Crawley MP blames 'global pressures' for financial turmoil

The Bank of England announced yesterday it was stepping in to buy £65 billion in government bonds after fears over the government’s economic policies sent the pound tumbling and sparked a sell-off on financial markets, which left some UK pension funds on the brink of collapse.

However, Henry Smith, MP for Crawley, said the aftermath of Covid and Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine were behind the recent economic shock.

He said: “It’s vital we grow the UK economy to provide for households across Crawley and nationwide as well as fund the public services we rely on.

“I very much support the government’s efforts in doing so through reduced taxation and other support measures.”

Crawley MP Henry Smith (Image: House of Commons)

It comes as Andrew Griffith, MP for Arundel and South Downs and financial secretary, defended the government’s mini-budget as “the right plans” to “make our economy competitive”.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: “We are protecting every household and every business from the biggest macro shock out there at the moment, which is the cost of energy.

“We are seeing the same impacts of Putin’s war in Ukraine cascading through things like the cost of energy, some of the supply side implications of that. That’s impacting every major economy.”

Prime Minister Liz Truss has defended her plans in a morning round of interviews on regional BBC radio stations and said the government is “putting this country on a better trajectory for the long term”.

Prime Minister Liz Truss during a visit to Kent on Friday, to coincide with the government's new Growth Plan: credit - PA (Image: PA)

In her first public comments since the mini-budget, Ms Truss insisted “urgent action” was needed, but accepted the government’s decisions had proved “controversial”.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Truss said: “We had to take urgent action to get our economy growing, get Britain moving and also deal with inflation.

“Of course, that means taking controversial and difficult decisions, but I am prepared to do that as Prime Minister because what is important to me is that we get our economy moving, we make sure that people are able to get through this winter and we are prepared to do what it takes to make that happen.”