LIZ Truss has said she is prepared to take “difficult decisions” like lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses.
The Prime Minister was asked “whose side are you on?” by BBC journalist Chris Mason, who pointed out that while London City fat cats will be able to boost their pay packets under her plans many households are increasingly struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
It comes as Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is due to deliver a “mini-budget” on Friday, with one of the policies expected to be announced relating to scrapping the ban, which was brought in by the EU after the global financial crash of 2008 and the subsequent public fury over the extra cash being pocketed by those who caused the crisis.
The Tories have been spinning the move as a “Brexit dividend” to attract more financial talent to London, but critics have said it shows the party is trying to fill the pockets of their “friends and donors”.
Quizzed on her plans during her first international trip to New York as PM, Mason said: “Lots of families at the moment are really struggling and they’ll see that one of the things you’re happy to see happen is bankers to get bigger bonuses.
“Whose side are you on?”
Truss replied: “What I want to see is a growing economy so everybody in our country has the high-paid jobs that they deserve, that the investment into their town or city or area, the new businesses being set up, that’s the kind of Britain that I want to see.”
PM Liz Truss says she is prepared to take "difficult decisions" like lifting the cap on bankers' bonuses "What I want to see is a growing economy," she tells @ChrisMasonBBC https://t.co/k4JkdV7dWU pic.twitter.com/8WxWvTZMNN
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) September 20, 2022
Mason interrupted to ask: “That means the rich get richer, that’s fine?”
Truss said that she was prepared to take “difficult decisions” to help the UK become more competitive and attractive to investment.
She added: “Yes, I’m absolutely prepared to take those decisions, because what I care about, is I care about our county being successful and everyone in our country, wherever they live, wherever they’re from, having those opportunities.”
Mason then asked if the PM was willing to do unpopular things if it contributed to a bigger economy, to which Truss replied: “That’s right”.
She added: “I will always work to make sure that we are helping those who are struggling. That’s why we took the action that we took on energy bills because we didn’t want to see households facing unaffordable bills.”
Truss’s Energy Price Guarantee capped household bills at £2500, which is just shy of double Ofgem’s price cap in August 2021, and the average household can expect to pay around £800 more each year during the two-year freeze.
Earlier in the trip, Truss admitted that not all her policies will be “popular” as she was probed further on banker's bonuses.
Pledging that Kwarteng will announce lower taxes on Friday, Truss insisted the plans will lead to economic growth, adding: “There is no doubt in my mind about that.”
