Former Prime Minister Liz Truss has said that Westminster is hiding a "pantomime politics" reality in which MPs hold little actual power, in a new episode of the Daily Expresso podcast.
Promoting her latest book, Bank Job, Ms Truss told host JJ Anisiobi: "I think the biggest secret Westminster is hiding is [that] MPs don't really have very much power, and there's a lot of pantomime politics going on."
She added: "They are really beholden to bureaucrats in terms of what they're actually doing. They're lying about how powerful they are."
Claims over 2022 mini-budget fallout
In her book, Ms Truss argues that the Bank of England was responsible for the economic turmoil that followed her 2022 mini-budget, which announced a £45billion package of unfunded tax cuts.
The fallout led to her departure from Number 10 after just 49 days in office, but she maintains the fiscal statement was not what sealed her fate. Instead, she points to a spike in the gilt market, partly influenced by the Bank's plans to begin its government bond selling programme, known as quantitative tightening.
She said two-thirds of the spike was also caused by liability driven investment (LDI) pension funds, which were hit by the mini-budget, but blamed Treasury officials for failing to warn her of either the Bank's plans or the LDI risks.
Criticism of the new Budget
The former PM also criticised Chancellor John Healey's first Budget, announced on Wednesday, calling it a "complete nothing burger" and "tumbleweed". She said: "The country is still going to the dogs. The debt's still going to be higher, the economy's stagnated."
"The economic growth forecasts were downgraded again and we're still heading for the cliff, we're still heading for a fiscal crisis," she added. "It's only because Paris is literally burning down that we look slightly better than France."
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also branded the Budget "not good enough, not strong enough and not bold enough", while Reform UK's Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick echoed Ms Truss's "nothing burger" criticism. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) thinktank similarly warned that the statement's "raft of fiddly measures" would do little to boost growth.
Prime Minister defends plans
Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the plans, which include a £100 handout to millions of households to help with soaring energy bills and a tax break for high street firms.
Mr Burnham said: "It's pretty bold to help 20million households with energy costs through the council tax cut this winter. It's bold to lift 70,000 businesses out of business rates altogether, and that will give a real lift to high streets up and down the country."
He added: "Of course, we already announced the plan to take VAT off people's electricity bills. There's a whole host of other measures. We're doing what we can to support people in difficult times, recognising that we don't have huge room for maneouvre.
"But as you can see in what the Chancellor has announced, there are strong signs that the economy will improve over the coming years. The fiscal rules are met, so we've done all of this within a very prudent and stable approach."
