MP and former minister, Michael Gove, says cutting the 45% rate was a mistake and should be reversed
"If a mistake has been made the right thing is to acknowledge it and correct it," he tells a Telegraph event
Earlier, PM Liz Truss told Laura Kuenssberg she stands by the tax cuts announced on 23 September
But she accepts the government could have "laid the ground better"
And she admits she did not discuss with her whole cabinet the tax cut
Labour's Rachel Reeves says some of the PM's comments were "quite shocking" and slams "mad experiment" with economy
Truss says she has "learned" from the events of the last week and that next time she will "lay the ground better" before making big announcements - after the cost of government borrowing spiked following the mini-budget.
Asked about the effect of the 23 September mini-budget on interest rates, Truss says: "I want to reassure people we have a very clear plan," says Truss.
"I'm afraid there is an issue - interest rates are going up around the world," she says.
She says she understands people's worries about what has happened this week but adds: "I stand by the package we announced - but we should have laid the ground better."
On energy, Liz Truss says that the government's energy package will prevent people from having to pay extraordinary bills: "We're not just dealing with it for six months, but for two years" to make sure people have reassurance.
"It's important that we act," says Truss, insisting that otherwise the country would be in "serious trouble".
Image source, PA MediaPrime Minister Liz Truss is the first guest on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
We’ll bring you the top news lines, quotes and clips from her interview, as she remains under pressure to reassure the financial markets that her tax-cutting plan to grow the UK economy is financially viable.
Laura Kuenssberg is introducing the panel, ahead of speaking to PM Liz Truss: Michael Gove, Dame Sharon White, and Pippa Crerar.
Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, and by pressing the play button at the top of this page.
After Kuenssberg introduces this week’s panel we’ll hear from Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is in Birmingham for the start of the Conservative Party conference.
Image source, EPALabour had its party conference last week, which saw shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves - a guest on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - outline how the party believes it can boost the British economy.
The party’s main economic policy announcement of the conference was that it would bring back the 45p top rate of tax - abolished by Kwasi Kwarteng - and use the money it generates to double the number of medical students, as well as increasing the number of nurses and midwives working in the NHS.
Reeves also announced a National Wealth Fund which would invest public money in green industries such as battery factories and cleaner steel plants.
The party has also committed itself to ensuring that by 2030 the UK generates 100% of its electricity without using fossil fuels - although leader Sir Keir Starmer admitted on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg last week that they would still have a role to play as the country transitioned to greener forms of energy.
There’s a mixed set of headlines for Prime Minister Liz Truss in this morning’s papers.
The Observer reports an opinion poll which suggests that three-quarters of UK voters believe the prime minister and chancellor have “lost control of the economy”. This includes 71% of people who backed the Tories at the 2019 general election.
The Sunday Times reports that Truss has "advised King Charles to stay away" from climate summit COP27, due to take place in Cairo next month. The King has long been a passionate environmental campaigner and the story says he is reportedly "disappointed" to miss the summit.
The Sunday People reports that 70 Conservative MPs are planning to topple the PM despite her only having been in the job for a month.
Ms Truss tells the Sunday Telegraph that “tough decisions” are needed to grow the economy and that she wants to act to tackle Britain’s “lack of dynamism”.
She voices a similar message in the Sunday Express, saying "breaking with business as usual was never going to be easy".
Image source, ReutAlso joining Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg this week is Star Wars actor Mark Hamill - who spoke to the show earlier from the US.
He was appointed last week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an ambassador for the United24 platform, helping to raise money for Ukraine's military efforts, including its drone project.
Image source, John Lewis Partnership/Getty ImagesListening to this week’s guests and giving their analysis and reaction to what they say are Tory MP Michael Gove, chairman of John Lewis Dame Sharon White and political editor of the Guardian Pippa Crerar.
Michael Gove has been the Conservative MP for Surrey Heath since 2005 and has held numerous cabinet jobs including education secretary, justice secretary and most recently was in charge of Boris Johnson’s levelling-up department. He was also one of the driving forces of the campaign to leave the European Union in 2016.
Dame Sharon White is a former chief executive of communications watchdog Ofcom and was appointed chairman of retailers John Lewis in 2020. She was previously a senior civil servant at the Treasury - where she oversaw the public finances - which should give her a special insight into the news of the past week.
Pippa Crerar became the Guardian newspaper’s political editor this summer, having previously held the same position at the Daily Mirror. While at the tabloid she broke numerous stories about lockdown parties at No 10 Downing Street during Boris Johnson’s tenure - eventually leading to the prime minister and others being issued with fixed penalty notices by the police.
Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
There is always so much to ask any prime minister when you have the chance to sit down and carry out a long interview.
But rather than a long list this morning, there is one big issue that's on everyone's mind this morning: how will Liz Truss explain what is going on in the economy?
After a week of turmoil on the money markets and the reaction to her and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget, there is pressure from outside and inside her party to switch course.
All the signs are that she has no intention of budging, but how she explains what she is doing this morning could make a massive difference - to her party, to the polls, and whether the powerful money men in the City have faith in the government's plans.
Laura Kuenssberg
Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Image source, Reuters"I don't think there is a way out."
It's breathtaking to hear that judgement on Liz Truss' problems from a seasoned former Conservative minister when the PM has not been in charge for a month.
But instead of a honeymoon Liz Truss's first weeks in office have resembled a horror film.
A crash in the pound, since recovered. A crash in the polls. The Bank of England having to pump billions into the markets to stop pensions being wiped out.
Tory MPs tell me about phone calls from constituents who are in tears - fearful of losing their homes or businesses as borrowing costs soar. And those higher costs - and inflation - will hit the government hard, bringing the prospect of dramatic spending cuts.
So instead of anticipating their new leader taking the stage in triumph at the Conservative Party conference this week, the question many MPs and members of the public are asking is how can Liz Truss - who is on our show this week - get out of this mess?
Image source, ReutersHello and welcome to this week’s live coverage of the BBC’s flagship political programme Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
The show is live at the slightly earlier time of 08:30 BST and comes from the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, external ahead of the Conservative Party’s conference opening in the city later.
On the show is Prime Minister Liz Truss. She’s here after a week in which the markets have reacted badly to the mini-budget unveiled by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on 23 September which promised tax cuts funded by additional public borrowing.
The pound dropped significantly in value against leading currencies, the stock market fell and the Bank of England stepped in to buy £65bn of government debt to stop pension funds collapsing.
On Thursday, Truss gave interviews on BBC local radio stations where she defended her economic policies, saying they were the right plan.
We’ll also hear from Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, who in the past week described Truss and Kwarteng as being like "desperate gamblers in a casino".
On the panel listening and reacting to the interviews are Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Michael Gove, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership retail firm Dame Sharon White and the Guardian’s political editor Pippa Crerar.