CARLISLE MP John Stevenson says Liz Truss’s resignation had become 'inevitable' following the collapse of her political authority.
“I’m very sorry for the Prime Minister on a personal level," said the Tory MP "but she has done completely the right thing. Her authority had evaporated and therefore it was inevitable she’d have to resign as Prime Minister.
“What’s very important now is that we select the new Leader as a matter of urgency, so we can continue to stabilise the markets and bring back stable government and move forward for the next two years.
“What I have been doing is trying to make sure the Treasury doesn’t cut capital spending too much.
"I agree with the agenda she set out, which was a growth agenda. But it was just how she went about delivering that was cackhanded.”
Referring to the fateful 'Mini Budget' which marked the start of the wider crisis that ultimately led to the downfall of both former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and now Liz Truss, Mr Stevenson said: “There was a failure to do the groundwork.
“When you do budgets, you make sure that the MPs are broadly in support, that the markets aren’t spooked; the Bank of England knows what you’re doing; that you’ve got an OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) report, though you don’t need to agree with it.
“You’ve got to do all those basic, groundwork exercises that the Treasury does. I suspect they thought that they were going to be hailed as heroes and the markets would just be benign.
“I think there’s a danger in the real world that we’ve become complacent about markets and a view that we can just keep borrowing. You can’t. That’s not unique to the UK.
“I think this has been a wake-up call for us. You can’t just borrow forever. Government debt is nearly 100 per cent of GDP. It’s very dangerous. Also, interest rates have been held down for too long.”
Mr Stevenson said he hoped there are 'as few candidates as possible' in the selection process for the new PM so there can be a 'quick contest'.
“It’s important that whoever wins has majority support from our MPs. Therefore they will have the support they need in Parliament - and that was one of the problems Liz Truss was facing [that she lacked that support].
"The new Prime Minister must make sure they take the talents from right across the party.”
Mr Stevenson was asked whether the economic chaos of the last few weeks had put at risk some of the big infrastructure projects that he has helped to bring to Carlisle – projects worth tens of millions of pounds.
He said: “Even before this crisis, there was concern about rising prices because of inflation and therefore the cost of one of the projects was undoubtedly going to rise.
“I’d like to think that the Government is going to still want those projects to go ahead because they're shovel-ready. They will enhance economic growth. Projects which are three of four years down the road might be revisited but I’d like to think projects which are ready to go in the next 12 to 18 months will get priority.
“It would be a huge mistake to start cutting projects which are literally ready to go.”
Referring to the fracking vote in the House of Commons which observers said prompted chaotic scenes and allegations of MPs being pressured into supporting the Government, Mr Stevenson said he witnessed nothing untoward in the division lobbies.
“I voted with the Government,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m agnostic when it comes to fracking. But if it benefits the economy, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, provided it’s safe and provided there’s reasonable local support.”
Of the PM’s resignation yesterday, he added; “I think her resignation had become inevitable – it was just a question of when.”
Keswick Labour councillor Tony Lywood commented: "As the former Parliamentary candidate for Copeland Constituency Labour Party in 2019, I can say that, whoever replaces the 'here today, gone tomorrow' Prime Minister within the Tory ranks, they don't have the support of this country, or the moral legitimacy to serve.
"What's needed now is a general election to replace this shambles with a Labour government to enact policies that will help, benefit and guide us through these turbulent economic times.
"This is our Labour Party's 1945 moment."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel