The Tories know they may have just lost the next election

You could tell from the faces of Tory MPs that many of them think Kwasi Kwarteng seems set on offending undecided voters, writes John Rentoul

It is almost as if Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng have a pact to lose the election, but to do so knowing that they have done it their way (PRU/AFP via Getty Images)

The glum faces and feeble cheers on the benches behind Kwasi Kwarteng told us what many Conservative MPs think of the chancellor’s extraordinary gamble in today’s mini-Budget. They thought that perhaps Kwarteng had some clever announcement up his sleeve; that he might offset the electoral damage done by uncapping bankers’ bonuses with a tax cut that would benefit people on low to middle incomes more than the rich.

They couldn’t believe their ears when the chancellor tried not only to explain why the cap on City bonuses was a bad idea and boasted, “We’re going to get rid of it,” but went on to announce the abolition of the top rate of income tax, the 45 per cent rate on incomes above £150,000 a year. Even if they agreed with the top-rate tax cut in principle, they cringed at the thought that now, with inflation imposing hardship on their poorer constituents and food banks facing unprecedented demand, might be the time to do it.

It was no use Kwarteng pointing out that the highest rate of income tax at 40 per cent was the same as that which prevailed throughout the Labour government. Those were good economic times – until 2008, and a higher rate was brought in at the end of that time to help to share the burden of responding to the financial crisis.