The rise and fall of Liz Truss – from pork markets to a car crash

Published

3 years ago

October 20, 2022

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Just over a month since pledging to “deliver, deliver, deliver!” on the steps of Downing Street, today Liz Truss’s political career came to a screeching end.

She did deliver: a premiership characterised by chaotic U-turns and infighting, and what is likely the shortest tenure as PM in British history.

Critics believe she was never cut out for the job, even as they praised the steely determination and political skill that led her to Number 10. But her meteoric rise through the party ended almost as quickly as it started.

She entered parliament in 2010, as the Conservatives returned to government for the first time in 13 years, and quickly rose through the Tory ranks.

She was education minister, environment secretary, then justice secretary, before being demoted under Theresa May to chief secretary to the Treasury.

Sonia Khan, who was the adviser to former chancellor Sajid Javid, said Ms Truss’s role in the Treasury “was the making of her”.

She said: “She began to wear bright colours and use social media in a way her colleagues weren’t at the time, it gave her a platform to project herself and she used that to her advantage.”

However, Ms Truss was also becoming known for her awkward public appearances and was haunted by the now notorious “pork markets speech” at the Conservative Party conference in 2014.

As one MP who backed Ms Truss for the leadership put it: “Her biggest failure has been her inability to communicate her vision coherently.”

But where Ms Truss struggled to communicate with the public, she was slowly building a support base among the party membership. Despite campaigning against Brexit, she became a darling of the Conservative right wing. Her blend of free-market, tax-cutting conservatism and perceived willingness to challenge the status quo made her an unlikely grassroots favourite.

During her campaign to become leader, Ms Truss drew on her “left-wing” childhood growing up near Glasgow and Leeds. At Oxford University she was president of the Liberal Democrats society, and argued for the abolition of the monarchy – and marched against Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s; it was only after graduating that she joined the Conservatives and fought the safe Tory seat of South West Norfolk.

In cabinet, she became known as a grafter and at times a troublemaker, someone who “knows what she wants and gets it”, according to one ally.

Another Truss supporter said she had the “skin of a rhinoceros”. Many were surprised by her promotion to foreign secretary under Boris Johnson; when she became prime minister, she was one of the longest-serving cabinet ministers.

Ms Truss was seen as Mr Johnson’s preferred candidate during the leadership race, backed by some of his closest allies, including Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg. She beat Penny Mordaunt by just eight votes in the final ballot among Tory MPs, securing her place against Rishi Sunak. The Conservative Party membership would decide their fate.

Ms Truss’s path through the membership was rarely in doubt, however. It was only once she got the top job that things began to unravel.

Just two days into her role as prime minister, the death of Queen Elizabeth II shocked the nation. Ten days of mourning followed, and when politics did return, Ms Truss pushed ahead with her sweeping tax-cutting plans during a cost of living crisis.

Some allies still believe her bold vision for growth would have worked – easier to find though are MPs who blame Ms Truss for trashing the Tory record with the economy. What is clear is that her authority never recovered from an extraordinary mini-budget just over two weeks into the job.

First impressions matter and very few I have spoken to are convinced she could have recovered in the eyes of the electorate.

Many see Ms Truss’s sacking of the former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as the moment her fate was sealed. The pair were long-time allies, bound together by a shared vision for the economy; but sacking him, before delivering a lacklustre speech, did nothing to appease her now mutinous Tory MPs.

After Mr Kwarteng’s sacking, one MP told me “that was ruthless” adding “she’s toast”. Another said: “Her sacking him shows just how weak she is”. Former chancellor Kenneth Clarke said Mr Kwarteng was a “scapegoat” blamed for carrying out Liz Truss’s instructions.

There was an expectation replacing Mr Kwarteng with Jeremy Hunt would steady the ship, but on his first working day as chancellor he U-turned on the majority of Ms Truss’ economic pledges – made just three weeks before.

Many Tory MPs then saw Mr Hunt as the de facto prime minister as any support she did have slipped away.

As MPs rapidly started to lose faith in their leader, Suella Braverman quit as home secretary for sending a sensitive message to a colleague from her personal email, although many questioned if that was the real reason.

Then parliament descended into chaos on the evening of 19 October, with confusion over whether Labour’s opposition day vote on fracking was actually a vote of confidence in the government and accusations of Tory MPs “manhandling” their colleagues into voting with the government.

The number of Tory MPs calling for Ms Truss then went from a stream to a river.

