Liz Truss should not have U-turned on botched mini-budget, says Jacob Rees-Mogg

Ousted Prime Minister Liz Truss should have slashed public spending rather than reverse tax cuts for the wealthiest, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.

The Tory millionaire claimed Ms Truss and then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's attempt to abolish the 45p top rate of tax on the highest earners was the “smallest bit” of the chaotic mini-budget in October.

A series of rushed cuts to taxes on corporations and the wealthy - alongside a huge energy package - spooked the markets, triggering spikes in interest and mortgage rates that are set to cost taxpayers billions.

But right-winger Mr Rees-Mogg told the ConservativeHome podcast that once the decision to slash taxes on the wealthy was made, “it was important to bring forward the next stage: the spending cuts that were going to come.”

He added: “I thought cutting the cut - reversing the 45p decision - didn’t need to happen. It didn’t make any difference to the markets, or the budget deficit.

"It was a trivial rounding error in the government accounts. All it did was show the government was not firm of purpose.”

Liz Truss will only be remembered for the 'brevity' of her time in office, Jacob Rees Mogg said (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

And he said the humiliated ex-PM should have ploughed on with “supply side reforms”, slashing regulations on businesses too.

”I think if instead of saying the 45p decision was being reversed, we’d said there are savings coming of X billion pounds, that would have been a much better reassurance of the market," he said.

The millionaire MP added: “Some of those [cuts] were really easy to come up with - continuing with the 91,000 reduction in civil servants. Pushing through on a ‘let’s spend money efficiently’ mantra.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg was Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for less than two months after Liz Truss became PM (AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Rees-Mogg also called for tax allowances to be abolished, including ending tax rebates for working from home: “It is costing an increasing amount of money.

"We actually want people to be going back to work.”

Ms Truss was ousted after just 44 days in office following her mini-budget shambles, making her the shortest-serving premier in British history.

Asked what the ex-PM will be remembered for, the Tory hardliner replied: “It will be remembered for being the shortest premiership in history…You can make the case that Boris [Johnson] will be remembered for some really important things.

" Brexit, Covid and Ukraine. But in seven weeks, the only thing of note is the brevity of it.”