Many members of Liz Truss’s own local Conservative Association find her “clueless, lacking in intelligence and out of her depth”, but are unwilling to speak out in public for fear of reprisals.
EAB has been talking to disgruntled members of South West Norfolk Conservative Association, to gauge the opinion of those who know Truss best. Though there is a little sympathy, on the whole the picture which emerges is of a distant and wilful figure, uninterested in her constituents’ problems and too self-obsessed to take advice.
“She has a big opinion of herself and won’t listen to anyone,” according to one discontented member.
It is claimed that those in the local association who don’t support her are sidelined and “not allowed to talk about her”, with warnings not to speak to the press. The discontents are quite open about fearing reprisals. “Locally we know what happened when the Turnip Taliban came out against her, and CCHQ don’t play fair.”
Turnip Taliban overridden in search of a ministerial career
The ‘Turnip Taliban’ was the mocking title given to those party traditionalists who objected to having foisted on them a wannabe high-flyer who made her entry into Conservative politics via an affair with a married MP. But their concerns were overridden. Truss was parachuted into her Norfolk constituency as part of David Cameron’s efforts to clean up what Theresa May had called “the nasty party”.
It had seemed an odd fit from the outset. It is a safe Tory seat, a flat and sprawling rural area with only three small market towns to represent the bright lights, and Truss had no previous connection with it. But from the outset she set about making it her springboard into national politics.
Apparently she once declared to a school assembly that she had no interest in becoming prime minister: she wanted to be the first woman chancellor of the exchequer.
It was agreed that constituency matters never seemed to interest her. They were likely to be about housing or bus timetables, not the stuff on which to build a ministerial career. Respondents echoed other residents in describing Truss as distant, hard to get hold of, entirely unsupportive and lacking in empathy.
Local voters doubt she should even be an MP, let alone prime minister
One comment was: “Well if she helps the country as much as she helps her constituents, then the country is totally stuffed”.
There is a feeling that the opinion among constituents has worsened over the last few weeks. Voters who weren’t really political but have always naturally voted Tory are beginning to question whether Truss should even be an MP at all.
Some local people thought she couldn’t be any worse than Boris, so that had to be an improvement, though others remain staunch Johnson supporters.
There is a general sadness among the discontented Tory members, complaining that the party has changed in recent years, and not for the better. Mostly they blame Truss. One observed: “There’s nothing left but an oil slick which is mainly dirty water. She hoodwinked her supporters, who are nothing but sycophants so they can’t see it.”
So how did she get us into the present mess? “She set up a cabinet of dull newbie friends, who didn’t know what they were doing, so she was top dog.”
Is Truss really in charge, or is she someone else’s puppet?
Beyond surrounding herself with nodding dogs, the discontented members are unsure how we got into this position. Some believe she is someone else’s puppet, directed from behind the scenes, and isn’t making these decisions herself at all. They believe she has been set up and scapegoated, to prepare the way for someone else, or perhaps the return of Boris.
If that were true, then according to one respondent: “It’s time we found out who holds the strings and if it’s the latter, that is sneaky and cruel, and both Liz and the country deserve better than that.”
It is interesting though, given that these are Conservative Party members, that a common theme is that it is no longer politicians who run the country. “It’s bankers, oligarchs and the super-rich, who aren’t interested in the lives of ordinary people.”
Whatever is really going on, one observes that “It’s no longer a joke, it’s a monetary disaster.”
Local party members silenced
As to the local association, they feel that where it goes after this is anyone’s guess. “You couldn’t call the local Conservative Association vibrant or brimming with support, but there are good people there, being silenced because they question the motives of their leader.”
