Harlow MP Robert Halfon has slammed Liz Truss for treating the UK like “laboratory mice” in an “ultra free market experiment”.
During an appearance on Sky News, the Conservative MP would not deny that MPs are considering installing a new leader.
It came after Jeremy Hunt insisted that Liz Truss is still in charge of her government, as he introduced plans to effectively scrap the economic vision that brought her to power.
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Mr Halfon said: “Of course, colleagues are unhappy with what is going on. We’re all talking to see what can be done about it.”
While he stopped short of calling for the Prime Minister to go just yet, he did launch an extraordinary attack on the government and the guiding philosophy of the mini-budget.
He added: “I worry that, over the past few weeks, the government has looked like libertarian jihadists and treated the whole country as kind of laboratory mice on which to carry out ultra, ultra free market experiments. And this is not where the country is.
“There’s been one horror story after another.”
Under current party rules Ms Truss is protected from a leadership challenge for 12 months, but that could change if enough Tory MPs demand it.
Five Tory MPs have openly called for her to go, but behind the scenes many more reportedly have doubts about her ability to turn the situation around, with Labour enjoying substantial opinion poll leads.
In an interview with the BBC, aired on Monday night, the PM admitted to and apologised for “mistakes” during her short tenure to date.
She said she has “adjusted what we’re doing” after the government’s fiscal policies spooked the markets, putting in place a new chancellor with a fresh strategy to “restore economic stability”.
She added: “I do think it is the mark of an honest politician who does say, yes, I’ve made a mistake.”
Earlier in the year, Mr Halfon said he had lost confidence in then PM Boris Johnson.
He issued a statement, on July 6, saying that he felt “the pubic have been misled” about the appointment of former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.
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