Adam Boulton: What Liz Truss and Donald Trump have in common

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2024

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Liz Truss has much more in common with Donald Trump than just the first three letters of his surname.

Despite presenting themselves as “outsiders”, both enjoyed substantial political careers and reached the top of their profession as prime minister of the UK and president of the United States respectively.

In both cases, their periods in power ended in ways that outraged their opponents and many in their own Conservative and Republican parties. Economic chaos brought on by her rash policies forced Truss out of office after just 49 days in 10 Downing Street.

Trump lost the 2020 election, refused to accept his defeat and praised the mob who stormed the Capitol in an attempt to keep him in the White House.

Many thought they were finished for good. But like those who had laughed at their ambitions earlier in their careers, the nay-sayers were wrong again. Both have been reprieved and continue to be respected as forces in their parties.

Trump is currently the narrow frontrunner to beat Joe Biden and win re-election on 5 November, while Truss said this week: “I definitely have unfinished business. Definitely.”

Truss is still an MP and intends to stand again in her safe Tory seat in Norfolk. She was on her feet in the Commons this week to oppose Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak‘s attempts to prevent rising generations from smoking tobacco.

Book promotion

On Monday she will be back in Washington DC speaking at the conservative thinktank, the Heritage Foundation, to promote her grandly titled memoir Ten Years To Save The West.

Most of the book could be more accurately described as Forty Nine Days To Lose My Job, yet Truss is determined to place her personal fate in the context of a wider global ideological struggle. Her final chapter lists “important lessons we can learn so we can win”.

They include “We Must Dismantle The Leftist State”, “We Must Restore Democratic Accountability” and “Conservatism Must Win Across The Free World, Particularly In The United States of America.”

Liz Truss has always been a shape-shifter. Born of left-wing academic parents, she was first heard of 30 years ago as a young Liberal Democrat calling for the abolition of the monarchy. She supported Remain during the 2016 EU referendum before becoming a hard Brexiteer.

Right-wing populist transformation

Her latest comeback tour “confirms her transformation into a radical right-wing populist”, according to Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, the author of The Conservative Party After Brexit.

Like Trump, Truss rails against “extremist environmentalist dogma and wokeism”. Her vision of a failing British state which has been “captured by leftist ideas” is of a piece with Trump’s vision of “American carnage” unless he is there to Make America Great Again.

Of course, Truss backs Trump over Biden in the upcoming election. It is not usual practice for former British political leaders to give such a blatant endorsement in a foreign election.

“I think that our opponents feared the Trump presidency more than they fear the Democrats being in office,” she says. “I believe that we need a strong America… the world was safer [when Trump was president]”.

By “opponents” Truss means the “totalitarian regimes in China, Iran and Russia”. Her unwaveringly aggressive stance is probably where she differs most with Trump, and some of his Republican cheerleaders. He openly admires dictators, while encouraging his followers to block aid to Ukraine against Russia.

‘Prime Minister Truss’

All the same, her rhetoric strikes a chord with the cold warriors of the Heritage Foundation who are treating her with the respect she craves.

Billed American-style as “Prime Minister Truss” her hosts describe her as “one of the few British politicians who really understand the United States and the direction America’s conservative movement is taking”.

Heritage’s “Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom” previously had her over in February to deliver its annual keynote lecture.

In truth, Truss’s knowledge of the real Thatcher seems to extend little further than raiding the dressing-up box for some cosplay photographs when she was foreign secretary and wearing a tank as a fashion accessory.

Truss is odd but so is Trump. Ironclad imperviousness to looking ridiculous is a trait she shares with the ex-president. Both operate in a post-truth world in which what they say and how they act trumps objective facts.

Never to blame

If things go wrong, they are never to blame. Others – especially “Deep State” bureaucracies – have conspired against them.

In her memoir, Truss says that when she was prime minister she did not know about important facets of the national economy such as the vulnerability of LDI pension funds. She condemns the Bank of England for not telling her.

She claims the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the Treasury did her down even though she did not allow the OBR to review her mini-budget in advance and sacked the Treasury’s top civil servant on day one.

Now she complains about “a mass of quangos, independent regulators, official advisory bodies and assorted public sector organisations constraining and obstructing ministers at every turn”.

She wants to abolish the OBR, the United Nations, the UK Supreme Court and wants the current governor of the Bank of England to resign.

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‘Democratic accountability’

Taking absolute power by winning control of conservative factions and crushing any person or institution which stands in her way is the kind of “democratic accountability” she believes in.

Truss’s American friendships extend beyond the Heritage Foundation. She shared a platform at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with Steve Bannon, who served as a political strategist in the Trump administration and was subsequently indicted for fraud.

When Bannon described far-right figure Tommy Robinson, co-founder of the English Defence League, as “a hero”, she remained silent. Trump’s friend Nigel Farage, whom Truss said she’d like to see join the Conservative Party, was also at CPAC.

Failed leaders evaded exclusion

The disaster of her premiership should have disqualified Truss from further active involvement in politics. She made the cost of living crisis much worse for most mortgage payers.

Unabashed, she is still receiving a polite hearing in Tory circles – including from the journalists she hand-picked for a limited round of interviews on the book’s publication.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has raised Truss several times with the prime minister at PMQs, referring to the “political wing of the Flat Earth Society” and “the tin-foil hat brigade”.

Sunak replied saying Starmer was “sniping from the sidelines”, with the PM not directly referring to Truss.

However, he previously accused her of “fairytale economics” during a leadership debate.

The Republican Party had a golden opportunity to get rid of Trump after the 6 January insurrection.

He would have been disqualified from future office if the Senate had voted for his second impeachment. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, thought about it but then the Republicans decided it was in their best electoral interests to keep him around.

Truss not to be underestimated

In this country there has been a lot of scoffing at Truss’s latest manifestation. It would be a mistake to laugh her out of court.

Her “unfinished business” includes being a player who will drag the Tories to the right after a general election defeat. She would not need acceptance from the markets or the whole country to become party leader.

She would just need to win over the ageing hundred thousand or so voting members of the Conservative Party. They elected her once before – she was UK prime minister only 18 months ago – and nobody likes admitting they made a mistake.

If Trump manages to be re-elected, their type of conservatism may look appealing to some card-carrying “Conservatives” here.

Truss as leader or senior shadow minister would keep Trumpism alive in this country.

The British Conservative Party would be well advised to think carefully before being trussed up for five years of opposition with her borrowed, far-right, self-obsession.

Politics

UK ‘ready to spend well over £100m’ on possible deployment of British troops to Ukraine

Published

25 mins ago

October 21, 2025

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UK 'ready to spend well over £100m' on possible deployment of British troops to Ukraine

The UK is ready to spend “well over” £100m on a possible deployment of British forces to Ukraine if Donald Trump secures a peace deal with Russia, the defence secretary has said.

John Healey also said Vladimir Putin views Britain as his “number one enemy” because of the country’s support for Ukraine.

The defence secretary’s plan includes the preparation of military personnel to join a multinational force that would be sent to help secure Ukraine’s borders if the US president brokers a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv.

He signalled British troops could be ready to deploy as soon as that happened and he said this could include soldiers on the ground.

Some of the anticipated money to prepare for any mission is already being spent.

The defence secretary also warned of a “new era of threat” and said the risk of wider conflict in Europe has not been as great since the end of the Second World War.

Mr Healey used a lecture at Mansion House in London to talk about efforts led by the UK and France to build a “coalition of the willing” of more than 30 nations to form what he called a “Multinational Force Ukraine” over the past six months.

This force would help to secure Ukraine’s skies and seas and train its troops if Russia agrees to halt its full-scale war.

“So, as President Trump leads the push for peace here in Europe, we are ready to lead the work to secure it in the long-term,” the defence secretary said.

“For our Armed Forces, I am already reviewing readiness levels and accelerating millions of pounds of funding to prepare for any possible deployment into Ukraine.”

Asked how much money, he said it would be “well over” £100m.

Mr Healey trumpeted the UK’s support for Ukraine, including a record £4.5bn in assistance this year, and taking over from the United States in co-chairing a wider group of nations that have been sending weapons and money to Kyiv.

“This is why President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy calls the UK his closest ally,” he said.

“This is why Putin ranks Britain as his number one enemy.”

