The Tories have made the UK 'laughing stock', says Labor defecting donor

A major Tory donor has announced his defection to the Labor Party with a £100,000 donation to Sir Keir Starmer's party.

Gareth Quarry has accused Liz Truss and her Kwasi Kwarteng of being 'fanatics' and said the Tories had made Britain "a laughingstock".

< p>The multi-millionaire said the Prime Minister and Chancellor practiced "GCSE economics", but described Labor as "sensible people who have the down to earth".

"The behavior of the Tories for several years has made the UK a laughing stock," Mr Quarry told The Times.

He added: “What came to mind, especially from then the Johnson years is that there is a desperately growing inequality that just seems unfair. I think people need hope. They need to hope that their personal situation will improve, they need to hope that they will get a break."

Angry at sweeping, borrowing-fueled tax cuts , the donor said that Ms. Truss and Mr. Kwarteng "has a game of roulette where they bet everything on a number to come up in the next round".

Mr. Quarry - a former town lawyer who chairs legal recruitment giant SSQ - said his £100,000 donation to Labor was "largely the start of a process". He also became a member of the party.

The entrepreneur met Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and other members of Sir Keir's team at the conference in Liverpool "I think Starmer and his colleagues really want to build a very close partnership between government and business." /p>

He previously donated around £75,000 to the Tories under David Cameron and Theresa May , and is said to have participated in exclusive 'Leaders' Group' donor events with senior ministers.

It comes as Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng drop plans to scrap the tax rate 45 pence for top earners after a Tory revolt, in a humiliating U-turn at the Tory conference.

"We understand and we have listened," Mr Kwarteng said, calling the drop 45p rates of "a distraction from our overriding mission to address the challenges facing the country". U-turned, saying they "both accepted it was a distraction".

The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said she remained committed to the rest of the budget and that 'she was confident it could pass parliament.< /p>

The U-turn will cut unfunded tax cuts in the Chancellor's mini-budget by just £2billion, from £45 billion to £43 billion, said Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) - who called the decision "trivial".

The head of IFS told BBC Radio 4's Today: "To the extent that what we saw a couple of weeks ago led to fiscal unsustainability, it's still the case. Nothing has really changed."

Mr. Johnson added: "The Bank will be just as concerned about £43 billion being pumped into the economy as it would have been with £45 billion."

The Former Tory cabinet minister Stephen Crabb has said the U-turn will "not draw a line" under the rebellion of Tory MPs, saying many will still worry about cuts to social benefits and public services.

However, former minister Michael Gove - after expressing his own anger at the abolition of the 45p rate - has indicated he is now ready to vote for the mini budget.

"I want to support and I think, based on everything I've heard, there's a lot that can be enthusiastically supported," he told Times Radio.

But Mr Gove added he would need 'a lot of persuading' to support the Government if Ms Truss decides not to increase benefits online with inflation - a decision likely to be voted on separately from the mini budget.

"I wouldn't want to prejudge an argument...sometimes I have to do things and adopt policies that would be deeply unattractive in other circumstances,” he said. "But my basic position, my starting position is, yes, Boris was right [to commit to increasing benefits in line with inflation]."

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