Budget u-turn chaos shows it’s time for a General Election - MP

Responding to the breaking news that the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ripped up the Government's mini budget, Cumbrian MP Tim Farron said: "Let's be clear: this emergency statement is not in response to an external crisis, a war, a pandemic or global energy prices - it's in response to the ongoing crisis in the Conservative Government.

"It also speaks volume about the Conservatives' total disregard for rural communities like ours in Cumbria, that one of the only things that hasn't been axed from the mini budget is the cut in stamp duty - a measure which will fuel excessive second home ownership and the Airbnb boom that is turning our communities into ghost towns and ejecting local families.

"This chaos cannot be allowed to go on for any longer - it's time for a General Election."