Approaching one year on from the start of her tenure, a look back on how it all fell apart within 49 days
addressed the nation from Downing Street in her first speech as prime minister, she promised “action this day, and action every day”. It was meant to be a Churchillian call to arms demonstrating her determination to solve the intractable issues facing Britain. Instead, it foreshadowed the most chaotic period in recent political history.Conservative-led governments, Truss was used to putting pragmatism above principles. But that approach was cast aside when she swept in to No 10.
Truss eventually made a hurried address lasting four minutes and five seconds. She warned of “severe global headwinds” but insisted Britain would “ride out the storm”. The energy price guarantee was relatively well received, with no observable wobbles in the markets despite the intervention’s £100bn price tag. But 55 minutes into a Commons debate on the issue on 8 September, a cabinet colleague appeared at Truss’s side with news that any prime minister would dread. Nadhim Zahawi, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, handed her a note saying the queen’s health was deteriorating.
The lobbyist Mark Fullbrook was brought in as No 10 chief of staff, with Ruth Porter, a public affairs executive, designated as his deputy. Jason Stein, a former media aide to several cabinet ministers and to Prince Andrew, was bought back in as a special adviser. Adam Jones was appointed as head of political communications.An overwhelming number of the senior figures brought into the administration had limited experience running a Whitehall department, let alone the country.
Kwarteng’s team privately feared that the size of the statement was ballooning. At first, it was a vehicle to implement Truss’s campaign promises of reversing the planned national insurance and corporation tax rises. But new measures kept being added at Truss’s behest: investment zones, scrapping the cap on bankers’ bonuses and – most controversially – abolishing the top rate of income tax.
Kwarteng’s team was brimming with confidence. Chris Philp, the chief secretary to the Treasury, fired out a tweet at 10.17am saying it was “great to see sterling strengthen on the back of the new UK growth plan”, with a graph showing a rise in the pound’s value against the US dollar.A Guardian graphic from the day of the mini-budget
Truss’s initial instinct was to say nothing. She “pathologically hated backing down”, an aide recalled. But after a meeting with Kwarteng that was said to have descended into a shouting match, she agreed to the Treasury issuing a statement on Monday designed to calm the markets. It reassured the City that forecasts by the OBR would be published and there would be a further announcement in the autumn on plans to avoid debt spiralling out of control.
What followed was ritual humiliation for the prime minister. The questions kept relaying fury from listeners. One asked pointedly: “Are you ashamed of what you have done?” Nevertheless, Truss launched a charm offensive to try to woo her critics. She invited those viewed as “persuadable” up to her hotel suite aiming to win them over, succeeding with the likes of Greg Hands, a former chief secretary to the Treasury who afterwards dutifully tweeted out a defence of the mini-budget. Others, such as John Glen, were unconvinced.
A planned visit and interview with Truss the following morning were scrapped and a wider malaise quickly set in. Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the Commons, declared “our comms is shit” at a late-night reception, while another minister, Conor Burns, tipped Kemi Badenoch as “the future of our party” – much to Truss’s fury.
Government ground to a halt and the sole focus of Truss’s team turned to trying to shore up support. David Canzini, a political strategist brought in during the dying days of Johnson’s government, was drafted back to run a “war room” operation in No 10. Fresh from a disastrous party conference, Truss arrived at committee room 14 on a dusty corridor in parliament to face a grilling from the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers. Every question was hostile. Mark Harper, Kevin Hollinrake, James Cartlidge – who would all become ministers in the Sunak government – were among those who voiced their concerns.
When Kwarteng exited the cabinet room, an observer remarked his shirt was hanging out at the back: “It literally looked like he was leaving with his tail was between his legs.” Truss became ever less involved. She dodged an urgent question in parliament on recent economic turmoil and was mocked when Mordaunt, who stepped in to answer on her behalf, insisted Truss was not hiding “under a desk”.
But the most bizarre twist of events was yet to come. That afternoon, Labour tabled a craftily worded motion. It would have guaranteed parliamentary time for a bill to ban fracking. The business secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, was in favour of reviving the controversial drilling practice but many Tory MPs were not.
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