Kwasi: No More Decline... We Must Stay The Course

'Our plan is the right one to deliver growth'...Chancellor's conference battle cry

- Sam Lister

THE TORIES IN BIRMINGHAM

Plan to 'deliver on jobs, pay and public services'

Kwasi Kwarteng will today say “we must stay the course” and stick to his plan to deliver economic growth.

Watered-down alternatives would leave Britain on a path of “managed decline”.

The Chancellor will draw a line under the market turmoil of the past week with a promise that the Government has an “iron-clad commitment to fiscal discipline”.

He has the full backing of Prime Minister Liz Truss, who said she “stands by” the mini-Budget, as she arrived in Birmingham for the Tory conference.

An aide added: “The lady’s not for turning.”

In a speech, Mr Kwarteng will tell Tory delegates: “We must face up to the facts that for too long our economy has not grown enough.

“The path ahead of us was one of slow, managed decline.

“And I refuse to accept that it is somehow Britain’s destiny to fall into middle-income status, or that the tax burden reaching a 70-year-high is somehow inevitable. It isn’t, and shouldn’t be. We needed a new approach, focused on raising economic growth.

“That is the only real way to deliver higher wages, more jobs and, crucially, revenue to fund our precious public services. And it is the only way to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability.

“We must stay the course. I am confident our plan is the right one.”

Market jitters about the growth plan eased on Friday as the pound rallied while official figures showed the country defied expectations to avoid entering recession.