak to her team about their concerns to gauge which parts of the programme they would support in parliament.
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