Asked to describe Liz Truss, an MP who previously served alongside her in cabinet says she is “the sort of person you want to go for a drink with, but not drive you home at the end of the night”.

Today, Liz Truss’s tenure has come to a crashing end at spectacular speed, as Tory MPs assigned another leader to the scrapheap. The party is now searching for its fifth prime minister in just over six years.

UK

Sir Keir Starmer could be ousted as PM within months, two senior Labour MPs tell Sky News

Published

3 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer could be ousted as PM within months, two senior Labour MPs tell Sky News

Two senior Labour MPs have suggested the prime minister may have to go within months if the government continues to perform poorly.

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates said his sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – have “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.

Both warned that, if Labour performs badly in next May’s elections across Wales, Scotland and London, it could mark the end of his time in Downing Street.

Coates added: “The level of unhappiness and despair in parts of the Labour Party is so striking that right now, on the first anniversary, I am hearing from ministers in government that Starmer might have to go in months.”

Reform UK is surging in the polls in Wales, while Labour faces a threat from left-wing parties such as the Greens in London.

It comes as the prime minister made it clear that Rachel Reeves has his “complete support” as chancellor and remains integral to his project, Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby understands.

She looked visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions, with a spokesperson claiming she had been affected by a “personal matter”.

A day earlier, Sir Keir’s controversial welfare bill was passed despite a sizeable rebellion from Labour MPs, with major U-turns meaning a new £5bn black hole has appeared in the country’s finances.

One senior figure told Rigby that the pair were as “as close politically” as any chancellor and prime minister have ever been.

“She is going absolutely nowhere,” they added.

Ms Reeves’s tears sent markets spiralling, with the value of the pound and long-term government bonds falling sharply.

Later in the day Sir Keir, said Ms Reeves will be chancellor for a “very long time to come”.

The prime minister said it was “absolutely wrong” to suggest her tearful appearance in the Commons related to the welfare U-turn.

“It’s got nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with what’s happened this week. It was a personal matter for her,” he said while speaking to the BBC’s podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson.

“I’m not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you about that. It is a personal matter.”

Asked if she will remain in post, he said: “She will be chancellor by the time this is broadcast, she will be chancellor for a very long time to come, because this project that we’ve been working on to change the Labour party, to win the election, change the country, that is a project which the chancellor and I’ve been working on together.”

He said Ms Reeves has done a “fantastic job” and added: “She and I work together, we think together. In the past, there have been examples – I won’t give any specific – of chancellors and prime ministers who weren’t in lockstep. We’re in lockstep.”

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also offered a strong defence for the prime minister and chancellor.

He told Sky News this morning that Sir Keir has been “consistently underestimated” and was “of course” safe as prime minister.

And he said Ms Reeves was a “tough character” who was ” resilient” and “here to stay”.

UK

Greater Manchester Police investigating grooming cases with more than 700 victims

Published

3 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Greater Manchester Police investigating grooming cases with more than 700 victims

Despite making “significant improvements”, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has lost the “trust and confidence” of some victims of grooming gangs, according to a report by the police watchdog.

Michelle Skeer, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said that since 2019, when GMP started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, “the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation”.

The document, published today, said police have live investigations into “multi-victim, multi-offender” child sexual exploitation inquiries, involving 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects.

Grooming gangs scandal timeline

But despite recording improvements, a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) also identified:

• Various training gaps within the investigation team
• Lack of consistency in evaluating case files between social care, health and police
• Failures to initially support victims meant they had “lost trust and confidence” in police

The report was commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in 2024 to evaluate whether police, councils and health services can protect children from sexual exploitation in the future.

Its release comes days after Sir Keir Starmer announced he was launching a new national inquiry into grooming gangs after previously arguing one was not necessary,

The findings were issued as the final part of the CSE (child sexual exploitation) Assurance Review process which started in 2017. The first three reports examined non-recent child sexual exploitation in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale.

Mr Skeer said that the force has been trying to improve its service to those who have experienced sexual exploitation, but previous failings have badly affected trust in GMP.

He said: “For some, trust and confidence in the police had been lost, and the force would not be able to rectify their experiences.

“It is vital that improvements are led by victims’ experiences, and if they do come forward, they are supported, protected and taken seriously.”

A recent report by Baroness Casey found a significant over-representation of Asian men who are suspects in grooming gangs in Greater Manchester, adding though authorities are in “denial” more needs to be done to understand why this is the case.

Inspectors also said there were “training gaps” in some investigation teams and issues with data sharing, with local councils sometimes not willing to provide detectives with information, leading to “significant delays in investigations” into grooming gangs.

