Britain’s new prime minister has only been in office for three weeks, and she’s already sliding into a government crisis. Millions of Britons actually hoped for help in the energy price crisis from the announcement of a supplementary budget by Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng. Instead, they now face high interest rates and maybe even a loss of pension.
The nation had barely removed the Queen’s mourning ribbon when Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng dropped a veritable fiscal bombshell late last week. In his supplementary budget, he announced, among other things, the abolition of the maximum tax rate for the richest and an energy price aid package based on the watering can principle for private households and companies in the amount of 70 billion euros. The aim is to boost the country’s growth, he explained. On the other hand, he remained more than vague on the question of how the costs incurred – all in all more than 130 billion euros – should be paid.