Liz Truss: More than a lettuce?

Anthony Seldon (with Jonathan Meakin), Truss at 10: How Not to Be Prime Minister. Atlantic Books. 2024. 366 + xvi pp. £22.00 (hbk). ISBN: 978-1805462132. £12.99 (pbk). ISBN: 978-1805462163. £11.99 (ebk). ISBN: 978-1805462156 Liz Truss, Ten Years to Save the West: Lessons from the Only Conservative in the Room. Biteback Publishing. 320 pp. £20.00 (hbk). ISBN: 978-1785908576. £10.99 (pbk). ISBN: 978-1785909238. £14.99 (ebk). ISBN: 978-1785908637 On 6 September 2022, Liz Truss replaced Boris Johnson to become Queen Elizabeth II's 15th and last prime minister of the United Kingdom. Two days later, the queen was dead. Following a short period of official mourning, Truss and her Chancellor of the Exchequer1 Kwasi Kwarteng launched a ‘mini-budget’ which was intended to cut taxes dramatically without any immediate matching spending cuts. Coming on top of an earlier (and potentially extremely expensive) commitment to subsidising energy prices, this sparked a serious financial crisis. This led to Truss dismissing Kwarteng and installing a new chancellor, who then scrapped almost the entire proposed fiscal package. This U-turn, together with bond-buying by the Bank of England to stave off a potential collapse of pension funds, stabilised the markets. However, she had been compromised by this reversal of her signature policy, became subject to public ridicule, and quickly lost the support of the parliamentary Conservative Party. She had little option but to resign as Conservative leader and prime minister on 20 October after just 44 days in 10 Downing Street. Five days later she was replaced as prime minister by Rishi Sunak. This was the shortest period of office of any British prime minister. On 11 October, The Economist (2024) had published a leader column which compared Truss's expected shelf-life to that of an iceberg lettuce. This image was seized upon by the tabloid Daily Star, which began to livestream a wilting supermarket lettuce, soon attracting a huge number of viewers and becoming a meme which persisted well after her resignation. In August 2024, for example, Truss walked out of a stage appearance to promote Ten Years to Save the West after some jokers unfurled a remote control banner with a picture of a lettuce and the legend ‘I crashed the economy’ (BBC News, 2024). She was reportedly unamused. The Truss government was certainly something of a fiasco. But why? These two books offer contrasting reasons. While Sir Anthony Seldon largely blames the personal inadequacies of Britain's 56th prime minister, Truss herself sees her administration as fatally undermined by ‘the Blob’, an amorphous grouping including “the quangocracy, an unaccountable judiciary and undemocratic international institutions” (p. 286). She argues that her experience suggests that bringing about radical change to a political consensus that is stifling economic growth in Britain and elsewhere in the West faces formidable obstacles. So was the Truss episode no more significant than a tired lettuce? Or was her failure symptomatic of a deeper malaise? Both Seldon and Truss were fairly prominent public figures well before her brief premiership, but they had never spoken until a summer party in July 2023. Seldon recounts the occasion: Liz Truss was standing in front of me and asking, “Why are you writing a book on me?” I was taken aback by the forcefulness of the question. I didn't know exactly how to respond. But she gave me no opportunity. “I'm writing my own book, you know.” She looked at me fiercely. “I'm glad,” I blurted out. And off she strutted. Seldon's book, and his method of approach, need contextualising. He is a prolific author, having written or edited 50 books (conveniently listed at the back of his Truss volume). He has written on a variety of subjects, but many of his books concern the role of prime minister, a job which he calls ‘the Impossible Office’ (Seldon et al., 2021). He has covered most post-war British PMs: volumes have appeared on Winston Churchill, Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and now Truss. I imagine he is already working on Truss's successor, Rishi Sunak. Each of the volumes from Gordon Brown onwards have been titled ‘So-and-so at 10’. Seldon is not the typical twenty-first-century senior academic, with time and a large research grant on his hands. He has been, for much of his adult life, a part-time historian. His day job was for many years as the Master of Wellington College, a leading independent school. Subsequently he headed the University of Buckingham (where I work and made his acquaintance) for a five-year stint, and then went back to secondary education, taking over a school whose head had been murdered in tragic circumstances. Apart from these commitments, Seldon has for years been a busy media commentator on the political scene. So the production of this substantial book, only 18 months after the activities it chronicles, is an impressive achievement – as were his previous volumes of instant history. So how does he do it? Well, he's not quite the lone author and in Truss at 10 he explains (pp. 15–16, 331–2) how his publications are a team effort. In this case his team was fronted by Jonathan Meakin, with whom Seldon has collaborated on previous occasions. With the team, he sets out the structure – chapter heads – for the book. He then carries out the interviews, 120 in this case, with participants in the events covered. These constitute, he says, about 80 per cent of the content of the book. The team “produces briefings for each chapter, integrating these with other published and documented material”. He then has “the easy and fun part, writing the book” (p. 331). The structure chosen for this volume is interesting. Seldon has previously – in his book The Impossible Office? (Seldon et al., 2021) and in a New Statesman article (Seldon, 2022) – set out conditions which he believes are necessary for a prime minister to be successful in office, and which most inevitably fail to achieve. In the Truss book he offers a variant of these approaches. Although there is a semi-chronological sequencing, it is the conditions for success, ten in all, which provide the chapter headings. The first requirement is to ‘Secure the Power Base’, which in Truss's case was the Parliamentary Conservative Party. As Seldon points out, right from the start Truss's position was shaky. She had only a very limited following amongst MPs and was not the parliamentary party's choice for leader; in the first ballot she came third, and after a series of eliminations she was still well behind Rishi Sunak in the final vote. Her accession to the leadership depended on the votes of Conservative Party members in the country, and a substantial block of MPs never really supported her and indeed were hostile from the start. Then, says Seldon, prime ministers need to have ‘A Clear and Realistic Plan for Government’. Unlike her three immediate predecessors (Johnson, May, Cameron), Truss had strong ideological priors, and her strategy was clear: it involved tax cuts, deregulation and shrinking the state. But she had not established a consensus amongst her MPs for rapid action. Seldon argues that her haste in producing the mini-budget, her insistence on bypassing or disregarding the establishment (the Bank of England, the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility) and an ill-thought-out energy price guarantee were unrealistic. A prime minister must ‘Appoint the Best Cabinet/Team’. Seldon is of the opinion that Liz Truss should have brought in the most talented and most representative members of the party, irrespective of their political stance, to give her a chance of maintaining a strong government. Instead of choosing a broad-based cabinet, she chose a mediocre team which largely consisted of friends and supporters and left out many experienced and substantial figures (p. 103). Prime ministers must ‘Command the Big Events’. In her first weeks, Truss faced two such big events: the death of the queen, and the energy crisis – sharply rising gas prices consequent on the Ukraine war. While Seldon concedes that Truss conducted herself with dignity over the transition to the new monarch, she lacked a “sense of history and personal (p. which that she not to the with the and of a but the about As for having first out any support Truss was (p. by briefings and went to the support which at the time to to in the it more Seldon a successful prime minister must and her experience as Truss is as this She was on and a of But Seldon sees her as to on with the the he says no Truss as a (p. must How to be Prime by to and Seldon sees Truss as of taking on and really which with her She is in (p. almost without that should Seldon the as a He calls it the of in (p. of this was for it have earlier in the but not with at per cent and the of it rising to 11 and per (p. a must a for and the from the to be Truss's most The energy price by taxes without spending led to a financial with and a on which left the at the Seldon's of is on In of the to the mini-budget, Seldon believes Truss had no option but to the But this is the She the in prime history and it didn't work for (p. a must the of the As Truss never had a strong in the parliamentary party, and to With the by and a on the of Conservative MPs made her in office While it is to some of this there is a to it Seldon much of Liz Truss, or of her of radical Sir Anthony as many the of together with a in the of the (and the of this He was a leading in the of economic in the and the from the to the is to he have been more to Truss than his who to much of Sir are but are He was and he has a very opinion of Boris He the of the Treasury and the Bank of not a of be Seldon does to his of Truss by some of her He she was a of her role as and that she was at and (p. He her (p. her energy (p. and to her work (p. the is very is on after by to or which are or with little Truss is (p. and (p. she and (p. her of is (p. She is to from (p. she is of (p. is (p. and (p. and (p. She is and (p. She to in (p. and her team in front of (p. to her support for the cut in international spending Seldon says that by these was of no concern to (p. two with he that