Where would the Cabinet be without the gumption of Liz Truss?

Between jetting around the world realising the dreams of Eurosceptics through the ages, this remarkable minister has found the time to lead the charge against Stonewall’s wokeist madness

When I worked in Westminster a few years ago, one could hardly move for young, tweed-clad parliamentary aides drooling over Liz Truss. Back then, I’m ashamed to admit that I scoffed. True, she made the right noises on the opportunities afforded by Brexit. She was, in fact, the only former Remainer in Theresa May’s damp-squib of a cabinet who truly seemed to grasp the concept of sovereignty. But the saviour of the Tory party? With her gauche mannerisms and frankly bizarre public speaking style, I just couldn’t quite see it.

To those tweedy visionaries I say: mea culpa. For over the past 18 months, the Secretary of State for International Trade (and Minister for Women and Equalities) has blossomed into what can only be described as a bit of a hero.

The trade deals she has conducted are, of course, the jewel in her crown. With apparent ease, she has breezed through a list of no fewer than 67 countries, ticking boxes as she goes. True, many of these are rollovers from our long sojourn in the EU, but the speed at which she’s managed to nail them down is quite literally unprecedented: no other country has accomplished such a feat in such a short space of time.

As for her achievements this week in securing new deals with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, surely even the most stony-hearted Remainer must have been a little moved. The agreements not only boost the UK’s fish processing industry, but also include a more ambitious tie-up on digital matters than the EU’s agreement with the three countries. A “Brexit bonus” if ever there was one.

And that’s not all. Between jetting around the world realising the dreams of Eurosceptics through the ages, this remarkable minister has somehow found the time to lead the charge against Stonewall’s wokeist madness. This week, following CEO Nancy Kelley offensively likening gendercritical beliefs to anti-Semitism, Truss donned her Women and Equalities hat and began pushing for all Government departments to withdraw from the charity’s employment scheme. Such a move would not only loosen the woke lobbyists’ pincer-like grip on swathes of Whitehall, it would also save the taxpayer a good deal of hard-earned cash. Fees for the mildly ludicrous scheme – in which Government departments pay to be advised by Stonewall on pronouns and gender-neutral spaces – start at a whopping £2,500.

Grassroots Conservatives have a knack for knowing what’s good for their party, and they, too, seem enamoured by Ms Truss. According to a recent poll from the Conservative Home website, she has an 89 per cent net satisfaction rate among party members – a record high.

As for the goofy style I once spurned, it now seems wonderfully refreshing. Amid the ashen faces and dreary suits of Johnson, Hancock et al, who could fail to admire a woman who coordinates her outfits to the flags of the countries with which she is negotiating?

If the world can spare her, this understated hero is surely in line for a reshuffle promotion.