One week only, Liz Truss would love this feature to be known as “Lunch with the Deep State”. A few weeks ago, Truss made an audacious attempt to become the FT’s new global brand ambassador, brandishing a copy of the newspaper at a right-wing conference in Washington. She declared that the FT was a friend of the “deep state” and contributed to the end of her two-month premiership. Truss stated that she would see what she could do.
During a two-hour lunch at an 18th-century Norfolk coaching inn, Truss explained that she was having lunch with the FT because “you’ve got to know the enemy.” Although she clarified that she didn’t see the FT as part of the deep state, but more of a flying buttress propping it up. She blamed the FT, among other elements in a left-wing “anti-growth coalition”, for cutting her time in Downing Street short.
Over Sauvignon Blanc and local fare, Truss shared her belief that her experiment with radical free-market, deregulatory, tax-cutting Conservatism would have succeeded if not for what she perceived as incompetent and hostile officials from the deep state. She joked about the situation, although many in her party and across the UK did not find it amusing.
Truss, who plans to contest her rural constituency seat in the next general election, expressed her views on governance and government. She believes that the powerful bureaucracy and quangocracy have resisted change and that politicians have failed to challenge it. Truss, who became prime minister following the departure of Boris Johnson, was in a hurry to implement her policies, which she felt were necessary post-Brexit.
She accused Britain’s institutions of being captured by left-wing ideology, including the FT, which she described as an establishment media organ. Truss believes that the FT, along with other institutions, have become infected with “wokey ideology”, hindering her proposed policies.
Truss identified the Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Office for Budget Responsibility as part of the left-wing cabal that resisted her policies during her brief time in office. She discussed her decision to sideline the official forecaster ahead of the “KamiKwasi” mini-Budget, which ultimately led to her departure from office.
Truss, who has a strong belief in free-market principles, expressed her disappointment with the resistance she faced from these powerful institutions. She discussed her attempts to challenge the status quo and implement change, despite facing opposition from within her own government.