Plummeting Pound Becomes Fresh Fodder For Jokes At Tories' Expense

"Does anyone in charge know what they're doing," one critic tweeted.
Prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng
Prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng
WPA Pool via Getty Images

The pound has fallen to a new low just days after the government unveiled its mini-budget last week โ€“ and Twitter is obviously not letting it slide.

Downing Street revealed it had a new plan for economic growth last week, and started cutting more taxes than the UK has seen in 50 years.

The controversial new strategy has meant scrapping the cap on bankersโ€™ bonuses, axing the increases for national insurance and corporation tax, cutting income tax for people earning more than ยฃ150,000, cutting stamp duty and dropping the basic rate of income tax early.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to announce more tax cuts on top of this ยฃ45 billion package soon.

But, it seems this mini-budget hasnโ€™t landed very well with international markets already.

On Monday morning, the value of the pound sterling fell to $1.03 as Asian markets responded to the new budget โ€“ a low not seen since decimalisation in 1971 โ€“ before bouncing back to $1.07 a few hours later.

Investors in Asia have been selling off their shares in the pounds and swapping in the US dollar and other currencies instead, as a sign they are losing faith in UK growth.

Itโ€™s worth noting that the Bank of England had already warned of an upcoming recession stretching across five quarters weeks before this divisive new budget was announced by Kwarteng on Friday.

Inflation is also already at a 40-year-high, as the cost of living crisis bites and energy bills spiral.

Labourโ€™s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves even said the government was clearly โ€œgambling all of our moneyโ€.

As much of the country is left wringing its hands over the grim stats, Twitter did what it does best and responded with even more cynicism than usual.

One account recalled the time when prime minister Liz Truss accidentally tweeted that she would โ€œhit the ground from day oneโ€ (instead of writing โ€œhit the ground runningโ€).

I told you I'd hit the ground from day one. I forgot to mention that the pound would too. #PoundSterling pic.twitter.com/E4XEdPsofy

โ€” Parody Prime Minister (@Parody_PM) September 26, 2022

Others couldnโ€™t help express their frustration at the governmentโ€™s inability to predict this.

Turns out the answer was: not well.

I'm hardly a finance whizz - if I can figure this out why can't the government? https://t.co/jhhBCV4Ag6

โ€” Sam Freedman (@Samfr) September 26, 2022

I donโ€™t want to be rude but does anyone in charge know what theyโ€™re doing x

โ€” Ava-Santina (@AvaSantina) September 26, 2022

Then, there were accounts who mocked new prime minister Trussโ€™ previous promises to rejuvenate Britain...

Unleash the potential update pic.twitter.com/hbrIIHj3Yv

โ€” James Felton (@JimMFelton) September 26, 2022

EXCLUSIVE: First glance at Liz Truss's levelling up agenda. pic.twitter.com/SrSlAaFSrZ

โ€” THE SECRET TORY ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง (@secrettory12) September 26, 2022

Microdosing on 'Bloomberg Markets: European Open' because I love the drama. A guest just said "what the UK did is a good lesson in what not should be done"๐Ÿ‘€ pic.twitter.com/dmjfyrqyuj

โ€” Callum Marius (@callummarius) September 26, 2022

Relieved that Iโ€™m not having to explain, as a British Ambassador, how the Government has a democratic mandate to take this huge gamble with the public finances, a policy completely contrary to the Tory manifesto at the 2019 general election on which their Commons majority rests.

โ€” Peter Ricketts (@LordRickettsP) September 26, 2022

Some joked about how the Conservatives โ€“ who have been in power since 2010 โ€“ might try to pin the blame for this on someone else.

Bloody woke lefty Asian currency markets, they just donโ€™t understand Kwartengโ€™s genius. I blame Brussels.

โ€” Prof Paul Bernal (@PaulbernalUK) September 26, 2022

BREAKING: The Tories have confirmed a run on the pound would only have been bad if Jeremy Corbyn did it x

โ€” Laura Kuenssberg Translator (@BBCFLauraKT) September 26, 2022

Your reminder of the current strategy enacted by the Tories #PoundSterling #torychaos #ToriesOut #LabourConference2022 pic.twitter.com/OglV6M6AU8

โ€” Snoop (@snoope_fiasco) September 26, 2022

Then, there were the practical (yet still angry) tweets.

We buy energy in US dollars so this #PoundSterling slum is costing us all a lot of money.

The Tories have fucked up, fucked us, fucked the economy.

โ€” Jonathan Phillips ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ (@DigitalJonathan) September 26, 2022

Good thing weโ€™re not a net importer or anythingโ€ฆ https://t.co/aOgywexJdX

โ€” Julia Macfarlane ๐Ÿด๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ (@juliamacfarlane) September 26, 2022

You believing in markets doesnโ€™t mean they believe in you

โ€” Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) September 26, 2022

And, of course, the tweets reminding everyone that this particular cabinet has only been in power since September 6.

How is it possible that the Tory PM & cabinet keep getting worse? If youโ€™d told me 3 years ago that Iโ€™d be thinking of Theresa Mayโ€™s time as โ€˜the good old daysโ€™, Iโ€™d have thought youโ€™d been down to Westminster for refreshments. #ToryCorruption #CostOfGreedCrisis #PoundSterling

โ€” JayBo (@JayBoben) September 26, 2022

20 days in who still thinks this was a good choice?

โ€” Deborah Meaden ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ (@DeborahMeaden) September 26, 2022

Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng are off to a hell of a start...#PoundSterling #UKPolitics https://t.co/Jr4uO0BZ2O

โ€” PaulTee (@padubyatee) September 26, 2022
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