Chichester MP Andrew Tyrie critical of Tory policies

Chichester's local MP Andrew Tyrie is also chairman of the Commons Treasury Committee and he has publically criticised Conservative initiatives depite being a Tory himself. 

Tyrie has called for tax cuts for businesses and has questioned government initiatives saying they "have seemed at best irrelevant to the task in hand, if not downright contradictory to it". According to former Conservative cabinet minister John Redwood, it is likely that some of Tyrie's views would be shared by other Tory backbenchers.

Tyrie says that instead of the focus being on big initiatives such as the Big Society, there needs to be a relentless focus on improving living standards. He said, "A much more coherent and credible plann for supply-side reform to improve the long-term economic growth rate of the UK economy is now needed."

John Redwood said "I think Andrew Tyrie speaks for a lot of Conservatives when he says that he thinks that some of the spending priorities are not appropriate for current austerity Britain and that we need to make stronger strides to get the deficit down by controlling spending.

"I think the 30 billion [pound] increase in current public spending last year was rather a large increase in the circumstances."

Economic Policy is being debated today (Monday 3 October) and these issues are likely to dominate the proceedings. 

What do you think about this controversy? Perhaps you voted for Tyrie and agree with him more than Osborne? Or perhaps the contrast is true for you - that you voted for Tyrie simply because he is our Tory representative but you disagree with his personal views? Let us know whatever you think. 

Photo thanks to altogetherfool on Flickr!