Liz Truss blasts Labour’s plan to hand more power to the budget watchdog, warning that it would not help get the economy growing

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Liz Truss yesterday attacked a Labour proposal to hand more power to the budget watchdog, warning that it would not help get the economy growing.

The former prime minister said it ‘beggared belief’ that the Opposition thought Britain’s problems could be solved by bigger government.

She spoke out after Sir Keir Starmer revealed plans to strengthen powers given to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Ms Truss said: ‘The 25-year economic consensus has led to state spending being higher than it’s been for around 50 years, taxes at their highest since World War Two and a debt of over £2.5trillion.

‘This has caused low economic growth. It beggars belief that Labour think Britain’s problems will be solved by bigger government and even more powers for quangos.

‘Hard-working people and businesses – freed from overbearing regulation, tax, and debt – are going to get Britain growing again, not more bureaucrats in London.’

Liz Truss yesterday attacked a Labour proposal to hand more power to the budget watchdog, warning that it would not help get the economy growing

She spoke out after Sir Keir Starmer revealed plans to strengthen powers given to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)

Labour announced yesterday that it would hand more power to the OBR to prevent a repeat of the market collapse after Ms Truss’s mini-budget a year ago that led to her resignation as prime minister.

Under the party’s plans, ministers would be legally bound to consult the watchdog on major tax and spending changes.

Sir Keir said it was ‘necessary’ to introduce legislation to ensure the OBR had the power to independently publish its own impact assessment.

Speaking at the London Stock Exchange alongside the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, Sir Keir said: ‘A year ago huge damage was done to our economy and we’re still paying the price. That can never be allowed to happen again.’

The move would bring ‘stability for so many families that were affected by that disaster of a budget just a year ago’, the Labour leader added.

Labour announced the proposal a year on from Ms Truss’s mini-budget, which contained a number of tax cuts that spooked the markets.

Ms Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng declined to publish the OBR’s independent forecasts for the public finances alongside their spending plans.

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