# Britain paying ‘moron premium’ on borrowing since Truss’s disastrous mini budget, chancellor says

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/britain-paying-moron-premium-on-borrowing-since-trusss-disastrous-mini-budget-chancellor-says/
- Published: 2026-10-29T09:55:26+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T10:03:34+00:00
- Original publisher: The Independent (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/budget-2026-liz-truss-john-healey-b3075471.html
- Topics: Americas, Business, Economy, Government, Markets, Politics, UK, World

## Key points

- Healey says the Truss mini-Budget left Britain paying a borrowing premium.
- The government plans to fill a £4.7bn defence funding gap.
- Further spending choices are expected at next year’s review.

## Summary

Chancellor John Healey said Britain has faced a “moron premium” on borrowing costs since Liz Truss’s 2022 mini-Budget damaged confidence in the economy. He also warned that the government will have to make further difficult spending choices, while defending his first Budget as significant.

The mini-Budget’s unfunded tax cuts triggered turmoil in government bond markets and a fall in sterling; Healey noted that borrowing costs have risen for governments more broadly. His Budget commits to raising defence spending to 3 per cent of economic output by 2030 and filling a £4.7 billion gap in the defence investment plan. The shortfall is to be covered through departmental capital budget reductions and a Treasury reserve, while critics said the Budget would do too little to boost growth.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.