A year on from the Kwarteng catastrophe, it’s time we took a different view on growth

Britain needs growth. We have a wealth of business leaders, with proven track records of success, ready and waiting, writes Chris Blackhurst. So why is the government reluctant to listen to their ideas?

What Kwarteng put forward as chancellor made a lot of sense, it was the execution that was lamentable (Getty)

One year ago, the plans for Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget were in full swing.

Kwarteng had been made chancellor in Liz Truss’s new government, which began on 6 September. A little more than two weeks later, he delivered what was billed as “the growth plan” to the House of Commons.

It was a disaster. Kwarteng and Truss were promising too much too soon, without the underpinning of funding. What they proposed was not fully costed and tested. To cap it all, in terms of public perception, some of their measures were skewed towards favouring the better off.