Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has refused to disown deeply controversial tax cuts passed by Liz Truss, on the day the prime minister broke her silence in a series of gruelling local radio interviews.
The Scottish Tories defended chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget even though it sunk the value of the pound and forced an intervention from the Bank of England to protect pensions.
Mr Kwarteng sparked panic in the markets on September 23 when he announced:
- Sweeping tax cuts for the richest.
- Brought down corporation tax.
- Reversed an increase to national insurance.
Ms Truss waved off concerns her party’s policies would send interest rates soaring and leave mortgages in jeopardy as she was grilled by regional radio hosts across England on Thursday morning.
She also spoke to BBC Scotland as part of a round of interviews which were only arranged in the first place to tee up her party’s conference in Birmingham.
The prime minister denied accusations she had gone missing.
She also struggled to answer questions from radio hosts over key local issues such as fracking.
Does Douglas Ross back Liz Truss?
The Press and Journal asked whether Mr Ross would continue to support the prime minister’s approach.
Senior Scottish Tories clarified they still want to see similar policies implemented in Scotland despite economic chaos south of the border.
However, in a statement, Fife and Central Scotland MSP Liz Smith admitted there were “understandable concern” over where the chancellor’s borrowing plans to fund slashing taxes.
[jwplayer gACLiwwX]She said: “There is a broad welcome from business across Scotland that the emphasis in the mini-budget is on stimulating economic growth and enterprise.
“That is why they now want to see the Scottish Government adopt policies which will ensure that Scotland becomes fully competitive rather than being the highest taxed part of the UK.
Mr Ross later admitted to Holyrood journalists his party’s Westminster budget could stop families from being able to repay their mortgages due to higher interest rates.
‘Understandable concern’
“Where there is understandable concern about the chancellor’s announcement is the absence of any details about the borrowing programme and official economic forecasts.
“I hope the Chancellor will move quickly to reassure the markets.”
SNP ministers insist they will not follow Westminster’s suit with cuts to income tax north of the border, where rates are higher.
Scottish Conservative leader says he supports the #MiniBudget which 'will see every single person in Scotland paying less tax' if the Scottish Government follow suit.@Douglas4Moray says people 'are the best judges of how to spend their own money' pic.twitter.com/Y7xZJXlW0v
— Representing Border (@ITVBorderRB) September 27, 2022
Earlier in the week, Douglas Ross said he backed Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget despite rich taxpayers benefiting more.
Justifying the measures on Friday, Ms Truss said: “The reality is, people having lower taxes across the board helps everybody because it helps grow the economy.
“It’s not necessarily popular to keep corporation tax low but I want to make sure we do because I want to make sure we attract investment into this country.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon launched a scathing attack on Ms Truss during question-time exchanges at Holyrood on Thursday.
Ms Sturgeon said: “I was, as many, many people were yesterday, critical of the fact that the Prime Minister was missing in action.
“But having heard her this morning and watched the market reaction as she spoke, perhaps we were all better off when the Prime Minister was missing in action than when she was actually out talking about the disaster she has inflicted on this country.”
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