Liz Truss demands Keir Starmer stop falsely claiming she crashed the economy
- Liz Truss's administration faced significant backlash following her government's mini-budget in September 2022, which resulted in market turmoil.
- Keir Starmer has consistently claimed that Truss's decisions led to crashing the UK economy, which has drawn legal threats from her representatives.
- The dispute reflects the deep divisions in UK politics and the ongoing fallout from Truss's brief time in office.
In the United Kingdom, following her short-lived tenure as Prime Minister, Liz Truss sent a legal cease and desist letter to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. This letter was prompted by Starmer's repeated claims during the lead-up to the general election, asserting that Truss had crashed the economy due to her government's mini-budget in September 2022. Truss argued that such statements were factually incorrect and defamatory, suggesting they likely contributed to her losing her South West Norfolk parliamentary seat in the subsequent election. Her legal team claimed that Starmer's assertions were damaging her reputation and that the economic turmoil was not solely attributable to her leadership. Truss pointed to an analysis by economist Andrew Lilico, asserting that despite market volatility, the economy had grown during her brief premiership, countering the allegations of an economic crash. Furthermore, Truss's lawyers emphasized that the Bank of England's management failures also played a role in the financial upheaval and that movements in financial markets did not denote an economic crash as characterized by Starmer. The situation underscored the contentious political climate in the UK and highlighted ongoing disputes between the Conservative and Labour parties regarding the economic consequences of policies implemented by previous governments.