Liz Truss claims Brits would be on Mars by 2040 if she hadn’t been ousted

Liz Truss's new book, "Bank Job," serves as a retrospective defense of her short-lived premiership, offering a highly speculative vision of what the United Kingdom could have achieved under her leadership. The former prime minister, who was ousted after just 49 days following widespread market turmoil triggered by her mini-budget, uses the book to shift blame away from her economic decisions. Instead, she points the finger at established financial institutions, accusing them of undermining her government's agenda and ultimately causing its collapse. This narrative attempts to reframe a period widely seen as a significant political and economic crisis for the UK.

Bank Job

Truss's book, titled "Bank Job," directly challenges the prevailing consensus regarding the reasons for her government's rapid demise. She argues that the Bank of England, the Treasury, and the Office for Budget Responsibility were primarily responsible for the market instability that followed her mini-budget in 2022. Specifically, she highlights the Bank of England's proposal to sell £80 billion of gilts prior to the mini-budget, suggesting this action, rather than her fiscal plans, was the root cause of the bond market's disruption. This perspective seeks to absolve her of responsibility for the crashing pound and the subsequent intervention by the Bank to stabilize pension funds.

The book's central premise is that these institutions actively worked against her government's efforts to implement a new economic strategy. By framing the events as a deliberate obstruction rather than a market reaction to unfunded tax cuts, Truss attempts to rehabilitate her image and legacy. This narrative is consistent with her post-premiership rhetoric, where she has consistently maintained that her policies were sound but were sabotaged by an entrenched establishment resistant to change.

2040

The closing chapter of "Bank Job" presents a highly optimistic and somewhat fantastical vision of the UK in 2040, had Truss's policies been allowed to fully mature. She imagines a future where Britain has launched multiple successful missions to Mars from its own spaceport, symbolizing a nation at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation. This ambitious projection underscores her belief in the transformative potential of her economic philosophy, which prioritized deregulation and a smaller state.

Beyond space exploration, Truss's 2040 vision includes a Britain entirely free from European Union laws, emphasizing a complete break from Brussels' influence. She also foresees a "permissive regime for artificial intelligence," coupled with tumbling energy costs and faster planning timelines, positioning the UK as a global leader in AI development. Furthermore, her imagined future includes Bitcoin receiving tax treatment consistent with its status as a form of money, and a rejection of central bank digital currencies, reflecting a libertarian approach to financial innovation.

Bank of England

Truss's direct criticism of the Bank of England is a significant aspect of her book, portraying the central bank as a key antagonist in her political downfall. She contends that the Bank's actions, particularly its plans for gilt sales, exacerbated market volatility at a critical juncture. This accusation challenges the Bank's independence and its role as a guardian of financial stability, suggesting it acted politically rather than purely economically.

Her narrative implies a fundamental disagreement over economic management, where Truss's supply-side reforms clashed with the Bank's monetary policy objectives. By singling out the Bank of England, alongside the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility, Truss attempts to construct a coherent argument that her government was not brought down by its own missteps but by powerful, unelected bodies. This ongoing debate about the interplay between political leadership and independent economic institutions remains a crucial theme in UK governance.