07 September 2022

Truss takes aim at Starmer as she insists she will ‘get Britain moving’

07 September 2022

Liz Truss insisted she wants to “get Britain moving” as she accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of failing to “understand aspiration”.

The new Prime Minister insisted she will take “immediate action” to deliver lower taxes and to provide help to households and businesses dealing with soaring energy bills.

Opposition leader Sir Keir warned Ms Truss was seeking to protect the profits of Shell and give Amazon a tax break rather than helping families and public services.

She's the fourth Tory Prime Minister in six years - the face at the top may change but the story remains the same

He added in the Commons: “The Prime Minister claims to be breaking orthodoxy but the reality is she’s reheating George Osborne’s failed corporation tax plans – protecting oil and gas profits and forcing working people to pay the bill.

“She’s the fourth Tory Prime Minister in six years – the face at the top may change but the story remains the same.

Labour leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London (PA) (PA Wire)

“There’s nothing new about the Tory fantasy of trickle-down economics, nothing new about this Tory Prime Minister who nodded through every decision that got us into this mess and now says how terrible it is, and can’t she see there’s nothing new about a Tory Prime Minister who when asked who pays says ‘it’s you, the working people of Britain’?”

To cheers, Ms Truss concluded her first Prime Minister’s Questions by saying: “There’s nothing new about a Labour leader who is calling for more tax rises. It’s the same old, same old tax and spend. What I’m about is about reducing taxes, getting our economy growing, getting investment, getting new jobs for people right across the country.

“I’m afraid (Sir Keir) doesn’t understand aspiration, he doesn’t understand opportunity, he doesn’t understand that people want to keep more of their own money and that is what I will deliver as Prime Minister.

“I will take immediate action to help people with their energy bills but also secure a long-term energy supply. I will take immediate action to make sure we have lower taxes and we grow the economy, and that way I will ensure we have a positive future for our country and we get Britain moving.”

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