But he warned that as Russia’s aggression grew in Ukraine and beyond its borders, “Britain and our NATO allies stand more unified, and stronger”.

Giving a stark verdict of the security landscape, Mr Healey said: “This is – undeniably – a new era of threat. The world is more unstable, more uncertain, more dangerous. Not since the end of the Second World War has Europe’s security been at such risk of state-on-state conflict.”

He said this required what he described as “a new era for defence”.

He said: “This is now an age for hard power, strong alliances and sure diplomacy.”

The defence secretary said plans for the new era would include increasing defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – though critics have accused the UK and other European allies of playing smoke and mirrors with the target, questioning how much will really be spent on weapons and troops.

“As I look ahead to the rest of this decade, our task, in this new age of hard power is to secure peace in our continent and to forge stronger deterrence and resilience, a New Deal for European security,” said Mr Healey.

Turning to the Middle East, he also announced the UK was sending a two-star military officer to work as the deputy to the US commander, charged with monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Politics

Govt to allow early release of thousands of rapists and violent criminals, Tories claim in sentencing row

Published

25 mins ago

October 21, 2025

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Govt to allow early release of thousands of rapists and violent criminals, Tories claim in sentencing row

The government will allow thousands of rapists, child sex offenders and other violent criminals to be released early from prison, the Conservatives claimed as a row over sentencing law reforms erupted.

Ahead of MPs debating the Sentencing Bill, introduced to tackle the growing prison population, on Tuesday, the Tories accused Labour of favouring criminals over victims and said the government’s approach is a “betrayal of victims”.

But Labour accused the Conservative Party of “rank hypocrisy” over prison overcrowding and the previous government’s early release policies.

The bill will restrict the use of short sentences and instead strengthen community punishments.

It will also include an “earned progression scheme”, which allows convicts who demonstrate good behaviour to be freed earlier, with enhanced supervision in the community followed by an unsupervised period on licence.

There will be a minimum release point of 33% for standard determinate sentences and a 50% minimum for more serious standard determinate sentences – as well as more tagging to monitor offenders in the community.

The Tories claim the bill as it is would mean 85% (6,500) of the most serious jailed offenders could qualify for early release because they are serving standard sentences, while more than 83% of child sex offenders and 62% of convicted rapists would serve reduced sentences.

They have tabled an amendment to the bill to ensure a carve out for the most serious crimes, so those who commit assault by penetration, rape, grievous bodily harm, stalking and sexual offences against children cannot be released early.

Under Labour plans to abolish custodial sentences below 12 months, the Tories calculated up to 43,000 offenders could avoid jail altogether.

They said the bill could lead to permanent leniency in sentencing.

Conservative shadow justice minister Dr Kieran Mullan said: “Labour’s early release plan is a betrayal of victims and a gift to rapists and paedophiles. Keir Starmer is putting criminals before communities and letting predators out early.

“Under Labour’s plans, thousands of the most serious and sickening offences imaginable would no longer be treated as such. What an insult to thousands of victims across the country.

“Anyone who vote for these plans will have to explain exactly why these crimes do not count among the most serious offences.

“The Conservatives will fight this moral rot every step of the way.”

But sentencing minister Jake Richards accused the Tories of “rank hypocrisy” as he said the previous government took prisons to “breaking point”.

He said Labour are “cleaning up the mess” left by the Tories and accused them of “feigned outrage”.

“The Conservatives’ rank hypocrisy is shameful. They built this crisis, then feigned outrage when the consequences arrived,” he added.

“They took our prisons to breaking point, released thousands of serious offenders early and pushed Britain to the brink of a situation where police could no longer make arrests and courts could no longer prosecute.

“That would have been a total collapse of law and order.

“Now they attack us for cleaning up the mess they made. They are behaving like arsonists complaining the fire service couldn’t stop the flame.

“This Labour government believes in prison and in punishment that cuts crime.

“We’re delivering the biggest prison expansion since the Victorians, reforming sentencing to keep the public safe and building a justice system worthy of the name.”

Politics

Canadian province to ban new crypto mining connections

Published

28 mins ago

October 21, 2025

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Canadian province to ban new crypto mining connections

British Columbia is moving to ban new crypto mining connections to protect its Hydro power grid. For years, analysts have argued this is the wrong approach.