Kwasi Kwarteng has said what he got “wrong” in his mini-Budget that triggered market chaos and led to the downfall of Liz Truss’ government was not being “methodical” enough.
The former chancellor said his successor Jeremy Hunt had delivered a “good Budget” last week.
Hunt was appointed chancellor by Truss after she fired Kwarteng, her closest political ally, in a last ditch attempt to save her failing premiership.
Speaking to GB News on Sunday morning, Kwarteng said Hunt had “rightly perhaps” adopted a more “cautious” approach than he had.
“What we can’t do is pretend that last October didn’t happen, last September didn’t happen,” he said.
“I don’t understand what it means to be a Conservative if you don’t believe, ultimately, in lower taxes, broadly. That’s a strategic goal.
“There is a question about how you get there and there are different approaches.
“Now, I’d like to see things maybe done more quickly. But you do have to be methodical, you have to carry institutions with you, and I think that’s what they’re trying to do.”
He added: “That’s where I think I and Liz got it wrong. I think we should have had a more methodical and more process-driven way of getting to that strategic goal, which is lower taxes and incentivising economic activity.”
Kwarteng also acknowledged there was “too much” in his mini-Budget and it was “very bold” not to have Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts or measures on spending restraint at the same time.
He also said that suggesting more tax cuts could come in the aftermath of his statement “probably was a mistake”.
Kwarteng’s decision to tell BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that even more taxes could be cut, shortly after he axed the 45p top rate, was widely seen to have been a big factor in spooking the markets.