Liz Truss closes a trying British Conservative Congress

Expected at the podium in Birmingham (central England), Liz Truss must strive to give momentum to a chaotic start to her mandate, a good part of which – around ten days – had however been overshadowed by mourning. of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8.

“When there is change, there is disruption,” the Prime Minister must say, according to excerpts from her speech broadcast in advance by the party. If "everyone will not be in favor", "everyone will benefit", she must declare, with promises of economic growth and "a better future".

Citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, she believes that the "challenge is immense" in "an uncertain world".

The Prime Minister has constantly defended her "responsible" budgetary approach, while the "mini-budget" presented on September 23 has drawn a host of criticism for her debt-financed tax cuts, the amount of which remains blurry.

Under fire from critics and pressure from its own majority, the government of Liz Truss announced on Monday that it was abandoning the elimination of the highest tax bracket, a measure which crystallized the opposition because it benefited the wealthiest taxpayers , in the midst of a cost of living crisis.

"There is no shame for a leader to listen," said Liz Truss on Sky News, trying to convince of the relevance of the other measures of the plan presented on September 23 by her Minister of Finance Kwasi Kwarteng, to the origin of a tumble in the pound sterling on the markets.

- "Window of opportunity" -

Without having time to let the turbulence of this volte-face pass, Liz Truss saw her own camp warn her against any attempt to reassess social benefits on the basis of average incomes rather than inflation.

The warning came in particular from the Secretary of State for Relations with Parliament, Penny Mordaunt, a former rival of Liz Truss in the race for Downing Street, and a given time favorite among party members to succeed Boris Johnson.

Enough to raise questions about discipline within the government and the authority of its leader, while several voices were raised within the majority to remind Liz Truss not to stray too far from the program of Boris Johnson, which in December 2019 had earned the Conservatives an unprecedented triumph since Margaret Thatcher.

"People give interviews all the time, at the party convention, people talk," the Prime Minister downplayed on Times Radio. "The important thing is that we are all united behind the growth plan."

The next elections are expected in less than two years and the Labor opposition, under the impetus of its leader Keir Starmer, more centrist than his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, emerged reinvigorated from its congress at the end of September.

A recent poll even gave Labor 33 points ahead of the Conservatives, a gap not seen since the late 1990s and the coming to power of Tony Blair.

Former transport minister Grant Shapps, who backed ex-finance minister Rishi Sunak against Ms Truss in the final, assured on Tuesday there was still a "window of opportunity" for the head of government to succeed despite its difficult beginnings.

But, he warned, "I don't think Conservative MPs, if they see the polls continue like this, will sit idly by."