Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Liz Truss: Tory frontrunner for PM claiming to be Thatcher's heir

Only Britain’s second female foreign secretary, she has recreated some of Thatcher’s most iconic images, including riding atop a tank and sporting a Russian fur hat in Moscow.

Liz Truss: Tory frontrunner for PM claiming to be Thatcher's heir

As a seven-year-old in 1983, Liz Truss played the role of Britain's then prime minister Margaret Thatcher in her school's mock elections but failed to get a single vote.

Four decades on, the foreign secretary is again bidding to emulate the Iron Lady to become Conservative party leader and prime minister -- and take Britain out of the crisis.


A free-trade champion promising deregulation and immediate tax cuts, the 47-year-old is well ahead of rival Rishi Sunak in polls as ballot papers go out to Tory members from Monday.

The pair have so far fought a bitter campaign, rubbishing each other's economic plans to steer the UK through decades-high inflation and a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Both candidates have invoked Thatcher -- still a revered favourite of the Conservative grassroots -- but Truss in particular has sought to mirror the 1980s leader.

Only Britain's second female foreign secretary, she has recreated some of Thatcher's most iconic images, including riding atop a tank and sporting a Russian fur hat in Moscow.

In one recent debate, she donned an outfit exactly matching one the ex-Tory leader had previously worn.

Unlike Thatcher, however, Truss began as a political liberal and has defended her shifting political positions as part of a "journey".

She was appointed foreign secretary having spearheaded a raft of trade deals after Britain's divorce from the European Union took full effect last year.

But unlike Sunak, Truss opposed Brexit in Britain's 2016 referendum.

She says that was a mistake, despite growing evidence of Brexit's economic costs, and has repositioned herself as a champion of the cause, to the delight of the party's right wing.

'Human hand grenade'

Financial Times political commentator Robert Shrimsley called Truss the heir to Johnson's "cakeism" -- being "pro having cake and pro eating it".

She was, he wrote, the choice of a Conservative party that "dislikes hard choices" in contrast to Sunak, who is campaigning for fiscal discipline.

As a foreign minister, Truss has also forcefully confronted Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But her initial encouragement of Britons to fight there was slapped down by the military establishment and fuelled criticism that she lacks judgment.

She has described herself as a "disruptor-in-chief" and an enemy of "burdensome red tape".

But Johnson's former top aide Dominic Cummings likens her more to a "human hand grenade", and some MPs have accused her of excessive self-promotion.

Some characterised her former Department for International Trade as the "Department for Instagramming Truss" because of her prolific output on social media.

Truss admits to not being the "slickest presenter". She is still mocked online for a bizarre speech she gave as environment minister in 2014, offering impassioned support for British cheese and pork.

More ridicule came this month when Truss got lost trying to find the exit at her leadership campaign launch.

From Lib Dem to Tory

Truss grew up first in Scotland and then in an affluent suburb of Leeds, northern England.

Her mother was a nurse, teacher and campaigner for nuclear disarmament who took her on protests, and her father was a left-wing professor of mathematics.

She has criticised her Leeds school for fostering "low expectations", prompting a backlash from teachers and contemporaries who accuse her of inventing a backstory to curry favour with the Tory right.

Despite the school's apparent failings, she went on to the University of Oxford, where -- like Sunak -- she graduated in philosophy, politics and economics.

But at Oxford, she was president of the university's Liberal Democrat branch. At the party's national conference in 1994, she gave a speech calling for the abolition of the monarchy.

"I was a bit of a teenage controversialist," Truss told party hustings in Leeds last week.

By her own admission, her switch to the Conservatives shocked her parents but says her beliefs had evolved.

Truss worked in the energy sector, including for Shell, and telecommunications before entering politics a decade later.

She was a local councillor in southeast London for four years and became an MP in 2010, part of a new generation of women and minority candidates encouraged by then-party leader David Cameron.

He faced down protests from the local party in agricultural southwest Norfolk after it emerged that Truss had been having an extra-marital affair with a fellow Tory. Her critics were dubbed the "Turnip Taliban".

Truss's marriage to an accountant survived the episode. They have two daughters.

(AFP)

More For You

Southport

Floral tributes left by members of the public are seen following the fatal knife attack on three young girls in July in Southport.

Reuters

Public inquiry begins into Southport girls' murders

A PUBLIC inquiry begins on Tuesday into the murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport last year.

The inquiry will examine whether the attack could have been prevented and how future incidents might be avoided.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer is facing a Labour backbench revolt over plans to reform special needs support in schools without guaranteeing existing legal rights. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images)

Starmer faces Labour pushback over SEND reform plans

KEIR STARMER is facing a backlash from Labour MPs over plans to reform special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support, after ministers stopped short of guaranteeing legal rights for parents.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the government was committed to reforming the current system, which costs £12 billion a year. However, she did not confirm if legally enforceable rights, such as those provided by education, health and care plans (EHCPs), would remain.

Keep ReadingShow less
Heavy rain and thunderstorms hit London

Londoners faced a wet and stormy start to the week

iStock

Heavy rain and thunderstorms hit London before 30°C heatwave

Key points

  • Heavy rain and thunderstorms drench London at the start of the week
  • Temperatures set to rise with highs of 31°C expected by Thursday
  • Heatwave could be declared by Friday if warm conditions persist
  • Night-time temperatures to remain high, increasing discomfort
  • UV and pollen levels forecast to be very high across the south

Thunderstorms soak London before summer heat returns

Londoners faced a wet and stormy start to the week as heavy rain and overnight thunderstorms swept through the capital. Monday morning saw widespread downpours, leaving commuters reaching for umbrellas and Wimbledon ticket hopefuls queuing in ponchos.

The unsettled conditions followed a burst of thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon and continued into the early hours of Monday, prompting caution across the city. The Met Office has not issued a formal weather warning for thunderstorms, but conditions remain unstable.

Keep ReadingShow less
National Trust sets vision to heal
nature and engage more Asians

Lisa Nandy, Steve Reed, René Olivieri and Hilary McGrady at a National Trust event marking its 130th anniversary

National Trust sets vision to heal nature and engage more Asians

THE National Trust, which is seeking to broaden its appeal to British Asians, is marking its 130th anniversary with a renewed commitment to restoring nature and widening access under a 10-year strategy.

Its director-general, Hilary McGrady, also aims to inspire more people to get involved in caring for the country’s natural resources.

Keep ReadingShow less
 7/7 bombings

The King said the public should draw on the 'extraordinary courage and compassion' shown in response to the attacks. (Photo credit: X/@RoyalFamily)

Starmer and King Charles pay tribute on 20th anniversary of 7/7 bombings

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer and King Charles on Monday paid tribute to the unity shown in the aftermath of the 7 July bombings in London, as the country marked 20 years since the attacks.

On 7 July 2005, four Islamist extremists carried out suicide bombings at Aldgate Station, Edgware Road, King's Cross and Tavistock Square. The attacks killed 52 people and injured hundreds more.

Keep ReadingShow less