British Prime Minister Liz Truss’ campaign proposals revolved around the “mini-budget”, with the smallest state and the smallest taxes possible. The economic plan designed by Truss and the former finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, and presented at the end of September, however, was canceled due to the crisis that worsened in the country. Now, both Truss and the Conservative Party are weakened.
A YouGov poll, taken between the days and 17 of October, shows that the prime minister has disapproval of 80% among the British (an increase of almost 17 points in a week). The approval rating, which was 19% when she was elected, has dropped to 80 %. The English magazine The Economist compared the power of Truss to a lettuce, saying that both have a short shelf life.
On Monday (17), in an interview with the BBC, the prime minister apologized for the economic plan proposed for her not having worked. “I continue to believe in growth and an economy based on low taxes (…), but we were too fast”, explained Truss, before reinforcing that he is still in charge of the country.
This The premier’s certainty is not reflected in the party. Some conservatives even suggest the return of former prime minister Boris Johnson, despite the controversial term he had that forced his resignation. YouGov interviewed parliamentarians of the legend, and the data show that only two out of five (38%) defend Truss’s permanence.
Among those who say they voted for the prime minister in the party’s internal election (57%), 39% say they want her resignation, just over a month after the election. In total, 55% want the premier’s departure: this is an expressive number for the support base of a government that has just started.
The risks of a resignation
Priscila Caneparo, professor of international relations at UniCuritiba and PhD in international law, recalled that in the United Kingdom the vote of no confidence, which allows the prime minister to be removed from Parliament. “Within this premise, the Labor Party is strengthened”, opined Caneparo.
Electing another commander for the party – and for the United Kingdom – can weaken the Conservatives and even put them in the face of general elections, which would make it possible to hand over command to Labor. The opposition is now singled out as the favorite in all polls.
Conservative MP Charles Walker said in an interview with the BBC that “if there was a general election tomorrow, would get fewer seats than the Scottish National Party [SNP, na sigla em inglês].”
To avoid getting to that point, on Tuesday (19), the prime minister met with her cabinet and participated in a meeting with part of her co-religionists. According to the British press, Conservative MPs have heard calls from members of the government to postpone any move to overthrow the leader before she presents her full fiscal plan the next day 22.
Changes in conservative guidelines
Liz Truss’s initial proposal was to create a large tax cut, which would benefit even the richest. To cover the hole in government accounts, the idea was to borrow billions of dollars. The fear of an increase in public debt worried investors and made the pound fall to the lowest value in history against the dollar.
After investors showed pessimism in relation to the economic plans of Truss, the British government announced changes. To begin with, last Friday (), the Finance portfolio was no longer headed by the architect of the ” mini-budget”, for the arrival of Jeremy Hunt, former Minister of Health of David Cameron and Theresa May, considered “moderate”.
As soon as he took office, the new minister announced the abandonment of the planned reduction from 20% to 19% of the first income tax bracket. Hunt also confirmed the increase from 19% to 25 )% of corporate income tax in April 2023.
The new finance minister even sacrificed part of the huge £ bailout package 80 billion (almost R$ 596 billion at current conversion), announced on September 8 by Liz Truss, two days after she reached Downing Street.
This was a mechanism designed to limit household energy bills to an average of £2,500 (about R$
,9 thousand) per year for the next two years and was well received by the public, especially given the energy crisis plaguing Europe.
