Liz Truss – 2022 BBC Radio Leeds Interview with Rima Ahmed
The BBC Radio Leeds interview between Rima Ahmed and Liz Truss, the Prime Minister, on 29 September 2022.
RIMA AHMED
Good morning Prime Minister.
LIZ TRUSS
Good morning.
RIMA AHMED
[asked the Prime Minister if she was well and if she slept well]
LIZ TRUSS
I have thank you very much. It’s great to be here on radio, Radio Leeds.
RIMA AHMED
[asked where the Prime Minister had been following the mini-budget, the fall of the pound to a record low and the Bank of England spending 65 billion dollars to prop up the markets.]
LIZ TRUSS
Well, I think we’ve got to remember the situation we were facing this winter. We were facing a situation where people could have had to pay energy bills of up to 6,000 pounds, where inflation was increasing and where we were looking at an economic slowdown, which would have had a huge impact right across the country, including in places like Leeds, so we had to take decisive action. That’s why we took action to make sure people aren’t paying a typical fuel bill of more than 2,500 pounds and that’s going to come in this Saturday.
RIMA AHMED
[said that this happened before the mini-budget and asked again where the Prime Minister had been.]
LIZ TRUSS
Well, I’m here today on Radio Leeds talking to you. The point I’m making is that we had to take decisive action to help people through this winter and next winter. I understand that families are struggling with their fuel bills and we had to take urgent action to get our economy growing, get Britain moving and also deal with inflation. Of course, that means taking controversial and difficult decisions but I’m prepared to do that as Prime Minister, because what’s important to me is that we get our economy moving, we make sure that people are able to get through this winter and we are prepared to do what it takes to make that happen.
RIMA AHMED
[asked how the Prime Minister felt her controversial risks had gone]
LIZ TRUSS
Well, what it has done is it has made sure that people and businesses will be paying lower taxes, it’s opened up new road projects, new infrastructure projects, which will mean that we can get on with doing the things that will help people, whether it’s getting to work, setting up their own business and growing the economy. And what it’s done is made sure that businesses and people are protected from these very high fuel bills this winter. And let’s remember why we’re here. We’re here because of Putin’s appalling war in Ukraine, that’s pushed up global energy prices. Countries are under pressure around the world, currencies are under pressure around the world and that’s why it’s so important that this government took urgent action and within a week of becoming Prime Minister, I took urgent action on the energy bills. We’ve taken urgent action through our fiscal statement and we will continue to make sure that we are on the side of people who work hard who do the right thing, and making sure that people aren’t facing those very, very high energy costs.
RIMA AHMED
[Asked the Prime Minister if she had seen the risks of the Bank of England and IMF needing to become involved.]
LIZ TRUSS
We’re working very, very closely with the Bank of England and it’s important that we have an independent Bank of England. They’re responsible for setting interest rates of course, the Chancellor and the Bank of England work closely together. We’re facing very, very difficult economic times, we’re facing that on a global level. I talked to a lot of my overseas counterparts about issues like energy, about making sure that we’re dealing with those global economy [sic], but the important thing is that the British government acted to make sure that people are protected from these high energy costs, to make sure we’re getting the economy going. Of course, a lot of the measures that we’ve announced won’t happen overnight, we won’t see the growth come through overnight. But what’s important is that we’re putting this country on a better trajectory for the long term.
RIMA AHMED
[Asked how long that would take.]
LIZ TRUSS
The action we’ve taken on fuel bills will start this weekend.
RIMA AHMED
[Asked whether given high levels of inflation if that help was just a drop in the ocean]
LIZ TRUSS
The National Insurance reductions will happen this autumn, that’s where we had to take urgent action to make sure people aren’t facing those higher national insurance bills. And the projects that we want to get on with like the road projects, the broadband projects and mobile projects, those will be happening over the next year. So we’re getting things done as quickly as we can to get our economy moving, but also most importantly, making sure we’re supporting families and businesses through what is a very tough winter.
RIMA AHMED
[Said that people had been getting in touch to tell of their financial difficulties, including Lee who she had met in a food bank. He said that without the food bank then he wouldn’t have been able to feed his children and that many people were struggling.]
LIZ TRUSS
The issues that Lee raises and, you know, is clearly, clearly very, very difficult for people, it’s very difficult for Lee, the issue he raises like inflation, the package that we put forward on energy is going to reduce, or likely to reduce, inflation by up to 5%. The action we’ve taken on energy bills will mean that Lee and other people living in West Yorkshire aren’t going to be facing energy bills of 6,000 pounds which is what was forecast, they’re going to be, through the energy price guarantee, a maximum of 2,500 pounds. The action we’re taking on the economy to get the economy growing is all about making sure that people have higher wages in the future, that we are getting the investment into places like West Yorkshire, that we are building those new roads, that we are helping businesses get on so that we can have that higher wage economy. So this is exactly the reason we’re doing what we’re doing, is to help people like Lee through this winter and also make sure that he has a secure future in the long term.
RIMA AHMED
Thank you for being here. I don’t know whether that answer will help Lee in the short term. I don’t know whether that will give any any hope for the long term. But thank you for being here.
