'I am a fighter, not a quitter', says Truss to an angry Parliament

PM commits to pension spending; no comment on benefits, foreign aid

British Prime Minister Liz Truss described herself as “a fighter and not a quitter” Wednesday as she faced down a hostile opposition and fury from her own Conservative Party over her botched economic plan.
 

Truss attended her first session of Prime Minister’s Questions since newly appointed Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt ripped up the tax-cutting package unveiled by her new government less than a month ago. 
 

She apologized to Parliament and admitted she made mistakes during her short tenure as the UK’s head of government. Some lawmakers shouted “Resign!” as she spoke.
 

Asked by the opposition Labour Party’s leader, Keir Starmer, “Why is she still here?” Truss retorted: “I am a fighter and not a quitter. I have acted in the national interest to make sure that we have economic stability.” 
 

Truss said she was committed to increasing state pension payments in line with the level of inflation, but declined to give the same reassurance for welfare payments and foreign aid. 
 

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly urged Conservatives to give Truss another chance, saying “mistakes happen." “What you’ve got to do is recognize when they’ve happened and have humility to make changes when you see things didn’t go right,” he said.
 

While inflation is high around the world — driven up by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its effect energy supplies — polls show most Britons blame the government for the country’s economic pain.
 

With opinion polls giving the Labour Party a large and growing lead, many Conservatives now believe their only hope of avoiding electoral oblivion is to replace Truss. But she insists she is not stepping down, and legislators are divided about how to get rid of her. 
 

Liz Truss  will be in power when a fiscal plan is delivered on October 31 and has no plans to resign. “The prime minister’s not resigning”her political spokesman said on Wednesday.
 

Truss faces another test in Parliament later when lawmakers vote on an opposition Labour Party motion seeking to ban fracking for shale gas — a policy her government recently greenlit.
 

Conservative Party whips said the vote would be treated as “a confidence motion in the government,” meaning the government would fall if the motion passed. The Conservatives’ 70-plus majority makes that unlikely, but the vote will be closely watched for signs of dissent about Truss’ leadership.