Mr Kwarteng said the Tories' economic vision would “turn the vicious cycle of stagnation into a virtuous cycle of growth”.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng abolished the top rate of income tax for the highest earners as he spent tens of billions of pounds in a “gamble” to drive up growth during a cost-of-living crisis.
Treasury estimates put the measures, including Liz Truss’s promises to reverse the national insurance rise and axe the hike to corporation tax, as costing nearly £45 billion a year by 2026. He argued his economic vision will “turn the vicious cycle of stagnation into a virtuous cycle of growth”. The pound dived to another fresh 37-year low as traders swallowed the cost of the Chancellor’s latest package and potential impact on Government borrowing.
Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies economic think tank, said Mr Kwarteng’s “big gamble” was the “biggest tax-cutting event since 1972”. Cutting the top rate of income tax will save the top earners, on average, £10,000 a year, according to Treasury estimates.