During a House of Commons debate on the Queen's Speech, Mr Major said the economy was slowing down and the government's optimistic growth forecasts were off the mark.

Mr Major, now a humble Conservative backbencher, said: "The government have been very fortunate so far. They have had the longest honeymoon in recorded history.

"They inherited a strong economy and they are now weakening it.

"They inherited falling unemployment and it is soon, sadly I fear, to begin going up.

'Labour inherited a growing economy'

"They inherited a growing economy and, partly as a result of their measures, it is now beginning to slow down."

Mr Major, who resigned in the wake of the Tories' general election drubbing in May 1997, said: "Despite the brilliance of the hype, it is a miserable performance and the easy time for the government is now coming to an end.

"The government are about to begin to collide with reality."

Gordon Brown has forecast growth of 1-1.5%

Mr Major said the growth forecasts of 1-1.5% made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, were wrong.

He said: "It will be substantially below 1%, perhaps 0.5%, conceivably even less."

'Mary Poppins is needed'

Mr Major said the government's "fairy-tale" forecasts of 2.25-2.75% for the second year would only come true if Mary Poppins was placed in the Treasury.

The former PM, who also served as chancellor under Margaret Thatcher, said: "It defies logic. The rest of the world dips and is cutting its growth in our markets.

"Sterling is strong and our markets are diminishing and, on the back of that...we are, remarkably, going to grow at an accelerating rate year on year.

"What has the chancellor been taking? What hallucinatory forecasts drift past him?"

Mr Major conceded the country was not in "deep difficulties" and the underlying economy was very strong but he said it was slowing.

'Brown has made mistakes'

He accused Mr Brown of making several "domestic mistakes", including tax rises on pensions and savings.

Mr Major described the Queen's Speech as "very unusual" for the second year of a parliament and said there was no obvious theme.

He also accused ministers of "constitutional tinkering" and putting the union between England and Scotland at risk.

Mr Major said: "The Scottish Parliament will put the union at risk unless we are careful and skilful.

'The Union is in danger'

"Where are the policies to encourage the newly established Scottish assembly not to bid for independence and realise it is better to stay joined at the hip as part of the UK?"

Mr Major said the West Lothian question - the ability of Scottish MPs to decide policies affecting England while English MPs cannot determine Scottish policy - would become marked with the advent of the Edinburgh Assembly.

William Hague...wants an English Parliament

He said: "This is the government's mess. They need to correct, before it is too late and creates too much bitterness, the imbalance they have created - not by an English Parliament but by an English dimension to a United Kingdom Parliament."

The current Conservative leader William Hague, says a future Tory government may consider an English Parliament to counter-balance the Scottish Assembly.