Liz Truss resigned after just 44 days as a result of the Tory MP’s mini-budget statement, which caused one of the most turbulent economic periods in modern history.
Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has accepted that he and Liz Truss “blew it” by instituting extensive economic reforms and “got carried away.”
The Conservative MP called their low-tax, small-state plans “very exciting” and said he fully supported them, but he also acknowledged that the way they were carried out was their downfall.
The markets crashed after Mr. Kwarteng announced his “mini” budget just 17 days after Ms. Truss appointed him chancellor, forcing him to resign before Ms. Truss was also forced to resign.
“It was very exciting, you felt you were part of a project,” he told the FT Weekend Magazine.
As soon as she became PM, Ms Truss said she did not want any opinion polling as she felt politicians were obsessed with “optics”.
Despite advisers warning her and Mr Kwarteng that their plans would be seen as a “budget for the rich”, they were ignored.
Mr Kwarteng added: “People got carried away, myself included. There was no tactical subtlety whatsoever.”
He still believes the goal was correct but admitted: “Where we fell woefully short was to have a tactical plan.”
As the economic turmoil continued, despite the government U-turning on some of the recently announced policies, Mr Kwarteng went to IMF meetings in Washington as he did not want to cause more panic by not attending.
But he was called back early after, he and his allies believe, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case managed to persuade Ms Truss she had to reverse some of the measures to avoid economic ruin.
When Ms Truss told him he could no longer be chancellor on 14 October, he says he told her: “I know, I’ve seen it on Twitter.”
Mr Kwarteng said he warned her he was a “firebreak” and getting rid of him would “make her weaker, not stronger”.
“She said she was doing this to save her premiership,” he told the FT.
Last month, Mr Kwarteng said he and Ms Truss are still “friends”.
But, he added: “My biggest regret is we weren’t tactically astute and we were too impatient.
“There was a brief moment and the people in charge, myself included, blew it.”