and to over was of (p. Seldon has to a of these prime he has not spoken to Truss or Johnson about their and this of example, there is about a to of her and by her (p. This is just a in as a by of her and there is no that such a or that have any But there is a there which an on the more to the Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng were spending to their tax a is by who that been that at on the (p. not easy to out who is but this to be Seldon that he was by that they had been that Truss and were to this the media on the Truss to that such an was some or of the made a in but the that Truss was to at in such a is just of the in which she is in the As I have Seldon's method a on with have no of who these or how much should be to have been (and now members of Truss's many have been political or have an to While to his it is a Seldon not have some of the who were or and how exactly they were they or were they by Seldon's the how many of And it be to know how the were was there a set of or were they more be to know the to which the by his Seldon's the I have chosen to support a or were they to his many were of This is a of the which to in not the for as the it but Seldon is not a political of is he an of the of this book is of is no of the economic to which Truss and Kwarteng were and no serious – which already have on official and – of they were The financial to the is and in the of the is only very I Sir and this book is a But it is out to a for and before the brief Truss government is by and the A first of but there is much more to be about this episode as time and the is that Liz Truss was to be a prime minister than many indeed than of her predecessors and the of her for the Conservative (where she was a than a she in the and as a later becoming economic at a at standing for she became of – a not the political party headed by she her about I should that it was at that I first Liz Truss, a she had written on I certainly not a personal but have a over the to a of her which her and I it to my of as a and – – political with the in Seldon's Following her at and a as a Truss in She was an and became a of the a which MPs who later become including Kwasi and The published the and books that tax and the of the which her time in Downing Street. David her to be in and from then on she had an of ten in government three prime including as to the international and Ten Years to Save the West is a However, much of Liz Truss's book is a of her as a the only three her time as prime minister. The book is without the huge of and which many As as I it is her own The about her earlier are for her a about the she later her prime Her role in government was as a minister – to which role she was in well having a of time and to and at she that it was to to or do in a She The position of a minister is to that of a about how you or is But it came to the the or there to be be The senior me as a minister of little and to my I and on to something or be out of the She soon such as and the she to a of She political with the in with the who her were with the – led by of for with whom she was later to out – to with and to the Her job was with the for and In writing about her experience Truss a – the of the of by with with the government which largely to be to the you had to an The as and at the As a it was to the on the and the it as their job to work for the a that made me In the chapter her short 11 as she it to and was an about the of the she that and control much of the to their brief and before they are on in the the of and the for the of the British it was over or policy, The in have the establishment to the This is of a of with the to their right to and on of the public the is that are not to be and should to She in a her time as international and on the she her of the to international such as the and the United and to the and But her is on the in which the has been back by the on and which she was the radical and deregulation which she to the is of in the and was a of the which the fiscal he in the Prime was to the that he set a of of Truss's of the Treasury is that it the economic and the of the something which is Party Prime Tony and Gordon Brown, she “the Treasury had to the left and from the to (p. the Treasury had over than spending on it is the Bank of Gordon Brown in out of the hands. And Chancellor of the the set the Office for Budget this is a independent of the of in government an as a the a of own and now sets fiscal (p. In Truss's the the Bank of England and the are to a big consensus which has back the She and Kwarteng were to with this consensus as they their to growth economic Truss have to in very the and senior in the Bank of England and Treasury who were to the (p. But the have and the of the Bank of England not be the only immediate change of was the of to the Treasury Sir However, Truss and Kwarteng the of the Bank of England at and not the in the of the are no in the on Truss's as prime minister, she argues (p. that the with the were and that in the Treasury had her team about the (pp. She that she have some but there is little of On the