'You could almost hear her cogs whirring': James O'Brien reacts to Liz Truss' 'catrusstrophic' radio interviews
29 September 2022, 11:58 | Updated: 29 September 2022, 15:02
James O'Brien on PM's 'catrusstrophic' interviews
James O'Brien reacts to Liz Truss' "catrusstrophic" series of BBC radio interviews this morning, where she defended last week's mini-budget.
It comes as Prime Minister Liz Truss has doubled down on last week's fiscal statement after it sparked financial turmoil and triggered a £65bn pensions bailout by the Bank of England.
Liz Truss has stood firm on her mini budget, saying the Government "had to take urgent action", despite it triggering a drop in the pound and forcing the Bank of England to buy £65bn of debt to calm markets and prevent pensions being put at risk.
Asked whether she would consider changing course, Truss insisted, "This is the right plan," and said she has to do what she believes is "right for the country".
James told listeners: "Unless I misconstrued everything I've heard so far, then you're looking at Liz Truss speaking publicly, making an appalling situation worse.
"The distance from rational reality and this government now is so enormous that you could drive the titanic through it, and the titanic of course remains a very relevant analogy.
“Where’ve yer bin?” Excellent start from @BBCLeeds pic.twitter.com/Vg05mOUzD4
— Dino Sofos (@dinosofos) September 29, 2022
"Because what the Bank of England did yesterday was essentially slam on the emergency brakes on the government.
"The announcement by Kwasi Kwarteng last week had done such damage to the markets if you like, or to our economic standing, that the Bank of England had to use a tonne of money to buy up stuff, that if they hadn't had bought it, could have seen a run upon your pension fund."
Read more: Chancellor’s mini-budget to pile on debt interest, warns Tony Blair Institute
Liz Truss crumbles under questioning from @GrahamLiver on @BBCLancashire about local consent for fracking. pic.twitter.com/nDp2t5815P
— Dino Sofos (@dinosofos) September 29, 2022
James said that Liz Truss had doubled-down on the mini-budget that had "both spooked the markets and compelled the central bank to directly seek to undo some of the damage done by a government policy".
James remarked that the market's financial reaction to the mini budget was "possibly the hardest thing" he'd had to understand in his career.
Read more: "We had to take urgent action": PM defends mini-budget despite financial turmoil
Sweet lord. The PM is literally lost for words on BBC Stoke when questioned about mortgages. pic.twitter.com/BGCv0RfMBR
— Dino Sofos (@dinosofos) September 29, 2022
