In the immediate aftermath of Queen Elizabeth’s demise, occurring merely two days into Liz Truss’s term as Prime Minister, Truss recalls questioning, “Why this timing? Why me?” During her recent visits to various UK media houses to promote her incipient memoir, Truss has garnered attention for her explicit admiration for Donald Trump and for insinuating desires of unfinished political ambitions. Her Tory peers, still recovering from her challenging leadership tenure, appear to be equally perplexed.
The timing of her tell-all book baffles many. Why would she ignite additional controversy now, especially with a potentially damaging election looming? Is there an end to her combustive political interventions?
Truss maintained her control on power merely for seven weeks at the tail end of 2022. Yet her new publication bears the audacious title, Ten Years to Save the West: Lessons from the Only Conservative in the Room. It signals an appeal for loyal conservatives to intensify their involvement. Pre-publication reviews by Daily Mail suggest Truss has maintained her assertiveness, even despite the reproach she has faced for allegedly destabilising the British economy with £45 billion in unsupported tax deductions. Instead, she points fingers at the Bank of England’s monetary policy for the chaos.
Her book is sprinkled with light-hearted narratives. This includes her recount of her time as foreign secretary when she had to live in a Kent mansion, the official residence, alongside her predecessor Dominic Raab, perceived as a tough man in Westminster. She humorously mentions finding Raab-labelled protein shake bottles in the refrigerator.
Soon after taking up the prime ministerial role, her husband, Hugh O’Leary, experienced issues with arranging online grocery deliveries to 10 Downing Street, with the service provider dismissing it as a prank. The arrival of the much-awaited groceries didn’t make it to her either, as her security personnel were reluctant to disturb her. She even half-jokingly mentions a flea infestation in Downing Street, supposedly from her predecessor’s Jack Russell dog, Dilyn, leaving her ‘itching for weeks.’
“Despite being relentlessly photographed, arranging my own grooming appointments fell to me,” she writes. Truss portrays her isolation and confinement at Number 10 akin to living “in captivity.”
The book seems to contain a disregard for royal customs. It’s typically prohibited for leaders and prime ministers to disclose details of their exchanges with the UK’s sovereign. However, in her book, Truss shares advice she received from the late queen on how to approach office: to slow down her rush to challenge economic convention and foster expansion.
Truss admits in hindsight, she might have heeded this advice, as her tenure was cut short when the market couldn’t swallow her and her treasury head, Kwasi Kwarteng’s, aggressive financial strategies, causing the pound to plummet drastically.
These instances of introspection are short-lived for the unapologetic ex-prime minister. On Monday, she found herself under fire during book promotional interviews. Truss has been working to raise her visibility potentially to increase her book’s sales across the pond. Speaking with the Spectator, she argued that under former president Donald Trump, the USA had been more powerful. She shared with LBC radio that she disapproves of Andrew Bailey’s tenure as the Bank of England’s governor and hinted at possibly dismissing him.
Her radical views continued during an interview with the Sun when she proposed the UK to withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights, dissolve the Supreme Court, and repeal the Human Rights Act in order to expedite illegal immigration control reforms.
As Truss neither confirmed nor denied her political return, Labour suggested the idea would be unsettling for the working class. Moreover, if reactions to her book are indicative, her peers might feel the same way.