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When is Kwasi Kwarteng’s speech today after humiliating 45p income tax U-turn?

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng speaking to the media ahead of the Conservative Party annual conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Picture date: Monday October 3, 2022.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Monday ahead of his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. (PA)

Kwasi Kwarteng will deliver one of the most uncomfortable speeches in recent British political history later today.

The chancellor is scheduled to give his address to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Monday, just hours after he and prime minister Liz Truss made a huge U-turn on their mini-budget tax cuts plan.

They have abandoned their plan to abolish the top rate of income tax for the highest earners.

Read more: Mini-budget 'doesn't disproportionately benefit high earners' says Treasury minister

The government had planned to scrap the 45% rate on earnings over £150,000 in a move to be paid for by borrowing.

The plan faced widespread criticism after it was announced by Kwarteng as part of his mini-budget last month and sparked economic turmoil that saw the value of the pound plummet and sparked a pensions funds crisis that led to a £65bn bailout by the Bank of England.

When is Kwasi Kwarteng's speech today?

The chancellor will deliver his speech to Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Monday afternoon.

He is scheduled to take the stage sometime just after 4pm.

What was the U-turn made by Kwarteng and Truss?

On Monday morning, the chancellor and the prime minister announced they had ditched their plan to scrap the high 45p rate of income tax, which had been criticised by the Labour Party as well as many of their own MPs.

Watch: Kwasi Kwarteng explains U-turn on scrapping 45 tax rate

Truss had defended the tax cut as recently as Sunday.

Their package of tax cuts plunged Britain into a financial crisis, with the value of the pound plunging against the dollar.

The government was criticised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a £65bn emergency intervention by the Bank of England was needed in an effort to restore order to the markets.

What has the chancellor said this morning?

In a statement published on Twitter, Kwarteng said: “We are not proceeding with the abolition of the 45p tax rate. We get it, and we have listened."

During an uncomfortable round of morning interviews on TV and radio, Kwarteng added that he had “not at all” considered resigning despite scrapping a key part of his financial plans.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng speaking to the media ahead of the Conservative Party annual conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Picture date: Monday October 3, 2022.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng defends his U-turn on the 45p tax rate at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Monday. (PA)

“The conversation about the 45p rate was this terrible distraction really from what was a very, very strong plan and I’m very pleased that we’ve decided not to proceed with that because it was drowning out the elements of an excellent plan,” he said.

Kwarteng said he and Truss had decided together to make the U-turn.

He said: "We talked together. I said that this was what I was minded to do and we decided together, we were in agreement, that we wouldn't proceed with the abolition of the rate."

What will Kwarteng say in his speech to the Tory conference?

The chancellor's speech is likely to be overhauled following the U-turn.

He had been preparing to tell the Conservative Party that they must “stay the course” and back their tax plans.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, and Prime Minister Liz Truss during a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II at the start of the Conservative Party annual conference at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Picture date: Sunday October 2, 2022.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and prime minister Liz Truss at the start of the Conservative Party annual conference in Birmingham on Sunday. (PA)

And he had been set to insist that his measures are vital to boost growth and avoid a “slow, managed decline”.

But now his speech will have to adopt a less strident tone, as he attempts to win over the public's trust.

What has the opposition said?

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves called for the chancellor and prime minister to reverse “their whole economic, discredited trickle-down strategy”.

Read more: Tory MP admits government's tax cutting priorities are 'odd'

She said the U-turn had come “too late for the families who will pay higher mortgages and higher prices for years to come”.

When is Liz Truss delivering her speech to the conference?

The prime minister is scheduled to give her speech in Birmingham on Wednesday morning.

She will take to the stage some time between 10am and midday.

Watch: Liz Truss admits mistakes over mini-budget