EX-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has spoken for the first time in a TV interview since his ousting – blasting Nicola Sturgeon’s “woke” agenda that “blew up in her face”.
The MP for Spelthorne triggered market meltdown when his September Mini Budget sent the pound to its lowest-ever level against the dollar, losing him his job.
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Speaking last night, the former Chancellor took aim at Scotland’s outgoing First Minister Ms Sturgeon.
He said the SNP leader – who resigned on Wednesday – “got herself into lots of knots” over her gender laws which he believes was her undoing.
He told TalkTV: “Essentially her woke agenda ended up blowing up in her face. It was really the straw that broke the camel’s back – her ratings plunged.”
Mr Kwarteng also referred to Ms Sturgeon’s poor handling of the row surrounding the case of trans rapist Adam Graham.
He added: “I think the woke agenda has just taken over and for Nicola she’s a very able politician. I mean, to her credit, she’s lasted eight years, which is a lot longer than certainly I was Chancellor but actually she got herself into a terrible pickle on these quite basic issues.”
In last night’s discussion, show host Richard Tice asked whether Mr Kwarteng, sacked October 14, “blew” the Budget “pretty badly”.
But Mr Kwarteng – who lasted just 38 days in the job – insisted it was a “turbulent time”.
He added: “We were trying to do a serious thing.
“We tried to reduce the tax burden on this country and we were caught in a real firestorm and I think it’s a shame what happened.”
Back on the economy, Mr Kwarteng – an MP since 2010 – said he does “regret” the speed at which he made sweeping changes to UK tax demands.
But he was adamant how “the general direction” in terms of lowering tax “was right”.
Mr Kwarteng announced various tax cuts for the wealthy in his September 23 “mini-budget”.
His plans nearly collapsed UK pension funds – holding £1TRILLION of Brit retiree savings – before the Bank of England stepped in at the eleventh hour.
The Government U-turned on the plans when markets went into meltdown.
He lost his job as he was flew back from Washington D.C. – then Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned seven days later.
Discussing tax rises, he said: “I’ve always been very clear about the fact that I don’t think you get to prosperity by high taxes.
“I don’t think that’s the route to do it.”
Mr Kwarteng went on to say his successor Jeremy Hunt did a “good job” in stabilising the markets in what he says is a “very orthodox Treasury ideology”.
