Liz Truss refuses to apologize for triggering rise in mortgage rates but admits failings as chancellor

Liz Truss admitted she and her government had lost the confidence of financial markets following the October 2022 mini-budget but refused to apologize to homeowners over higher interest rates.

In an interview with Sky News, ex PM Her downfall was blamed on the Bank of England, chiefly its governor, Andrew Bailey. However, she said she had not met Mr Bailey once during her tenure.

“I actually arranged a meeting – I wanted to meet him,” she said. “But I was told it was a bad idea. Maybe I shouldn’t take the advice.

“But this advice comes from the cabinet secretary and what I don’t want to do is further exacerbate the [market] question.

“In retrospect, yes, I probably should have spoken directly to the then Governor of the Bank of England.”

Asked about the consequences mini budgether Prime Minister Quasi-exaggerated Ms Truss announced a series of unfunded tax cuts but gave no evidence on how he would pay for them: “It’s fair to say the government doesn’t have the confidence of the market…

“But if you have organizations within the country, like the Bank of England, like the Office for Budget Responsibility, who are making it clear to people that they don’t support the policies that are being pursued and are essentially undermining those policies, then it’s very difficult to win over the market confidence – because the market is counting on government leadership.”

period Ms Truss has been in office for 44 daysThe expected path of central bank interest rates in the next year will rise from below 4% to around 6%.

While these rates had risen before the fiscal event, they rose sharply after the mini-budget and were further increased days later when Mr Quarten promised further tax cuts.

The sharp rise in interest rates triggered a brief crisis in UK financial markets, triggering the near collapse of the liability-driven investment (LDI) funds underlying the pension market.

Asked if she would apologize for the sharp rise in interest rates during her tenure, Ms Truss said: “I question the premise of you asking me because mortgage rates are rising around the world.

“The problem I faced during my time in office was that the agenda was not delivered because of deep resistance within the establishment.”

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She continued: “I think it would be wrong to suggest that I am responsible for British people paying higher mortgages. It happens in every country in the free world.”

“I’m not saying that everything about the way I communicated policy was absolutely perfect. But what I am saying is that I faced real resistance and action from the Bank of England that undermined my policy and created disruptions in the market. question.”

Ms Truss spoke to Sky News in Washington DC about her US advocacy tour Her new book, “Ten Years of Saving the West,”.

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Since publication, it has been discovered that a quote she used in the book (attributed to Meyer Amschel Rothschild) was actually a fake quote, often used in an anti-Semitic context.

Ms Truss said: “I’m very sorry for that. It was a complete mistake. It was something I found online and I’ve said I’m very sorry to the House of Commons for it.”

“It will be removed from all future editions of this book and removed from the online version.”

Asked whether she felt more at home in the US than in the UK these days, she said: “Well, I do like some aspects of US politics. I believe that economically the US is more right than the UK.”

“My heart is with the UK. But I think you have to be prepared to learn from other countries that have been successful.”

You can watch the full interview with the former Prime Minister on Sky News Sunday Morning’s Trevor Phillips show from 8.30am this morning. Trevor is also joined by Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho, Shadow Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmoud and UK Reform Party leader Richard Tice.