Hold the front page Dacre, I have detected a glimmer of hope for the Conservative Party Conference which will warm the cockles of the hearts of all true blue believers. The rail strike. The perfect excuse for non attendance and failure to worship at the shrine of Saint Liz, saviour of the economy and revered mother to the nation. One of the first acts of Rishi Sunak when he is acclaimed as Prime Minister in a few days time will be a knighthood for Mick Lynch.
Probably the most accurate comment made by the hapless Truss during the leadership campaign was ‘what you see is what you get’. While matron is preparing my meds as too much merriment about Laughing Boy’s economic orgasm induces hysteria, let us ponder upon the communications triumph of Truss’s tour of regional radio stations. It was summed up rather well by the historian Dan Snow,
‘That was the worst provincial campaign of any of our leaders since autumn of 1216 when King John was marching about about dealing with a rebellion and two invasions, caught dysentery in Norfolk, lost the Crown Jewels in the wash and died in Nottinghamshire’.
Actually, I thought that was rather generous. As some of us have repeatedly warned that Truss is no more than a prototype life form (AI without the intelligence) from the laboratories of the Institute of Economic Affairs and they omitted to insert the personality chip.
The shortest serving Prime Minister was George Canning who lasted one hundred and nineteen days. But he wasn’t sacked he just died. Canning was the last Prime Minister to be challenged to a duel and as he had never fired a pistol, he completely missed his target. He was wounded in the thigh. Poor George was rather irked by being passed over for Prime Minister by Spencer Perceval. But there was a happy ending as Perceval was assassinated.
Liz won’t last as long as Canning’s one hundred and nineteen days though. The good news is that she will beat Lord Bath’s mere two days. Although he doesn’t really count as only two people agreed to join his cabinet so he couldn’t form a government.
Yet there is more good news, St Liz finally accepts that there has been been a ‘disruption’ in the markets. Even better, tax cuts for the rich will be paid for by cutting public expenditure particularly benefits. That will be a great relief for those who are terrified that they will lose their homes, waiting for an operation and are frequenting food banks and now warm banks. But this is the nightmare reality of Trussonomics, presided over by the wacky world of Laughing Boy.
What is coming out of No 10 is deeply troubling and has rattled ministers and back benchers. That no one had warned them how the markets would react. Perhaps they should have listened to the traitor Sunak. That once the measures have been explained people will cheer. That the markets were rattled by the prospect of Starmer. And finally that it’s all the fault of the MSM. All of which is delusional.
The trouble is if you only meet with the likes of the IEA, Professor Patrick Minford (who was regarded as barking even in the days of Thatcher) and the flotsam and jetsam of teenage ideologues, you will convince yourself that the world is on your side. It becomes a given that the markets will admire your boldness, that the Bank of England is bloody useless, the OBR are a bunch of lefty Remainers infected with failed Treasury orthodoxy (which is basically don’t live beyond your means and if you have a spending plan cost it first). Finally, dear Liz pretends she reads and is influenced by great economic tracts. Have a read of Nick Cohen’s splendid piece in the Spectator today. Truss has been pictured with the works of Nick Pearlstein who writes about Reagonomics. She claims to have read every word. Pearlstein had one simple message ‘Liz.Can’t.Read’
Tomorrow we will be entertained with poor old Liz being interviewed by Laura Kuenessberg , which at worst will make the sinking of the Titanic seem like a pleasure cruise and at best a passable reenactment of the only survivor of a bloody massacre at sea surrounded by gore and body parts who is in such shock that she can’t remember what had happened.
I thought a few days ago that she might be able to survive if she sacked Laughing Boy. Impossible now. MPs are of murderous intent. The tax cuts won’t get through the Commons let alone the Lords. Even a U turn or a postponement won’t save her. It’s all about judgement. And she has none. She may be gone before the House returns. She no longer has the support of the Commons. I suspect the letters have been flooding in to Sir Graham who has been reloading the pearl handled revolver and has bought the bottle of whisky. Truss will be easier to dislodge than Johnson. She has no mandate from the people. It’s time to get ready for Rishi.