Liz Truss says she wants ‘growth, growth and growth’ in protest-hit speech

theguardian.com:

Liz Truss has promised the country she has “got your back” and set out a plan for “growth, growth and growth” in a conference speech disrupted by protesters asking who voted for her plan.

After a fractious party conference and dire opinion polls for the Tories, the prime minister attempted to speak directly to the public, saying: “I want what you want.”

She made the case for cutting taxes as “the right thing to do morally and economically”, despite have just U-turned over her decision to abolish the 45p top rate. On the decision to withdraw the policy, she said: “I get it and I have listened.”

However, a few minutes in, her speech was disrupted by protesters waving a banner with Greenpeace on it, which said: “Who voted for this?”

As they were escorted from the hall to boos from the audience, Truss said: “Let’s get them removed,” and joked: “Later on in my speech I’m going to talk about the anti-growth coalition. I think they arrived in the hall a bit too early.”

Truss made her dash for economic growth the centrepiece of her speech, saying not everyone would like her disruptive plan to change Britain but claiming the UK would benefit from the results.

“The scale of the challenge is immense. War in Europe for the first time in a generation. A more uncertain world in the aftermath of Covid. And a global economic crisis,” she said. “That is why in Britain we need to do things differently. Whenever there is change, there is disruption. Not everyone will be in favour. But everyone will benefit from the result: a growing economy and a better future. That is what we have a clear plan to deliver.”

Truss has repeatedly refused to say during the conference whether she would raise benefits in line with inflation, triggering a cabinet split