The Conversation (0)
Greg Evans
Sep 26, 2022
Shadow chancellor says she's 'very concerned' by fall of pound following the …
Sky News
The pound has slumped to an all-time low as investors have continued to react to chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget and the historic tax cuts that the Tory government have introduced.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has accused Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss of recklessly gambling with the UK’s finances. One of the Chancellor’s allies told the Times the drop in the pound’s worth is “City boys playing fast and loose with the economy”.
The Labour MP told Times Radio: “Instead of blaming everybody else, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, instead of behaving like two gamblers in a casino chasing a losing run, they should be mindful of the reaction not just on the financial markets but also of the public.
“The idea trickle-down economics – making those at the top richer still – will somehow filter through to everybody else has been tried before, it didn’t work then, it won’t work now.
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“So, financial markets are unimpressed, the British public are unimpressed and the Chancellor and the Prime Minister need to take note because they’re not gambling with their own money, they’re gambling with all our money, and it’s reckless and it’s irresponsible as well as being grossly unfair.”
Reaction on social media to the UK's tumbling currency has been one of derision and criticism for the Tories and Kwarteng with many calling for the chancellor to already be removed from his position.
\u201cSack Kwasi Kwarteng, immediately. He is dangerous. #PoundSterling\u201d— Sarah \ud83c\udf39#GTTO (@Sarah \ud83c\udf39#GTTO) 1664174197
\u201cThis isn\u2019t Bitcoin. It\u2019s the British pound.\n\nThe Tories are recklessly gambling - not with their own money - but all of ours.\u201d— Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39 (@Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39) 1664178584
\u201cStrong and Stable govt to save us from chaos with Ed Miliband #PoundSterling\u201d— sebastian stride (@sebastian stride) 1664176363
\u201cLiz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng are off to a hell of a start...\n\n#PoundSterling #UKPolitics\u201d— PaulTee (@PaulTee) 1664167931
\u201c\u201cDoesn\u2019t the currency always die with the monarch that\u2019s on the back of it?\u201d #PoundSterling #r4today\u201d— Zorro P Freely (@Zorro P Freely) 1664176567
\u201cWhat the hell are they doing to our country! #PoundSterling\u201d— Rod Whiting (@Rod Whiting) 1664171911
\u201cI told you I'd hit the ground from day one. I forgot to mention that the pound would too. \n#PoundSterling\u201d— Parody Prime Minister (@Parody Prime Minister) 1664173704
\u201cWho better to deliver that than the person who made the pound drop to a 37 year low in their first week on the job\u201d— James Felton (@James Felton) 1664141477
\u201cMe buying a box of Lucky Charms with pound sterling\u201d— Nooruddean (@Nooruddean) 1664176698
\u201cThe Bank of England will now have to urgently jack up interest rates more than necessary to repair damage of pound/dollar collapse carnage. \nThis will worsen inflation. \nGreat work @trussliz @KwasiKwarteng \ud83d\ude44\u201d— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1664174816
\u201cI'm really busy today so someone else is going to have to photoshop this image into a Pornhub video with the title, "A Disappointing Pound".\u201d— Dmitry Grozoubinski (@Dmitry Grozoubinski) 1664178028
\u201cCliff. Pound. Falling. Is. A. Off. \nRearrange this into a sentence.\nAsian markets now\u201d— Jon Sopel (@Jon Sopel) 1664142079
\u201cMedia 2015-2019: "There'll be a run on the pound if Corbyn gets in."\n\nkwasi Kwarteng 2022: "Hold my drink."\n\nThe cost of essentials, LIKE FOOD, that people rely on are about to get even more expensive.\n\nThis government is running our society into the ground. Join a union!\u201d— Daniel Kebede (@Daniel Kebede) 1664175291
Sir John Gieve, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, said he would be worried if he was still in the job as sterling falls against the dollar.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think I would be worried.
“The bank, and indeed the Government, have indicated that they are going to take their next decision in November and publish forecasts and, so on that point, the worry is that they may have to take action a bit sooner than that.”
Additional reporting from PA.
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