“If the parliamentary party loses faith in her, she will not last very long.” explained on Friday October 14 at franceinfo Dominic Grieve, former Conservative Member of Parliament (1997-2019), and former Minister of Justice under David Cameron’s government (2010-2014). Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced that she will change her economic plan, which was unveiled just two weeks ago. At the bottom of the polls, she decided to fire her finance minister.
franceinfo: A month after her arrival, should Liz Truss resign?
Dominic Grieve : I am not sure that she should leave her position, but her position is extremely difficult. She made a big mistake by becoming Prime Minister and pursuing an economic plan that either didn’t make sense or ignored market realities. So she had to retire, and the dismissal of the finance minister left her in a very weak position. His decision to ask Jeremy Hunt to become Chancellor of the Exchequer [ministre chargé des Finances] is a good decision. But the mistake she made is serious and I fear for her, for the future. If the parliamentary party loses faith in her, she will not last very long.
Do you think she is now going in the right direction?
The choice to ask Jeremy Hunt to become chancellor is correct and she is right to announce that she is abandoning some of what she has done in trying to cut taxes. Unfortunately, it sent a message of instability to the markets. They are looking at Britain right now and for complex reasons they have no faith in the government’s economic policy.
Can Jeremy Hunt’s arrival change anything?
Yes. He has a far-reaching policy. It is a very good choice. It presents the stability of traditional conservative politics and does not pursue outlandish ideologies. What she did in her first days as Prime Minister.
Did Liz Truss lack caution in her choices?
Yes, she was careless. Her intention was excellent, she is very concerned about the British economy, she wants to grow it. She tried to find something to do it, what in England is called a “shortcut”, try to do it quickly. But when we do, we risk worrying the markets, and if the markets don’t trust the policy, the country cannot escape their judgment.
What to do to cope when inflation is 10%?
We must first pursue a policy that stimulates the economy, but we cannot do that by borrowing colossal sums to lower taxes. We must try to find markets for the country’s products. This may require a review of the cooperation agreement recently signed with the EU, because it is certain that there are things that need to be improved.