Watford’s MP has been told to stop “spouting the party line” after he backed the mini-budget U-turn having previously hailed its policies.

New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed “almost all” planned tax cuts will now be shelved and the support for energy bills will end in April rather than two years.

After the economic fallout, Dean Russell previously said 30 million people would benefit from Liz Truss’s cuts and that “the PM has my full support in delivering this positive agenda”.

But following the policy U-turn yesterday (October 17), the Tory MP said: “Today’s announcement will stabilise financial markets; they reacted positively this morning.

“To achieve the growth that the Prime Minister wants to achieve, the markets need confidence and the decisions taken by her new Chancellor will achieve this.”

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Mrs Truss is already fighting for her job after the mini-budget decimated the pound, caused an interest rates spike and saw Labour gain a 33-point lead in the polls.

Watford’s MP added: “As I’ve said before, I want people to be able to keep more of the money that they earn, but it became clear that given the state of the global economy, previous proposals went further and faster than markets were anticipating.”

But Lib Dem councillor Ian Stotesbury said: “Our MP should be standing up for democratic principles instead of simply spouting the party line – just as he did over ‘Partygate’, Cummings, free school meals and every other major U-turn performed over the last few years.

“It's clear the Conservatives have no plan, no good ideas, and that sadly our MP is happy putting his party before his residents. We all deserve a general election."

Watford Labour's parliamentary candidate Matt Turmaine added: “We will all pay the price in higher mortgage rates and higher inflation for a long time to come thanks to the clueless Conservatives.

“The consequences of this chaos will hit Watford residents in their pockets for years.”

He also urged Mr Russell to “level with us” over what he would do if a ‘no confidence’ vote was called, but the Watford MP – who supported Mrs Truss’s campaign – has repeatedly backed her while citing “unprecedented global challenges”.