For the future of the British economy and the survival of this new Conservative government, it was utterly critical that Liz Truss did not u-turn on her brave and bold plan to slash the top rate of tax to the same level it was for the entire premiership of Tony Blair.
So the decision enforced on Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng by the new PM to do just that is without a doubt politically devastating.
Her doubters now want to say her credibility is shot after just 27 days in power.
I say this as someone who backed Truss throughout the leadership contest because I believed her when she said she had the bottle to make unpopular decisions and stand by them.
Dan Wootton says the Government should have stuck with Kwasi Kwarteng's original plan.
Aaron Chown
Why, Liz, did you give in so soon to those who want to see you fail?
And that is the problem with marching to the beat of the political class and the MSM, who operate in the Westminster bubble and don’t give a damn about the very real problems facing ordinary Brits: Nothing gets done!
Because the establishment, backed by the British Bashing Corporation and Sly News, band together to make it impossible to do anything that challenges the orthodoxy.
But if you think today’s devastating decision would stop that hysteria, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Now every member of the political establishment and MSM who demanded a left-wing U-turn from Truss on the top tax rate will slam and deride the PM for U-turning.
That script is written already and this is why she should have held firm.
Just like with lengthy Covid lockdowns, which the same people forced upon Boris Johnson, they’ve won. Again.
And now they’ll continue demanding concessions, resulting in political inertia, for the next two years…
Dan Wootton says the decision to U-turn is 'politically devastating'.
Image: GB News
That snake Gove is already threatening a new rebellion over potential benefit cuts.
That’s why my rage over this decision is now off the scale.
It was Tory MPs who decided to depose Boris and put us in this mess.
Not Conservative party members. Certainly not the public.
And just like with the Partygate obsession, the MSM narrative around Truss has now set by an overwhelmingly biased media.
Don’t believe me? This tweet from Sly News Political Editor Beth Rigby tells you all you need to know..
'Tory conf is shrouded in gloom - has Truss already sealed her own fate? Former Cabinet ministers publicly saying PM must change course and two senior MPs tell me colleagues already coming up with suggestions to change party rules to oust PM & replace her quickly.'
The Sunday Times yesterday went further yesterday reporting…
'Former ministers are openly discussing what would happen if Truss was ousted. “There would have to be a leader by acclamation,” one said. “And it would have to be Boris or Rishi. She’s finished already.”'
As my friend Claire Fox, a member of the House of Lords, tweeted…
'FGS...meanwhile the public is relegated to the sidelines, forced to watch passively as this lot play house of cards. Even any pretence of democracy is treated with contempt. This whole farce is utterly galling.'
This is not a game. The country is in a perilous state and it needs a visionary leader prepared to make politically difficult calls in the short-term.
I hoped so badly that Truss would prove she had the Thatcher metal to rise above their usual bullying tactics.
As I’ve written in a new column for the MailOnline tonight...
'Even if you are opposed to the cut to the 45p tax rate, you should be very concerned about the prospect of government by media.'
It’s farcical that a Tory government in 2022 is considered irresponsible for wanting to return the top tax rate to the level it stayed under Tony Blair.
And if you believe this £2 billion policy, which is actually proven to raise more money in the long-term, caused a market collapse when spending hundreds of billions on Covid lockdown policies didn’t raise an eyebrow then you’re being very naïve.
No, the shameful behaviour we’ve seen from most of our ruling class over the past week is devastating proof that they would rather advance their own petty political rows than try to salvage our economy.