'This is a bleak finding for Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt.'

A greater number of Tory party members do not support the economic policies of the government than those who say they are in favour of the current measures adopted by Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak, a survey has found.

A Conservative Party Members’ panel was asked by the Tory blog Conservative Home whether they supported the government’s economic policies. While 41.87% said that they supported the current economic programme, 48.78% of the members’ panel said that they did not support it.

Editor of Conservative Home Paul Goodman wrote: “So more members of our Conservative Party members’ panel don’t support the Government’s economic policy than support it.  This is a bleak finding for Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt.

“What do they want instead?  Our October survey suggested that part of the answer is lower taxes – no surprise there.  About one in four respondents wanted the then Government to cut taxes and borrow money: the Liz Truss policy.  Roughly two in five wanted tax cuts and lower spending.”

Goodman goes on to add: “Jeremy Hunt is promising the latter.  But the slower rise in public spending, to put it more accurately, is mostly pushed back until after the most likely date of the general election.  The panel also, not at all consistently, then backed Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s growth plan (that’s the one announced in the mini-Budget with no spending slowdown) by 65 per cent to 27 per cent.”

The fact that a significant number of members still back the disastrous economic plans contained in Liz Truss’ mini-budget, which resulted in turmoil on the markets and investors fleeing, should remind us just how out of touch the Tory membership is.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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