Liz Truss has been behaving like a “libertarian jihadist” conducting “ultra free market experiments” on the country, a senior Tory MP has said.
In a brutal attack on the prime minister, Robert Halfon stopped just short of calling for the prime minister to resign, but did not deny MPs were plotting against her.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday morning, the chair of the Commons education committee demanded a “dramatic reset” from the government.
He made similar comments in an intervention in an article for The Sunday Times.
It came as Jeremy Hunt, the new chancellor, effectively junked Truss’ entire mini-Budget and said he was “changing course”.
His appointment has failed to dampen speculation of an imminent coup against Truss.
Halfon said: “We’ve haemorrhaged in the opinion polls. The public just can’t understand what has happened.
“I worry that over the past few weeks, the government has looked like libertarian jihadists and treated the whole country as kind of laboratory mice on which to carry out ultra, ultra free market experiments.
“There’s been one horror story after another.”
Asked if Truss should lead the Conservative Party into the next election, Halfon paused for a long time before saying: “At this time, I’m not calling for the prime minister to go.
“I worry about further political instability, but even more economic instability. But things have to improve.
“Because if things don’t change, I just think that perhaps things may not be able to carry on in the way that they have been.”
Rishi Sunak, the defeated leadership contender and former chancellor, as well as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, have been among the names flagged as potential new prime ministers.