of tax for the highest earners. in her first interview since, liz truss told the bbc that the government was listening. we are also a listening government, nick, that do listen to people. that do reflect on where we could have done things better, and i have said that about laying the groundwork, i have said that about the specific feedback we have had on the 45p tax rate. now there has been a new reversal. just yesterday on this programme, the chancellor committed to when he would set out his debt plan. we are going to have a medium term plan that is going to come out, as i ve said, at the end of november. and all those plans will be set out in fuller detail there. sources have told the bbc he will now do it sooner than the end of november. he had been under pressure to speed the statement up to help calm the markets. but there could be fresh trouble brewing about benefits. under borisjohnson, there was a pledge to raise them in line with inflation. liz truss won t commit to that.
is to make a further change to his financial plans and bring forward an announcement on the uk s debts. he was facing mounting criticism for insisting the details would not be published until late november. a new date is expected to be confirmed today. it follows yesterday s dramatic u turn on the top rate of income tax, as our political correspondent helen catt reports. it s fantastic to be here with you this evening. the prime minister was out at events on the conference fringe last night, rallying supporters. so, too, was the chancellor. but the night before, they had had a meeting that ended in a major u turn when they backtracked on a headline pledge to scrap the 45p top rate of tax for the highest earners. in her first interview since, liz truss told the bbc that the government was listening. we are also a listening government, nick, that do listen to people. that do reflect on where we could have done things better, and i have said that about laying the groundwork, i have said t
forward its long awaited debt plan from late novemberfor that although we don t have a specific date to give you at the moment it could certainly occur this month. we will bring you more on that as we get it. and we ll find out how this story and others are covered in tomorrow s front pages at 10:30 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining me tonight are dame ros altmann, who s a former pensions minister, and the features writer for the independent, james rampton. the uk is facing a significant risk of gas shortages this winter, according to the industry regulator, which could have an impact on electricity supplies. ofgem says due to russia s war with ukraine, there is a possibility the uk could enter a gas supply emergency . this would lead to supplies being cut to power stations which use gas to generate the country s electricity. our business correspondent,
and we need to figure out how to fully eliminate student loans. you re not happy with this plan? no i am not happy. lowered. let s talk about the impact for black borrowers. we are going to put this up on the screen for folks that they can see. but, with average black college graduate owing over $52, 000, while white gravity graduates owe an average of $28,000. from my perspective, when i said, i think this debt plan part disproportionately will help impact borrowers of color, particularly black borrowers. how do you see it? i agree. i think this is an opportunity as we talk about the racial wealth gap in this country. it is an opportunity for folks to be able to invest in businesses and buy homes. as i said before i think it s a step. not the entire staircase but i think the president did shows what is possible and, a shot at all the organizers and activists who are on the ground. i think that this is a win. we celebrate the small ones but we are not comfortable and