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‘West in serious trouble, British economy overtaken by India’: Liz Truss at HTLS 2024
HTLS 2024: Former UK PM Elizabeth Truss said India and the United Kingdom have much to gain from each other in areas such as technology and agriculture
Former United Kingdom prime minister Rt. Hon. Elizabeth Truss on Saturday said that the West is in “serious trouble”, adding that India has overtaken the British economy.
“The British economy has been overtaken by India, and great economic policies and reforms have taken place there,” Truss said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
“India and the United Kingdom have much to gain from each other in areas such as technology and agriculture. India has a huge leadership role to play and significant progress has been made in the last 100 years,” the former UK prime minister said.
Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2024 LIVE Coverage
‘India has a huge leadership role to play in future’: Truss
On India's role in geopolitics, Truss said,"India, now the world's largest population and a long-standing democracy, has a huge leadership role to play in the future, which is very exciting. India is part of the Quad, which is particularly important given the rising threat from China."
ALSO READ: HTLS 2024: PM Modi outlines vision to make India developed nation by 2047
Truss on British economy
During the interaction, Truss said she does not think that the British economy will be revived. The ex-UK PM also said she does not think that “national direction will be restored until the very powerful bureaucracy is dealt with.”
“After 14 years of Conservative rule, people did not feel better off. They rolled the dice and elected a Labour government, which is pursuing an even more extreme version of policies, bringing more taxes and more regulations,” she added.
Invoking former British prime minister Tony Blair, Truss said the Labour leader made significant changes to the way the UK state and bureaucracy run.
“Blair outsourced a lot of power from Parliament to unelected bureaucrats and did not do enough, which led to Britain's stagnation. This was one of the main reasons people voted against them,” she said.
US elections 2024
While speaking at the HTLS 2024, Truss hailed Donald Trump's victory in the United States presidential election. “I'm delighted that Donald Trump has won the US Election. Under Democrats, the US had too many regulations and high taxes,” she said.
“Kamala Harris focused more on her identity as a Black woman rather than the political issues that would benefit the American people,” Truss said about the Democrat candidate.
