Liz Truss has said she is prepared to be unpopular with her tax policy as she believes it will ultimately benefit the British economy.

Talking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby in New York, the prime minister defended any tax changes her government will make at the end of the week and said she will do what she has to do to get the economy growing again.

She also dismissed concerns the government will borrow more instead of tax energy companies’ profits (a windfall tax) and said she does not accept cutting taxes is unfair.

Cost of living crisis: Major tax announcement this week – follow live

Asked if she was prepared to be unpopular with her policies, Ms Truss said: “Yes, yes I am.

“What is important to me is that we grow the British economy, because that is what will ultimately deliver higher wages, more investment in towns and cities across the country, that is what will ultimately deliver more money into people’s pockets, and it will also enable us to fund the services like the National Health Service.

“And in order to get that economic growth, Britain has to be competitive.”

Truss promises UK will not ration energy – but says higher bills are worth it to stand up to Russia

London Marathon and Tory conference set to be impacted by rail strikes

Spending more on military aid to Ukraine will cut energy bills, minister says

She said putting up taxes, placing “arbitrary taxes” on energy companies or having high corporation tax would result in a lack of investment and growth which she said “will ultimately damage opportunities in this country”.

Ms Truss defended reports Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will scrap caps on bankers’ bonuses during a mini budget announcement on Friday as she blamed the UK’s “relatively low growth” on a lack of capital investment.

“We haven’t had enough capital investment and yet we have one of the world’s best financial services centres,” she said.

“So what I want to see is that money in the City of London put to good use across our country – and yes, I’m prepared to do what it takes to get that money flowing.”

Read more:

Truss promises UK will not ration energy – but higher bills are worth it to stand up to Russia
Spending more on military aid to Ukraine will cut energy bills, minister says

As she further laid the path for the bankers’ bonus announcement and tax-cutting, the PM said: “I don’t accept this argument that cutting taxes is somehow unfair.

“I mean, what we know is that people on higher incomes generally pay more tax.

“So when you reduce taxes, there is often a disproportionate benefit because those people are paying more taxes in the first place.

“We should be setting our tax policy on the basis of what is going to make our country most successful, what is going to deliver that economy that benefits everyone in this country.”

While the prime minister remained bullish about her tax policies, she did admit it will be a “tough winter”.

But she added: “I’m determined my government takes every step and strains every sinew to get the economy going, to make sure we have a successful economy and as a country we can weather this storm.

“We will get through it.”

Earlier in the day, the PM promised the UK would not bring in energy rationing this winter as some countries, such as Germany, have done.

She said the UK – and the west – “cannot jeopardise our security for the sake of cheap energy” as she pushed for other countries to commit to continue supporting Ukraine after announcing the UK will match the more than £2.3 billion military aid it provided this year.

Related posts:

Thousands demonstrate against bill which gives police power to shut down protests Pandemic ‘just beginning’ for overstretched community nurses as patient numbers rise Manchester United fans stage anti-Glazer protest after getting inside Old Trafford Two people arrested after ‘trespassing’ at Prince Andrew’s Windsor home Mural that ‘screams welcome to our white town’ criticised over lack of diversity ‘He needs to be deported’: Concerns over Taliban supporter helping Afghan refugees Armed forces increase female recruitment target as report exposes sexual harassment in the military ‘A daily fail that divides us’: Meghan says ‘we all deserve better’ after Mail publisher’s appeal dismissed Queen says she felt ‘very tired and exhausted’ during her bout with COVID-19 Big Plastic Count ‘will measure national scale’ of Britain’s waste problem Energy price cap could rise every three months under regulator’s planned shake-up Knife crime increased 5% in the last year – how high is it in your area?