REFORM PARTY ATTACKS ON THE CONSERVATIVES ARE RIGHT, WARNS LEADING TORY MP AS RISHI SUNAK SAYS LIZ TRUSS LEFT HIM THE WORST 'HOSPITAL PASS' IN DECADES WHEN HE TOOK OVER AS PM

Danny Kruger said the Tories were 'not a very conservative party in lots of ways'

Reform is correct in many of its attacks on Conservative failings, a leading Right-wing Tory MP has admitted.

Danny Kruger, co-founder of the New Conservatives, told party members the Tories were 'not a very conservative party in lots of ways' and that criticism from Reform was 'mostly valid'.

At a gathering in Salisbury last Friday, the MP for Devizes admitted the Nigel Farage-backed opponents had been 'absolutely killing' the Tories and he was 'very, very worried' about their increasing support.

His remarks – in a leaked recording obtained by the Telegraph – will add to Tory woes after their deputy chairman Lee Anderson defected to the former Brexit Party. It is now polling at around 16 per cent according to figures from YouGov yesterday.

It comes as the Mail revealed yesterday that Rishi Sunak is being urged by advisers to hold a general election in the summer over fears the present situation is untenable.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister said Liz Truss had left him the worst 'hospital pass' in decades when he took over the job.

Chancellor's fiscal rules 'won't work'

Jeremy Hunt's fiscal rules are 'self-defeating', a former Bank of England chief has warned –as official figures confirmed Britain slipped into recession at the end of last year.

Andy Haldane, former chief economist at the Bank, said rules requiring the Government to get debt falling within five years were starving the country of investment.

The rules, policed by the Office for Budget Responsibility, were blamed by some Tories for preventing the Chancellor from slashing taxes further in this month's Budget.

He told ITV's Peston show that the rule was a 'binding constraint' on the Government.

'We all know that if you don't invest today, there's no growth tomorrow,' he said.

Figures produced by the Office for National Statistics yesterday confirmed that the economy shrank in the last quarter of the year.

He revealed that the toughest part was balancing being a 'good dad' to his two daughters with leading the country.

In an interview for The Times, with former party leader Lord Hague, whose parliamentary seat Mr Sunak inherited, he yesterday took aim at his predecessor.

He has largely steered away from criticising Ms Truss since taking over in October 2022 but made clear his frustrations with the dire economic situation he inherited.

'Someone described it as the worst hospital pass for any incoming prime minister in however many decades,' he said.

'Clearly there's lots of frustrations. We've been through a lot as a country over the past few years, which people are understandably frustrated about.' But he added he was 'entirely confident that there are better times ahead in spite of the challenges that the country's been through'.

Lord Hague noted the Prime Minister had come to office at a 'very hard time' to be head of the party.

Also in the interview, Mr Sunak said he feels it 'acutely' when he has to be away from his daughters, Krishna and Anoushka.

'I've got two young girls who mean the world to me,' he added.

'And obviously it's hard to balance being a good dad and doing the job well. You have to prioritise this job because it's an important job and you're doing it on behalf of the whole country.

'So not being there for them as much as any dad would like to be is a challenge.'

He added: 'There's particular moments where you really feel that acutely because there's something very difficult going on. That's tough, but that's the job.'

2024-03-28T22:42:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd