Fuller defends Truss record, outlines welfare cuts and rules out Reform pact

Conservative shadow treasury minister Richard Fuller has defended his role in Liz Truss's mini budget, while saying there are lessons to be learned. Asked whether he regretted serving as economic secretary to the Treasury under Truss, he said: 'Not necessarily the role I played, no. But I think there are lessons to be learned.' He added that politicians should be accountable and that the key lesson was that bold tax cuts need to be preceded by work on public spending.

He said Kemi Badenoch had been very clear about that approach and that the Conservative Party under her leadership had learned the lessons of the Truss period. He claimed inflation had come down to 2% and interest rates had fallen, while Labour had let inflation rise above 3%. He rejected the suggestion that the Truss budget made the UK economy more vulnerable to market shocks, arguing that bond markets react to how serious the government of the day is about protecting lenders' money.

Fuller turned the attack on Labour's fiscal record. He said each Labour fiscal event had produced forecasts before the government ran out of money and asked taxpayers for more. He cited the extension of the personal tax threshold freeze and extra tax measures. He defended the Conservative record from 2019 to 2024 by pointing to £400 billion spent on Covid support for the NHS, businesses and households, and said the money had to be paid back. He accepted that some people had questioned whether that spending was wise and noted that Covid loan fraud had cost billions.

On welfare, Fuller said Labour would not tackle the welfare bill. He defended Conservative plans announced at last year's conference, which he said were fully costed and aimed at reducing welfare spending by £23 billion. He said reintroducing the two-child benefit cap would save an extra £2.5 billion and that other savings were being examined. He also argued that people could not understand why Labour was prioritising more welfare spending while not putting money into defence. When challenged that rising PIP payments, forecast to rise by £19 billion by 2030, would leave much smaller net savings, he said the central issue was that the welfare bill needed substantive reform. He criticised Labour for scrapping the welfare cap in 2019.

On tax, Fuller did not rule out scrapping inheritance tax when asked about Kemi Badenoch's plans. He said: 'We'll see,' adding that he was not ruling anything out and that it was not his job to do so. Asked why the Conservatives had not committed to reversing the increase in employers' national insurance brought in by Rachel Reeves, he said the party would have to see what the Conservative team proposed. He also ruled out an election pact with Reform.