Timeline: How Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng's 45p tax policy collapsed dramatically

Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss said they would U-launch a £2billion plan to cut taxes on Britain's highest earners.

The abolition of the top tax rate of 45p was confirmed on Monday morning; it was arguably the most controversial part of the government's mini-budget.

But the about-face came just 24 hours after ministers said there was no chance they would change course. Here's how events unfolded.

Friday, September 23

Kwasi Kwarteng announces it is removing the top tax rate. The Treasury says the measure is "designed to attract the best and brightest to the UK workforce, helping businesses to innovate and grow".

The Institute for Fiscal Studies says that with all the tax changes announced in the budget, "only those with over £155,000 will pay less tax overall" and "the very wealthy will pay tens of thousands less".

Former cabinet minister Julian Smith is among the first Tory MPs to speak out. He says "this huge tax cut for the very wealthy in a time of national crisis and genuine fear and anxiety among working and low-income citizens is a mistake".

Monday, September 26< /p>

The Financial Times reports that dissent is “widespread” on the measures within the Conservative parliamentary party. A former cabinet minister told the newspaper, "Truss and Kwarteng are acting like they're still in a student debating society, where you can pursue some kind of extreme philosophy without there being any consequences."

< p>At the Labor Party Conference, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves promises a Labor government would bring the tax rate down from 45p and use the money to invest in the NHS.

Thursday 29 September

A YouGov poll finds the Tories have plunged in popularity, with Labor taking a 33-point lead over the party. Other polls also show leads for the opposition around or beyond 20 points.

Friday, September 30

Liz Truss tours local radio stations but remains at a loss for words as presenters grill her on her policies. She supports tax cuts.

Sunday, October 2

Morning

In a key interview the day before the conference with the BBC, Liz Truss maintains her tax reduction plan.

Tory Speaker Jake Berry is sent to Sky News to say Tory MPs who vote against the plan will lose the whip.

Michael Gove says cutting the tax rate will higher is an "error" and suggests he might not vote for the budget.

Afternoon

Chris Philip, Secretary in head of the Treasury, is late to a fringe event at the Tory conference due to "urgent ministerial business".

Evening

The newspaper Daily Telegraph, widely considered an inside organ of the Conservative Party, publishes an op-ed: 'Liz Truss is not for touring', in which she defends politics.

The Daily Mail newspaper, which also backs the Tory government, publishes its first edition with the splash headline: 'Fury as Gove stokes 45p Tory tax revolt'. The second edition of the newspaper has a different headline: "Are the Tories on the brink of a 45p tax U-turn?"

Sky News reports that a Cabinet minister has privately said that a vote on the 45 pence rate cut would be delayed.

Monday October 3

In the first hour of the morning, Kwasi Kwarteng announces that the government "is not proceeding with the 'abolition of the 45p rate' and says it has become a 'distraction from our primary mission'.

Liz Truss adds: 'We understand and we have listened'. The policy is however £2billion from a wider package of tax cuts and is dwarfed by corporate tax cuts.