Nigel Farage has compared the fallout from Donald Trump’s tariffs to the market chaos sparked by Liz Truss and her mini-budget.
Quick recap
Liz Truss’s tenure in Downing Street lasted just 49 days after her disastrous mini-budget triggered market turmoil and saw the pound tank to a 37-year low against the dollar.
The ex-PM and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the biggest raft of tax cuts for half a century in the September 2022 statement, but were quickly forced to climb down over their plan to scrap the top rate of income tax for the highest earners.
She also got outlasted by a lettuce…
Comparison
The Reform UK leader said the US president “did too much, too soon”, adding that his long-standing ally’s approach was “rather like Liz Truss a couple of years ago”.
Mr Farage, Mr Trump’s most vocal major backer in Britain, added that he has “never in my life before seen stock markets fall quickly and bond markets fall at the same time”.
Mr Farage told LBC it “remains to be seen” whether his approach will be vindicated.
He said: “I’ve never agreed with the tariff policy. I do understand, though, that China poses an existential threat to the west economically.
“I think Trump did too much too soon, rather like Liz Truss did a couple of years ago. I’ve never in my life before seen stock markets fall quickly and bond markets fall at the same time.”
He added: “There’s little doubt that Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, who’s also a friend of mine, played a decisive role in saying, ‘whoa, we’ve got to ease back on this’.”
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