Tories ‘seethe with anger’ at Hunt taxes amid fears of a backlash
CONSERVATIVE MPS have faced a mixture of “anger and disbelief ” from local members over the Autumn Statement, as backbenchers prepare to speak out in the Commons.
Senior Tory figures warned of a grassroots backlash in response to the £55billion of tax rises and spending cuts announced by Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, last week.
MPS will spend today and tomorrow debating the package of measures, with several planning to relay concerns from constituents and disgruntled party activists. A number of votes will follow tomorrow night but a rebellion is unlikely because finance motions are usually treated by party whips as votes of confidence in the Government.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to Tory backbenchers whose local parties have expressed dismay at Mr Hunt’s fiscal plan, which has prioritised curbing inflation and filling the black hole in Britain’s finances over tax cuts or the growth agenda.
“I think among membership there is a lot of reticence to accept the Autumn Statement,” one influential Tory said. “It is distinctly unconservative.”
They confirmed they planned to speak in the Commons today to “feed in my disquiet with some of it”.
A second MP added: “Those I have spoken to back home are, like me, concerned. It’s [very] dark and gloomy, and that’s not what our party stands for.”
A third said: “I had a members’ lunch on Friday, and it was a mixture of silence through shock and articulate anger.
“This isn’t what they signed up for. It isn’t what they joined for, it isn’t what they voted for when they voted for Liz Truss, and it’s reopened old wounds.
“The mood of the party apart from a minority who like Sunak and wanted all this sort of stuff is seething with anger and disbelief that a Conservative government could do this.”
Supporters of Ms Truss privately admit aspects of the timing and presentation of her mini-budget, which favoured tax cuts and the growth agenda, were mistaken. However, one Truss ally warned Mr Hunt’s approach was a step too far in the other direction and would “squeeze the strivers”.