Richard Tice said Jeremy Hunt’s Budget is “proof that you can’t polish a turd” in a brutal assessment.
The Reform UK leader warned the plans set out by the Chancellor will mean “no growth” and leave people feeling “poorer”.
In a video posted on X, Mr Tice said: “Well this Budget was proof that you can’t polish a turd because the British economy, after years of mismanagement by the toxic Tories, is in recession.
“Despite Jeremy Hunt’s promises and the promises of the Office for Budget responsibility this time last year that it wouldn’t happen, it has happened.
“Per head this recession has gone on for almost two years, the longest since records began.
“This Budget continues more wasteful government spending, wasting tens of billions on net zero.
“The Bank of England continues to waste tens of billions of your cash on enriching city institutions.
“He’s frozen the tax thresholds on income tax. He hasn’t listened to Reform UK’s excellent plans to create genuine economic growth.
“This is a Budget by the Tories that will mean no growth and all of us will feel worse off, poorer and frankly it’s just more of the same.
“The sooner the election comes, the sooner we kick them out, the better.”
Reform UK’s pledges on the economy include hiking the tax-free personal allowance to £20,000, cutting corporation tax to 20% and then 15%, and saving £5 in every £100 of government spending in a bid to cut down on waste.
In his Budget this afternoon, the Chancellor confirmed a 2p cut in national insurance for employees and the self-employed as the centrepiece of the pre-election giveaway.
Mr Hunt said: “That means the average earner in the UK now has the lowest effective personal tax rate since 1975 and one that is lower than in America, France, Germany or any G7 country.”
But the changes come against a backdrop of frozen thresholds which will see more people dragged into tax or higher brackets as their earnings rise.