It cites problems with intelligence provided by Manchester City Council, which took months to arrive and “was so heavily redacted that some pages contained only a few words”, the report said.

GMP is the only force in the country to set up a dedicated team to investigate grooming gangs. Called the Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team (CSE MIT) it has about 100 staff and a ringfenced budget.

In October 2024, the force told inspectors there were 59 live multi-victim, multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations, of which 13 were being managed by the CSE MIT.

The report adds: “The force fully accepts that it made mistakes in the past.

“It has taken positive and effective steps to learn from these mistakes and improve how it investigates recent and non-recent child sexual exploitation.”

Separately, the Baird Inquiry published in July 2024 found officers at GMP were abusing their power – making unlawful arrests, unlawful and demeaning strip searches, sometimes treating victims as perpetrators, and traumatising those who have suffered sexual abuse or domestic violence.

UK

Wes Streeting defends chancellor and PM ahead of ‘seismic’ 10-year plan for NHS

Published

3 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Wes Streeting defends chancellor and PM ahead of 'seismic' 10-year plan for NHS

The health secretary has offered a strong defence of the prime minister and chancellor – ahead of Sir Keir Starmer setting out his 10-year vision for the NHS.

PM ‘might have to go in months’ – politics latest

Wes Streeting dismissed suggestions the prime minister could be forced out in months following the toughest week of his premiership yet, and described Rachel Reeves as “resilient” and would “bounce back” following her tearful appearance in the Commons on Wednesday.

Overnight, two senior sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – told Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates that they had “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.

The health secretary, who was speaking as Sir Keir prepares to set out his 10-year vision for the NHS, said the prime minister had been “consistently underestimated”.

Asked by Kamali Melbourne on Sky News Breakfast whether Sir Keir was “safe”, Mr Streeting said: “Of course.

“Keir Starmer has been consistently underestimated. I wonder when people will learn.

“They said he couldn’t win the Labour leadership, but he did. They said he couldn’t change the Labour Party, but he did.

“They said he couldn’t take the Labour Party from its worst defeat since the 1930s to election victory last year. And he did and now the cynics say he can’t change the country, but he will.”

As for Ms Reeves – whose tearful appearance in the Commons spooked markets after the prime minister initially failed to back her, Mr Streeting said the chancellor was a “tough character” who was “resilient and she will bounce back”.

The health secretary declined to expand on why Ms Reeves was in the chamber at all yesterday, repeating that it was a personal matter.

“Rachel Reeves as chancellor is here to stay,” he continued.

“We need her to get the economy from strength to strength, to make sure that family finances are in better health than we were when we came into office.”

Speculation about the futures of the two most senior members of the government threaten to overshadow the announcement today, which the government says is “one of the most seismic shifts” in the health service’s history.

Sir Keir will pledge three main facets of the plan: moving care into the community, digitising the NHS, and a focus on sickness prevention.

The prime minister will announce neighbourhood health services will be rolled out across England to improve access to the NHS and to shift care out of overstrained hospitals.

Sir Keir has already promised thousands more GPs will be trained, and to end the 8am “scramble” for an appointment.

He also previously said his government will bring the NHS into the digital age, with “groundbreaking” new tools to support GPs rolled out over the next two years – including AI to take notes, draft letters and enter data.

And he will promise new contracts that will encourage and allow GP practices to cover a wider geographical area, so small practices will get more support.

Unite, one of the UK’s largest healthcare unions, welcomed the plan cautiously but said staff need to be the focus to ensure people are better looked after.

‘Reform or die’

Sir Keir said: “The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it.

“But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future.

“That ends now. Because it’s reform or die.”

Neighbourhood health services

The newly announced neighbourhood health services will provide “pioneering teams” in local communities, so patients can more conveniently access a full range of healthcare services close to home.

Local areas will be encouraged to trial innovative schemes like community outreach door-to-door to detect early signs of illness and reduce pressure on GPs and A&E.

The aim is to eventually have new health centres open 12 hours a day, six days a week to offer GP services as well as diagnostics, post-operative care and rehab.

They will also offer services like debt advice, employment support, stop smoking help or weight management.

More NHS dentists

Dentists will also be part of the plan, with dental care professionals part of the neighbourhood teams.

Dental “therapists” will carry out check-ups, treatments and referrals, while dental nurses could give education and advice to parents or work with schools and community groups.

Newly qualified dentists will be required to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, which they have said will be three years.