Northumberland MP hits out at 'embarrassing' Prime Minister after Labour surges ahead in the polls

Liz Truss has found her fledgling premiership under pressure after chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s so-called “mini-budget” saw panic in the financial markets, and the value of the pound dropped to record lows against the dollar in the immediate aftermath.

The International Monetary Fund also urged the government to reconsider over fears planned tax cuts for the most wealthy could heap more pressure on prices, while the Bank of England was forced to step in and buy Government bonds to protect the pounds value.

With interest rates expected to go up and drive up the cost of mortgages, the polls have made grim reading for Conservative politicans. A YouGov poll published on Thursday put Labour at 54% compared to the Conservatives on 21% – a gap of 33%.

Other polls also showed large margins, while one released by PeoplePolling showed a 30-point Labour lead, with the party on 50%.

Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck, said his party should take the results with a pinch of salt, but felt that it did show progress was being made.

He said: “The damage done to the Conservative Party over the last few days by Liz Truss and her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is difficult to overstate.

“It is a tough sell to promise huge levels of borrowing that almost cause a pension fund crisis and housing market crash in order to give the richest one per cent a tax cut, and the Prime Minister found that out the hard way in what was a rather embarrassing and quite frightening media round on Thursday morning.

“While I think opinion polls should be treat with some scepticism it is clear that Labour are now by far the favoured party across the country. This Government’s radical right wing economic deal is anathema to working people up and down the country. Labour have finally recognised this fact and have offered policies that we know have been popular for years, like bringing rail and energy into public hands and fully funded breakfast clubs.”

Northumberland’s Conservative MPs – Guy Opperman (Hexham) Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) and Anne Marie Trevelyan (Berwick) were all contacted for comment, but did not respond.