Liz Truss 'has the shelf-life of a lettuce', leading economics magazine says

Liz Truss has faced a barrage of criticism just weeks into her premiership, off the back of a widely-derided mini-budget.

Tax-cutting announcements – including the 45p income tax rate cut that was dropped after the UK was plunged into financial turmoil – saw the prime minister’s popularity quickly sink, with criticism coming from her own MPs, as well as from other sides of the political spectrum.

Now The Economist magazine, a respected publication with a circulation of 1.3 million, has become the latest voice to unleash an extraordinary criticism of Truss, suggesting the prime minister is already fighting for her political life.

In a stinging critique, the magazine compared Truss to lettuce, while predicting her time in office will be short-lived.

They wrote: “Liz Truss is already a historical figure. However long she now lasts in office, she is set to be remembered as the prime minister whose grip on power was the shortest in British political history.

“Ms Truss entered Downing Street on 6 September. She blew up her own government with a package of unfunded tax cuts and energy-price guarantees on 23 September.

“Take away the 10 days of mourning after the death of the Queen, and she had seven days in control. That is the shelf-life of a lettuce.”

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The Economist’s view follows criticism from other institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who last month said it was “closely monitoring” developments in the market and urged Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng “reevaluate the tax measures”.

It warned the plans, including the abolition of the 45p rate of income tax for people on more than £150,000, would increase inequality.

The 45p rate cut was later dropped following the IMF’s statement, but the Bank of England announced it was stepping in to buy up to £65 billion worth of government bonds – known as gilts – at an “urgent pace” after fears over Truss’ economic policies sent the pound tumbling.

Top Tories have also piled pressure on their new leader over benefits and the economic plans.

As parliament returned on Tuesday, the chancellor was warned the government’s economic credibility would be further shredded if he tries to push through the policies without the support of Conservative MPs.

At the despatch box, Kwarteng was cautioned by senior Tory Mel Stride to reach out to members across the Commons to be “absolutely certain” he can get the measures approved or “unsettle the markets”.

He was also told by former cabinet minister Julian Smith that the government must not balance forthcoming tax cuts “on the back of the poorest people in our country”.

Tory former cabinet minister Grant Shapps previously branded Truss decision to scrap the 45p top rate as “politically tin-eared”, while Michael Gove said plans to pay for vast tax cuts with increased borrowing were “not Conservative” and threatened to vote against the mini-budget.

Other Tory MPs also hit out at the plans, with Simon Hoare, chair of the Northern Ireland select committee, describing the plans as “inept madness”, while Nick Timothy, the chief of staff to former PM Theresa May, said the measures were “not conservatism”.

However, loyal ministers have defended Truss and her economic vision for the country.

Blaming market turmoil on wider global problems, business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What has caused the effect in pension funds, because of some quite high-risk but low-probability investment strategies, is not necessarily the mini-budget – it could just as easily be the fact that, the day before, the Bank of England did not raise interest rates as much as the Federal Reserve did…

“I’m saying it’s primarily caused by interest rate differentials rather than by the fiscal announcement.”

Foreign secretary James Cleverly has also previously defended Truss’ policies, dismissing reports that she would be replaced before the next election as “ridiculous”.

He said earlier this month: “The prime minister made it really clear what her philosophy was when she was running for the leadership.

“If people weren’t listening properly, I mean that’s more their problem than hers.”