Desperate Truss in battle to save job
UK prime minister Liz Truss launched an appeal overnight to Tory MPs to save her job after it emerged powerbrokers had held secret discussions about ousting her.
Ms Truss was to address the One Nation group of centrist Conservatives after a weekend in which three of her MPs called on her to quit and her new chancellor tore up the agenda on which she was elected only last month.
Senior members of the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers held talks late on Friday evening about Ms Truss’s future, discussing the circumstances in which Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the committee, would have to tell Ms Truss to stand aside, even though under present rules she cannot be challenged for another 11 months.
Ms Truss is desperate to win over MPs, many of whom feel excluded from a government packed with her supporters. Her speech to the parliamentary party last week was disastrous, and exacerbated discontent with her as PM.
Ms Truss will also meet her cabinet to discuss their views on her economic strategy. Jeremy Hunt, the new chancellor, has said nothing is off the table as he reviews the mini-budget.
Many Conservative MPs see her departure as increasingly inevitable. At the virtual meeting of senior members of the 1922 Committee on Friday the mood was said to be “grim”.
MPs present questioned the point of Ms Truss staying in office, given that many of the policies she campaigned on during the leadership contest have now been abandoned. They are thought to have concluded that her departure is increasingly likely.
The discussion focused on the circumstances in which Sir Graham would have to tell Ms Truss to stand aside.
Sir Graham was returning from holiday so he could count letters of no confidence posted in his absence. He will act only if a significant number have been submitted. It is thought that if a lot of letters come in this week, he will discuss the matter with Ms Truss directly.