To be starting to really worry about Liz Truss

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OK, so I'm not a Tory. I hate Boris, and despise the rest of them. I don't hold or much hope of any of them actually doing anything to address the problems that we're currently facing, because I don't think any of them actually give a toss about ordinary people. Of the two candidates that are left in the Tory leadership contest, I would pick Rishi, because I think he has a more realistic understanding of the economic challenges, but obviously, I'm not a party member so I have no say in the matter.

Nevertheless, I have been relatively sanguine and the prospect of Liz Truss as leader, a) because I figured that things couldn't get much worse than the shit show that we have had under Boris, and b) because I am pretty sure that she will be utterly unelectable when it comes to the next general election, so worst case scenario would be that we have another couple of years of crappy Tory government, exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, and then we can be pretty confident of getting shot of them. So, pretty shit all in all, but survivable.

But listening to everything that she is saying she wants to do, to the economic forecasts, and to the analysis from both within and beyond the Tory party, I'm starting to get really very worried. All this talk of huge tax cuts and massive reductions in public spending...I fear that she is going to make the looming economic crisis infinitely worse at a time when we can least afford to risk it. Nearly all economists seem to agree that her plans are going to make things worse, not better.

We are already at breaking point. Public services are on their knees. Businesses are struggling to stay afloat. People both in work and out of work are struggling. The most vulnerable are already having to choose between bare essentials such as eating and heating. Inflation continues to soar, energy prices are going off the scale, interest rates are going up... and she is about to make it worse! We just don't have the resilience in the system to cope with this.

I am actually very worried about what is going to happen. This could be very bad indeed, and a lot of people are going to suffer. If we end up with austerity on steroids in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis, there will be massive civil unrest, surely?

Same here - we pay a shit load of tax, but I would willingly pay more in return for functioning public services. I barely recognise the country we were when I was young.

And slashing public spending will send us in to a much worse place than the US. The strong libertarian and religious influence and the culture of charitable giving in the US means that the third sector is hugely significant in plugging the gap in pubic services. I lived for several years an an unremarkable midwest city and the services provided by the third sector were on a totally different scale to you see here. Philanthropy was woven into the fabric of people's lives. We just don't have that in the UK and there will not be enough good will left for people to pick up the pieces of broken public services.

Yes, this "Rishi is a twat, but l think he has a level of competence. She has nothing.".

I wonder who's pulling her strings.

I don’t want to pay more tax fir public services
most are highly ineffective, inefficient, wasteful and without major reforms are just throwing more money down the drain

we should be able as a country be able to hold proper debate on this without cries from the left re privatisation or anything that brings change

There won't be civil unrest because she will have outlawed every public protest avenue. Police are already sharing information on the protesters with the DWP and being at a protest is seeing benefits withdrawn. People who need a DSB wouldn't chance it. Although that would need investment in the Police.

The worst of it is that wavering Tory voters in middle England who were turned off by Boris will lap up her Thatcher dress-up politics and we will see another Tory majority.

She's a fool but that won't bother them.

We urgently need the left to start communicating how they would help the economy.

Too many people still believe the old Thatcher "wisdom" that balancing the national budget is just like a household budget and that spending less will dig us out of this mess.

I accept that I'm late to the game. Naively, I thought she wouldn't have enough time to do significant damage over and above what the Tory government is already doing.

As for Rishi - don't get me wrong, I think he would be a disaster too, and he is ultimately responsible for a lot of the mess that we're in. However, he does at least have a basic understanding that cutting taxes right now would be a very bad idea. That's something.

As for Boris...no, he absolutely had to go. The dishonesty and lack of integrity, which had been there in his character from the very start, had just become too brazen. I think Truss is very much of the same ilk though.

It does matter because the government has the potential to mitigate the fallout and she could do even more damage.

Her "policies" are a lot of one liners designed to make her popular and then someone points out the flaws and she has to U turn anyway.

It's scary that someone so inept has got this far and I fear it's been allowed to happen because "they", those with the real power, know she'll be easily manipulated to do their bidding.

There are utilities like water that could well benefit from nationalisation so I would welcome a grown up conversation about what would benefit from nationalisation and what would benefit from privatisation. Neither the state not the free market has all the answers.

But will they lap her up?

It was the Remaon voting constituencies that went to Lib Dem in the by-elections?

l think she’s too right wing for the moderates. I never thought l’d want Jeremy Hunt for pm, but he was at least slightly more moderate.

I'm not a tory apologist by any stretch but you have to view the lense in which this is happening. The spouted policies to get elected as leader need to be favourable to the tory membership which is majority male over 50, pro Brexit fiscally right wing.

However come a general election she would need to appeal to a more majority view point, so I would feel that there may be a lot of bluster, and talk but what actually goes through parliament I wouldn't expect to be what she is promising now, and also once in power unless she's an absolute idiot she needs to get the party on an election footing and have an agenda that's conducive to giving strong talking points in a election in about 18 months time.

So while its quite understandable to be fearful now, you have to remember shes playing for the hardline vote

Who shags these people?!?!?

They go around shagging each other.

I too am clinging to the hope that Truss will lose the next election. Keir needs to up his game, stop sounding like someone who works in IT and get his messages across!

I thought they might have gone with Hunt. to me he would be a safe pair of hands while they look to address what their identity is going forward. Also feel he would pair better against starmer than a hardliner. However truss against starmer i just cannot see her matching up well. He has started to come into his own, and break the stuffy public prosecutor mold he has, and starting to use his foresic probing and oratory skills in a way which is more conducive to politics than a court room

could therefore be steered by others in slightly safer direction

The people driving are the right wing nutters including the ERG, whose concerns centre around protecting their off shore investments from tax and unravelling anything that adds to the costs of employing people, like decent pay and healthcare

I'm not hopeful that things are going to get better anytime soon.

The opposition parties need to start talking to each other too. The path to power is in coalition.

I don’t think it was ever going to be Hunt he is too mired in lockdown stuff which many MPs wanted to move away from

Tryss now has Javid behind her, so the list of backers is long including ‘I’m the new guy’ Tugendhat

I see your take on Starmer being like this on here I can’t see it, but I wouldn’t call the next GE yet. He has to deal with his MP position on strikes and work out what kind of tax he would take forward and how to make unions happy without causing more inflation - if the war is still going by then

I just think she’s corrupt, and is the latest puppet of the corrupt people that brought us Brexit etc- the bankers etc that took a bet on Brexit and made millions off that bet paying off etc. these corrupt people have bought off the Daily Mail who are posting stories daily about how great she is in the hope that people fall for it. It’s just like how the Lebedevs bought off Boris with whatever went on at that party in Italy.

So what do her backers want in return? God knows what but it certainly won’t be in the UK public interest.

Am I just a conspiracy theorist nut job? I hope so though I fear not.

Truss..

@Scepticalwotsits good post. Feeling slightly better now

Sceptical I do agree going for audience which is party members though

YANBU. It's a real worry. At least Boris seemed swayed by the public, Truss seems a nightmare.

All this talk of huge tax cuts and massive reductions in public spending

There must be opportunities to reduce public spending in the right areas surely?

Increase spending on the NHS, Police, Defense and essential education.

What else is essential?

if there are opportunities to save money in the public sector then use that newly found money to improve public services. Don’t use it to give tax cuts while public services go to shit. That’s bonkers.

if there are opportunities to save money in the public sector then use that newly found money to improve public services. Don’t use it to give tax cuts while public services go to shit. That’s bonkers

You can do both