The new Conservative administration, a little over two weeks old, is already reeling. Its “mini-budget,” a cocktail of substantial tax cuts with high borrowing and state spending, has helped tank the pound sterling and discredit Britain in the eyes of traders.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued stern warnings about the direction of British policy, a finger-wagging more commonly directed at much weaker economies in the Global South. Unusually detached from Treasury policy, the Bank of England (BoE) has had to step in to buy up £65 billion of government debt in a bid to stabilize markets. Commercial banks have withdrawn mortgage products.

To make matters worse for the ruling party, its private economic farce coincided with a Labour conference where Keir Starmer presented himself as the natural figure of stability, to the evident pleasure of establishment message carriers like the BBC. As the Tory party continues to suffer infighting and alienate swathes of its traditional capitalist backers, pressure is growing for a government U-turn.