Liz Truss has tonight come under fire from all sides as even senior Tories laid into her botched handling of the economy.
The blundering PM was urged to ditch her tax cuts for the rich bonanza as the financial crisis deepened amid fears for pensions, mortgages and jobs.
Ms Truss, who tried to shift the blame for the chaos caused by the mini-Budget, is left with three choices.
One is to plough on with her plan to hand £15.4billion to big businesses through her cancellation of a rise in corporation tax next year, despite warnings it will devastate the economy.
The second is to slash public spending, bringing misery to millions.
Or she can reverse her tax cuts in a humiliating U-turn.
Tory MP Robert Halfon accused the PM of “trashing the last 10 years of Conservatism” by handing tax cuts to the rich.
And after a grim meeting with backbenchers tonight, at which the PM was said to look shell-shocked, another MP said: “Liz either needs to get rid of her tax cuts or it will be her who is gone.”
Tory Stephen Hammond said it would be “sensible” for the PM to U-turn on corporation tax, as he urged her to prioritise “making sure the poorest in our society are looked after”.
Embattled Ms Truss left her Tory critics cold as she told MPs to focus on her energy bills bailout instead.
The PM urged her backbenchers to “highlight the devastation” that would have happened if bills had hit £6,000 a year.
But MPs were grim-faced coming out of the 45-minute 1922 Committee. Asked if it was positive one replied: “It… it happened”. Asked if he was reassured, another just laughed.
One MP complained afterwards: “It was like someone trying to light a fire using a magnifying glass. Using damp wood. In the dark.”
Another said: "The mood was honestly funereal, horrendous. I was shocked at how brutal it was".
Michael Gove, Sajid Javid, Mel Stride, Damian Green, Stephen Hammond and Grant Shapps were among prominent critics spotted at the packed gathering.
Ex-PM Theresa May was one of the scores of MPs who spilled out without speaking to the waiting press.
Figures today showed the economy shrank by 0.3% in August, with experts predicting the UK will plunge into recession by the end of this year.
Ms Truss today ruled out spending cuts, despite warnings she needs to slash £60billion to pay for her tax gift for the wealthy.
At PMQs earlier, Mr Starmer asked Ms Truss “when will she stop ducking responsibility, do the right thing and reverse her kamikaze budget”.
The PM insisted her plans would “get our country growing… through more jobs, more growth, more opportunities”.
But the Labour leader hit back: "Who voted for this? Not homeowners paying an extra £500 on their mortgages."
