Conservative former Cabinet minister Grant Shapps has called British Prime Minister Liz Truss's decision to scrap the 45 per cent top tax rate as “politically tin-eared”, joining a growing revolt against her plans.
The former transport secretary accused Ms Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng of putting “all their chips on red” in the hope that cutting taxes will deliver growth.
Earlier on Sunday, his fellow former Cabinet minister Michael Gove also said Ms Truss’s plans to pay for vast tax cuts with increased borrowing were “not Conservative” as he threatened to vote against the mini-budget.
The veteran of government, who is influential in the Tory party, said he was “profoundly” concerned about the £45 billion ($46bn) of tax cuts, particularly the abolition of the top income tax rate.
Tory chairman Jake Berry warned that any rebels during a Commons vote on the plans would be turfed out of the parliamentary party, intensifying a row as the Conservative conference began in Birmingham.
Writing in The Times, Mr Shapps said that while he strongly believed in lower taxes, it was not the time for “big giveaways to those who need them least”.
“This politically tin-eared cut, not even a huge revenue raiser and hardly a priority on the prime ministerial to-do list, has managed to alienate almost everyone, from a large section of the Tory parliamentary party taken by surprise to the City traders who will actually benefit,” he said.
“Why? Not least because it is being paid for with borrowed money, the repayment of which is as yet unexplained.”
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss defends economic plan - video
He described Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget as “an exercise in what might be called single-entry book-keeping: lots of spending on one side and a blank column on the income side”.
“Tory governments aren’t supposed to do this kind of thing,” M Shapps said.
Maria Caulfield, a former health minister and nurse, said she could not support the removal of the 45p rate while nurses were struggling to pay their bills.
She tweeted that if Mr Berry and the party “don’t want this working class MP, fair enough”.
Damian Green, a former deputy prime minister, warned that the Tories would lose the next election if “we end up painting ourselves as the party of the rich”.
Former chancellor George Osborne said it was “touch and go whether the Chancellor can survive” the fallout, telling Channel 4 it would be “curtains” for Mr Kwarteng if his speech on Monday went badly.
Mr Gove welcomed Ms Truss acknowledging she had made mistakes around the mini-budget, but said she displayed an “inadequate realisation” of the scale of the problem.
He told the BBC that cutting the 45 per cent income tax rate for the highest earners was a “display of the wrong values” and called for Ms Truss to change course.
Mr Gove even suggested he could vote against the plans in the House of Commons, as Conservative critics look at possible rebellion.
Liz Truss ready to be 'unpopular' for her economic policies - video
“I don’t believe it’s right,” he said.
Ms Truss earlier said she could have been better at “laying the ground” for the plans, which sparked a backlash on the financial and mortgage markets.
But Mr Gove said there were two major problems with the plans set out by the prime minister and Chancellor on September 23.
“The first is the sheer risk of using borrowed money to fund tax cuts. That’s not Conservative,” he said.
The second, Mr Gove said, was the move to cut the top rate of income tax and axe the cap on bankers’ bonuses “at a time when people are suffering”.
He has wide experience in government, having held cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron, and is popular among Tory MPs.
UK government's new Cabinet appointments - in pictures
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Liz Truss and her new team congregate round the cabinet table. AP -
Special adviser Sophie Jarvis arrives for new British Prime Minister Liz Truss's first Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on Wednesday. Ms Truss has made sweeping changes to the UK government after becoming leader on Tuesday. -
Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. AFP -
Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. Getty Images -
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, front, arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. AP -
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. Reuters -
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Ranil Jayawardena arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. AP -
Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary Therese Coffey arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. Reuters -
Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. Reuters -
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. Getty Images -
Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. Reuters -
Attorney General Michael arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. AP -
Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. AP -
Education Secretary Kit Malthouse arrives for the new Cabinet meeting. AP -
Kwasi Kwarteng has been appointed chancellor of the exchequer. Reuters -
Therese Coffey has been appointed deputy prime minister and health secretary. EPA -
James Cleverly has been appointed foreign secretary. PA -
Suella Braverman has been appointed home secretary. AFP -
Brandon Lewis has been appointed lord chancellor and justice secretary. PA -
Ben Wallace has been reappointed defence secretary. Reuters -
Jacob Rees-Mogg has been appointed secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy. PA -
Kemi Badenoch has been appointed international trade secretary and president of the Board of Trade. PA -
Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Reuters -
Alok Sharma has been reappointed as Cop26 president. EPA -
Simon Clarke has been appointed secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities. EPA -
Chloe Smith has been appointed work and pensions secretary. PA -
Michelle Donelan has been appointed secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport. AFP -
Penny Mordaunt has been appointed leader of the House of Commons. PA -
Ranil Jayawardena has been appointed secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. Alamy -
Anne-Marie Trevelyan has been appointed transport secretary. Bloomberg. -
Wendy Morton has been appointed chief whip. Bloomberg -
Chris Heaton-Harris has been appointed Northern Ireland secretary. AFP -
Robert Buckland has been reappointed as Welsh secretary. PA -
Alister Jack has been reappointed Scottish secretary. PA -
Michael Ellis QC has been appointed attorney general and will attend Cabinet. AFP -
Tom Tugendhat will attend Cabinet as security minister in the Home Office. PA
He insisted he was not leading a co-ordinated rebellion of Conservatives but could face losing the party whip if he voted against the tax cuts.
Asked on Sky whether a rebellion would result in the drastic action, Mr Berry said: “Yes.”
He later said on a recording of a Telegraph podcast that there should “absolutely not” be a free vote allowing Conservatives to follow their consciences, but said he was “sure colleagues will support the government”.
Mr Gove used the Telegraph podcast to invite Ms Truss to reverse her high-borrowing, tax-cutting plans to prevent a rebellion, which he insisted he was not orchestrating.
He told her there was an “opportunity for a course correction and a reset”.
“I’ve never voted against the Conservative whip and I want therefore to make sure that we can have a civilised conversation about priorities,” Mr Gove said.
