A FORMER Scottish Tory MSP has launched an extraordinary attack on his own party, calling for a Labour government to run the UK.
Adam Tomkins, a professor of public law at Glasgow University who previously represented the Conservatives at Holyrood, said the Tories were “trashing the economy”.
Writing in the Herald, Tomkins said: “Britain needs a Labour government. That’s quite a line for a Tory to write, but it’s true. All governments run their course … And now, it is clear, the Conservatives’ time is up.”
The former Scottish Tory MSP said that the tax cutting policies being pursued by Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng (both below) were “profoundly unconservative”, calling them “the wrong measures, in the wrong order, at the wrong time”.
He wrote: “There is no majority in the United Kingdom – there is no majority even in England – for Trussonomics, yet this is the dogma the newly unelected government are now imposing on us.”
Tomkins said that he believed Kwarteng and Truss were correct to challenge a “Treasury orthodoxy” which has not pursued economic growth, but said they were doing so in the wrong way.
He wrote: “If you really want growth you don’t start with tax cuts for the wealthiest in society and hope that the effects trickle down. You start by stimulating the supply we need to meet the demand that is already there.”
The dramatic intervention comes after another from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which issued stinging criticism of the UK Government’s tax cuts, warning they would increase inequality and add further inflationary pressure on the economy.
In an extraordinary statement, the IMF said it was “closely monitoring” developments in the UK and was in touch with the authorities, urging the Chancellor to “re-evaluate the tax measures”.
It warned the current plans, including the abolition of the 45p rate of income tax for people on more than £150,000, are likely to increase inequality.
The move came as the Bank of England signalled it was ready to significantly ramp up interest rates to shore up the pound and guard against increased inflation.
The pound suffered further falls on Wednesday morning, falling back to 1.06 US dollars after reaching 1.08 US dollars on Tuesday.
The FTSE 100 Index also fell sharply after opening on Wednesday, falling more than 100 points to 6872.7 – a drop of 1.6% – following market losses in the US overnight The Chancellor insisted he was “confident” his tax-cutting strategy will deliver the promised economic growth.
Other Scottish Tories – including Douglas Ross – have backed Kwarteng’s move and insisted that Scotland follows the UK Government’s tax cuts.
