Under-fire UK PM Truss fails to calm markets with growth pledge

Prime Minister Liz Truss vowed to steer the UK “through the tempest” as she closed her party’s tumultuous annual conference on Wednesday, making an unapologetic pitch for economic “growth, growth, growth”.

Since succeeding Boris Johnson, Truss has alienated voters, financial markets and many in the ruling Conservative party with a crash programme of debt-fuelled tax cuts to boost Britain’s stagnant economy.

But she argued in her speech that the status quo was not an option, despite the botched rollout of her fiscal plan leading to a humiliating U-turn on a pledge to cut income tax for the highest earners.

“In these tough times, we need to step up,” she told delegates, taking aim at what she said was an “anti-growth coalition” holding back attempts to revive the economy.

“I’m determined to get Britain moving, to get us through the tempest and put us on a stronger footing as a nation,” she added, mentioning the word “growth” 27 times during the speech.

But her failure to flesh out her economic plan did not calm the jittery markets, and the pound slid 2.01 percent against the dollar, falling to as low as $1.1241. Early Thursday it traded at 1.1336.