KWART SHAKY
Kwasi Kwarteng lands in London from US for urgent mini-Budget talks with Liz Truss as pair mull another tax cut u-turn
KWASI Kwarteng has touched down in London after cutting short his US trip to hold urgent talks with Liz Truss about whether to do another u-turn on their mini-Budget.
The Chancellor boarded a plane back to London from Washington late last night, as speculation mounts he is preparing to abandon a flagship pledge to not raise Corporation Tax.
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Rebellious Tory MPs are urging him to row back on his £45billion tax spree to calm the jitters in the money markets.
Mr Kwarteng yesterday admitted his "Growth Plan" delivered less than three weeks ago had caused some "turbulence".
But he remained steadfastly committed to his laser-focused mission to turbocharge the economy - and insisted he was "going nowhere".
Treasury sources said he was coming back to the UK early to work on his Halloween statement, where he will lay out his plan to wrestle down Britain's debt.
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They said he wanted to engage with government colleagues and MPs, stressing fiscal responsibility was his top priority.
However the markets appeared to have priced in a u-turn as the pound rallied slightly after reports one was imminent.
Trade Minister Greg Hands this morning insisted there were "no plans" to change the mini-Budget and tried to play down the uncertainty.
He told LBC: "The Prime Minister and the Chancellor are absolutely determined to stick to the growth plan, to stick to the changes they outlined.
"There are absolutely no plans to change anything, except for the fact that there is going to be a medium-term fiscal plan."
And they rejected comparisons to the 2011 Greek crisis, the last time a Chancellor left the IMF gathering early.
It comes after Mr Kwarteng admitted his mini-budget caused turbulence but said it was a “dicey situation globally” as he and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey met finance chiefs in Washington DC.
But scathing IMF bosses took another pop at Britain - telling Liz Truss "don't prolong the pain".
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The international financial body swiped at the PM, saying it wasn't too late for her to U-turn on her financial package of tax cuts that's spooked the markets.
IMF head Kristalina Georgieva told nations including the UK: “Don’t prolong the pain . . . and make sure actions are coherent and consistent.”
She added: “If there has to be a recalibration, it’s right for governments to do so.
“Fiscal policy should not undermine monetary policy.”
Last week, the IMF issued a warning that the global economy “is more likely to get worse than better.”
Ms Georgieva said even when countries are out of a recession people will still feel worse off because of “shrinking real incomes and rising prices”.
Meanwhile, Tory MPs are at war over whether Liz Truss should be replaced after just 38 days in office.
Despairing MPs predicted the PM would have to get rid of her Chancellor if she were to cling on to power.
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