Truss accused of bypassing scrutiny over budget

Sir Keir Starmer has joined senior Conservatives in criticising Tory leadership frontrunner Liz Truss over reports she will bypass an independent spending watchdog when she unveils her emergency budget.

One senior Conservative MP has warned the next prime minister would be “flying blind” if she sidelines the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) next month.

Set up by Ms Truss’s former mentor George Osborne, the OBR produces two forecasts on the UK economy every year, timed to coincide with the budget and the autumn statement.

Sir Keir, who said there should have been an emergency budget “months ago”, said: “The OBR is there to make sure that money is spent wisely and properly. So of course you need the OBR in place for that.

“That is why there has been such a reaction to Liz Truss’ proposal that she is going to just put that to one side.”

Mel Stride, the chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee and a Rishi Sunak supporter, told LBC: “That is kind of like flying blind.

“It means that you do all these dramatic things on tax etc but you don’t actually know what the independent forecaster believes the impact will be on the public finances. And I think that is quite a serious situation were that to come about.”

Asked if OBR scrutiny would be bureaucratic in a time of crisis, Mr Stride said: “No. We are asking for transparency and reassurance that whatever whoever wins this contest comes forward with is affordable and not reckless.”

Lord Griffiths, the Conservative peer who was Margaret Thatcher’s policy chief, said: “The Bank of England’s devastating outlook for the economy contrasts with Liz’s optimism – for her to now prevent the OBR doing proper analysis of the facts would seem to indicate complete loss of confidence in the policy she is advocating.”

On Saturday Tory ex-cabinet minister Michael Gove claimed Ms Truss’s plans for tax cuts during an economic crisis were a “holiday from reality”.

The move would put the “stock options of FTSE 100 executives” before the nation’s poorest, he said in the Times.

Ms Truss argues that tax cuts will help stimulate the economy, helping the UK to exit the crisis more quickly.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, a close ally of Ms Truss tipped to be her first chancellor, has said there is more help coming this winter as energy bills skyrocket.