Kent political grandee Lord Michael Howard has revealed he predicted Liz Truss would be an “absolute disaster” as Prime Minister before she landed the top job.

Speaking to the Kent Politics Podcast, the former Folkestone MP, now Lord Howard of Lympne, said her platform for election as Tory leader, of cutting taxes and upping borrowing, would not work.

The former Tory leader disclosed he broke his own rule not to endorse leadership candidates in order to back Rishi Sunak instead.

Lord Howard also told the podcast he had never been impressed with Ms Truss in her roles in government.

He said: “The only exception I made to that [rule] was when Rishi Sunak was up against Liz Truss because I knew that Liz Truss would be an absolute disaster.

“So I broke my rule to campaign actively for Rishi to no avail. I didn’t hold a very high opinion of her as a cabinet minister in the various jobs she had done and the platform on which she was running…of immediately cutting taxes and increasing borrowing I knew would lead to disaster.”

While new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer dealt “quite effectively” with the recent summer riots, Lord Howard says his premiership is starting to develop cracks.

The new PM risks giving too much power to the trade unions and seems intent on stifling economic growth while risking reversing Britain’s place of strength in the G7 as a growing economy, he said.

Lord Howard offered views on how the Conservative Party can become an effective opposition and views Reform UK’s effect on the Tory vote.

Lord Howard, who splits his time between his homes in Kent and London, was MP for Folkestone and Hythe for 27 years until he was elevated to the House of Lords in 2010. His successor Damian Collins lost his seat to Labour in July.