Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has said the new prime minister has no plan on what he’s going to do or how he’s going to pay for it.

Speaking on GB News he said: “So the Prime Minister has agreed to a little inquisition. He went before Laura Kuenssberg, one of the great interviewers in the country, and he said absolutely nothing.

“He clearly has no plan about what he wants to do or how he’s going to afford it. And so we’ve had, in the few days since he’s been prime minister, all sorts of off-the-cuff announcements that, when you add them up, come to a great deal of money.

“So, £18 billion for social care. Well, we all want social care sorted out, but can we afford it?

“£18.8 billion to build more council houses. £22.7 billion to nationalise Thames water. £14.1 billion on defence, a mere trifle. £12.4 billion to upgrade tax thresholds. Oh, and the favourite for all GB News viewers – the ones you’re really waiting for and are keen to pay for – £8 billion to get overseas aid back up to the 0.7% target.

“This works out at a staggering £4,300 per household in extra taxation, it has to be said according to figures worked out by the Conservative Party. But this is very straightforward to do because things like tax threshold costs, you can work out with the ready reckoners that are provided by HM Treasury. These figures are not difficult to come to.

“What we’re getting is a lot of the touchy-feely, hopey-changey stuff, but no real action that will do things that will change people’s lives for the better.

“Because to do that we need two things. One is we need growth, and the other is we need to cut expenditure. I’ve said it before: this country is taxed as much as it can afford.

“The UK almost never goes above 38% of GDP in tax, and once it does, people change their behaviour to bring it down again, and expenditure is running at about 45%, that cannot continue indefinitely.

“So we need to cut public expenditure, and we need to grow the economy. But we will never grow the economy with the mad energy policies that we’ve got, that are making us cold and poor unless you live in some of these eco houses in Manchester, in which case you’re being gently roasted in the summer heat because they retain the heat so effectively that you just boil if the sun shines.

“This is a failure of socialism, of course, but what we need is capitalism, growth, lower taxes, and less spending.”