Her MPs know that just as Boris Johnson shredded the image of Conservative integrity, she has done it for economic competence
Even Liz Truss’s closest allies admit she has been so focused on implementing her plan that she was blind to the concerns of many Tory MPs.Even Liz Truss’s closest allies admit she has been so focused on implementing her plan that she was blind to the concerns of many Tory MPs.Last modified on Sat 15 Oct 2022 11.12 BST
Kwasi Kwarteng’s middle-of-the-night dash back from Washington confirmed the situation had reached crisis point. As the sun rose over Westminster, rumours he was about to be sacked were already spreading. One No 10 insider claimed Truss already knew she wanted him to “carry the can” over the mini-budget disaster – as he was telling reporters he wasn’t going anywhere.
Despite the finger-pointing, the pair have been on the same ideological journey for years, with the ill-fated budget fleshed out over coffee and biscotti in Kwarteng’s Greenwich home way back in August. Her authority has already been critically undermined by two major U-turns, on the 45p top rate of income tax and corporation tax, as well as the departure of her chancellor, while despite everything she continues to stick by the rest of her plan for growth.
Rebel MPs will hit the phones over the weekend to establish the scale of support for telling her to go next week. If she survives that, the weeks ahead are littered with moments of great peril.