she sees the of ‘the to her government as the of the of support she from the the Treasury and other of the including of the Conservative Party who had not the of her She I came to that there is no such as ‘the there are of in the financial of whom know and to in a The the Bank of England, and the are in these and and the in the established economic is a case of Both the government and the they have a and much in the are left in in big taxes and as they from a large state. In the first of the the West has taken a to the As a have become own and has which have been and have leading to an in have been by an much about but is really are about almost by are to Truss's of her own Conservative Party the that many of her – the of – were content with the not to the which had the time of Tony and Gordon Brown and only to in on and Truss really is an much to In time this a radical with the big taxes and government and control of of economic Be that as it are the she to must be This from about and their own and the of standing for the and British (p. and and and must the state. Truss that are not to in the (p. The the and the are of which have been by as should be to (p. must in the political has been have more to (p. The Bank of England must be more to such as the must be As in the United the government should have the to senior (p. must the in the United of Truss believes that left is much more at the and has to back the of of on the right need are to change and the of (p. This to political in must the state. political are to be international economic such as the Bank and the (the the should not should the the and the on which much And the and the of are for as they (p. they are and by to to or to must does not work still to be at of the of the this time with and (p. In should to and as a with need to be much on in own who are supporters of hostile (p. Britain should as a and the is strong but a from to tax or set an energy price which were Liz Truss's immediate she came to it it as or not have a is a time in the time Liz Truss's government an The political has Her of the international to the out to Two days before Truss led the of government. In the became of In a as with the of an on big government. there have been for the right in such as the and New the by a government in July 2024. This was the Conservative having in Rishi who had lost to Truss in the Conservative only two months without any from the Although leadership and was with a in the of his government to control – the in – and in a he a months earlier than he The was a for the with the Conservative Party number of parliamentary in the the new government parliamentary with than a of the votes and it has of the of the a in October which was almost a image of the Kwasi Kwarteng with the Truss government that the prime must be to taxes and government spending than the mini-budget, it proposed a big in government This has led to the financial with now at their the financial the after the This has led Truss to that this her position in she has had the to her to a and to Prime to the and that she the is the public from their own But it is the that the of having crashed the is 2024). was never really any significant the financial markets. and As of the of and it a after the the only that lost out was in the after the mini-budget, While the that the were not they do Truss's that the the was by the a of big tax a it does a But the political there have been in of the of the financial crisis now that the have to In the immediate of the collapse of the Truss a number of as most of the had been Truss's for the Conservative they have been to While there have been some as a of the energy price and the to the top of the went be expected On this the of the Bank of England was at for the crisis financial and own need to with The financial had to in which are to government have a as they are extremely The a or at to in which of as for to more government and on This to However, this is a of potential as more As rising prices, to the to the potential for a – which led the Bank of England to the to and the that rising and the that the Bank of England was about to on that had a a crisis was just to In this the was the that a crisis than was by And some to the Bank and financial for not this until it was This was the published by the Bank of England has now some on these A by et (2024) has that at the in prices the crisis was the of a a by et (2024) of the in to the from While this research the to Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng by that the to the was and as Seldon to some a of there still serious about the with which it was out, and the of tax without at some of cuts. Truss and Kwarteng to have the had been to in public the be as of fiscal more big tax and a that they really were – for that has As a a to some in growth in the British by back the of the and the of was lost in of the of tax cuts. These be over for some but Liz Truss for the and is out of the in Britain and the her parliamentary and still and she as she the of as her government not a A wilting lettuce she is to and for their on a