BRADFORD MPs have reacted to the Government’s U-turn over a controversial plan to abolish the 45p rate of income tax for the highest earners.

As the row rumbles on, Judith Cummins, Naz Shah and Philip Davies all gave their thoughts, after Prime Minister Lizz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng backed down on the measure announced in the mini-budget on September 23.

On Tuesday, Ms Truss said she still wants to lower the top rate of income tax, but said the row over abolishing the 45p rate had become “a distraction”.

She said: “I would like to see the higher rate lower. I want us to be a competitive country but I have listened to feedback, I want to take people with me."

Ms Cummins, Labour MP for Bradford South, slammed the Government – arguing that it had “lost it”.

“This U-Turn does not help anyone paying higher mortgages and higher prices in the years to come,” she said.

“Far from creating clarity, it has added to the confusion and chaos for people and families across my constituency.

“It is unforgivable that this Government has added to the worries of many families in my constituency about making ends meet."

Ms Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, said: “The Government U-turn on the abolition of the top rate of income tax because wealthy Tory donors said they didn’t need the extra money, tells you everything you can possibly imagine about this Government.

“The decision to abolish the top rate of income tax signalled chaos to our markets and mortgage lenders, which led to some people receiving mortgage offers with interest rates as high as 10 per cent, and the Bank of England stepping in with a £65 billion bailout, to protect the whole thing from crashing down on us.

“The Tories have destroyed their economic credibility and damaged trust in the British economy.”

Mr Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, did defend the plans outlined in the mini-budget, but added that it was “politically inept” and that a U-turn was inevitable.

“The Government was merely proposing to reduce the highest rate of tax to the same level it was in 12 of the 13 years of the last Labour government, and the last time we cut the top rate of tax it actually raised more tax income for the treasury, so in economic and financial terms it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do,” he said.

“However, it was politically inept and completely overshadowed the huge amount of support the Chancellor announced to help people on low and average incomes like freezing the price of energy, reversing the increase in national insurance contributions and cutting the basic rate of income tax.

“As such, this U-turn became pretty inevitable pretty quickly.”