The UK's Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng and his Prime Minister Liz Truss were fighting for space at the ruling Conservative Party's annual conference. The issue of the "higher rate" tax cut (the 45 percent) had been threatening to drown all other messages they wanted to send to the party members.

So, after insisting all week the new tax policy was here to stay – they revealed a humiliating climbdown - reversing a cut to the highest rate of income tax that helped spark turmoil in financial markets and a rebellion in the party.

READ MORE

The life and times of Queen Elizabeth II

Global leaders pay tributes to UK monarch

Mid-Autumn Festival poetry

"We just talk to people. We listen to people. I get it," Kwarteng told the Conservatives - but his message was intended to travel further, around the nation. "We not only talked to people, we saw people's reactions. We were talking to constituencies," said Kwarteng. 

"We were talking to a whole range of stakeholders. And we felt that the 45p rate (45p of tax in the £1), was drowning out a strong package of intervention on energy, a strong package of intervention on tax cuts for people, generally. And we decided not to proceed with getting rid of the 45p rate."

'Wrong political message'

Conference delegates did not seem overly surprised. One member, Christian Lund, said the policy misstep was damaging to the party.

"I think it sends the wrong political message, particularly when there is opposition that already thinks this Conservative Party is out there to try to target vulnerable and deprived people in our country. So therefore, I think it would have sent the wrong political message and I'm happy that the tax base has been abolished."

But others, like Keith Parker, said the retraction showed weakness. "Abandoning it unfortunately does show a bit of lack of power, if you like. But, you know, they've listened to the party, listened to the members who were against it," said Parker.

It is not the money, it is the politics. The cut would have cost just $2.5 billion, a fraction of the home energy support program priced at $72 billion. But the market reacted badly last week.

The pound slumped and the Bank of England had to intervene to defend government borrowing. On top of that, Conservative MPs threatened to rebel. By the time Kwasi Kwarteng took to the stage at conference, there had been some hasty rewrites to his speech.

The Chancellor's 'tax-and-spend' announcement 10 days ago was unique in its lack of oversight - usually these big packages come with extensive sums to show how it all adds up. Since then officials from the independent Office of Budget Responsibility met Kwarteng, trying to get their forecasts included in his plans to reassure the markets.

That remains a work in progress.