Liz Truss faces a make-or-break moment just a month into her premiership today as she tries to unite feuding Tories with her main conference speech.
After a rally in Birmingham marred by divisions over tax rates and benefits, the Prime Minister will call on her troops to get behind her vision of ‘a new Britain for a new era’.
She will insist they ignore the noise from those who disagree with her policies, saying that “when there is change, there is disruption”.
‘Not everyone will be in favor,’ she will say. ‘But everyone will benefit from the result – a growing economy and a better future.’
However, the message comes against the backdrop of one of the most chaotic Tory conferences in memory, where the government’s collective responsibility has almost completely crumbled. The mood has been darkened by a series of opinion polls showing Labor heading for a landslide election victory.
Mrs Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng staunchly defended the scrapping of the 45p top tax on Sunday, despite the mini-budget sparking chaos in the markets.
But within 24 hours they had been forced to reverse and drop the idea, following a rebellion led by Michael Gove.
Then there was a meltdown over the plan to introduce a real cut in benefits, with Commons leader Penny Mordaunt openly saying she wanted to see handouts raised in line with inflation.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman hit back at Mr Gove for attempting a ‘coup’ and lashed out that she was ‘disappointed’ that Mrs Truss had abandoned her intention to scrap the 45p rate.
Ms Braverman also told a fringe event last night that she wanted to pull Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights – something that drew a blow from No10, who pointed out it is not government policy.
In other twists and turns, as Mrs Truss faces her moment of truth at the conference:
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly ridiculed the idea that Mrs Truss could soon be ousted, insisting that she ‘says what she wants to do and then does what she says’;
MPs and Tory aides are being ordered to stay in Birmingham for the leader’s speech amid fears the rail strike and low morale could see the hall half-empty;
COP26 chairman and cabinet minister Alok Sharma has urged King Charles to attend the Cop27 summit in Egypt next month after Mrs Truss apparently advised the monarch against going;
Confusion surrounds the date of Mr Kwarteng’s fiscal statement, with the chancellor publicly saying it will be November 23 but aides insisting it will happen sooner;
Government whips threaten a brutal crackdown on Westminster to enforce discipline after the chaotic Birmingham conference;
A shock survey by Redfield & Wilton shows Labor ahead on 38 per cent in the Red Wall, up from a 15 per cent lead two weeks ago.
The Prime Minister will use her keynote speech, pictured practicing, to the Conservative Party conference to try to unite warring Tories behind her vision of a ‘new Britain for a new era’
A shock poll last night showed Labor leading by 38 points in the Red Wall, up from a 15-point lead just two weeks ago
Home Secretary Suella Braverman hit back at Mr Gove for attempting a ‘coup’ and lashed out that she was ‘disappointed’ that Mrs Truss had abandoned her intention to scrap the 45p rate
In his speech around 11am Mrs Truss is expected to say: ‘The scale of the challenge is enormous. War in Europe for the first time in a generation.
‘A more uncertain world in the wake of Covid. And a global economic crisis.
‘This is why we in the UK have to do things differently. When there is change, there is disruption. Not everyone will be in favor.
‘But everyone will benefit from the result – a growing economy and a better future.’ Miss Truss will add: ‘That is what we have a clear plan to deliver.’
In a round of interviews this morning, Mrs Cleverly insisted Mrs Truss would lead the Tories into the next election – dismissing warnings she has just 10 days to save herself.
“I like that she says what she wants to do and then does what she says,” he told BBC Breakfast.
“She is delivering from day one of the things she said she would do because, as I say, she recognizes that if you don’t go after growth, you end up with either stagnation or recession, and that’s not what we want to do. ‘
The Prime Minister has already been forced to abandon her plan to scrap the 45p top tax.
Several cabinet ministers as well as a number of MPs oppose plans to squeeze £7bn from the welfare budget by capping increases in benefit payments to average incomes rather than inflation.
Ministers are set for more controversy this month when the government publishes proposals for radical “supply-side” reforms in eight areas, covering everything from planning and employment rights to farming and fracking.
However, the Prime Minister will insist she is right to focus on supercharging growth rather than obsessing over arguments about redistribution.
“For too long our economy has not grown as strongly as it should have,” she will say. “For too long, the political debate has been dominated by how we distribute a limited economic pie.
‘Instead, we have to grow the pie so that everyone gets a bigger slice.
‘That is why I am determined to take a new approach and break us out of this high tax, low growth cycle. This is what our plan is all about: growing our economy and rebuilding Britain through reform.’ Conservative sources said Miss Truss planned to make a short, focused speech of around half an hour – about half the length of a typical leader’s speech.
A source said the Prime Minister will acknowledge that “mistakes have been made” in the early days of her government.
Mrs Truss will also try to turn the fire on Labour, claiming Keir Starmer does not understand the scale of the reforms needed to kick-start growth.
The Tory gathering in Birmingham has been overshadowed by the Prime Minister’s dramatic u-turn on tax – as well as the extraordinary conflict between her senior ministers. But the Prime Minister will insist her ‘new approach’ is vital to tackling the ‘enormous challenge’ Britain faces. In the picture: She reviews her speech
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt at the conference yesterday. Yes, Michael Gove is taking a cigarette break at the conference
Mrs Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng (pictured together on a visit to a construction site near Birmingham yesterday) have been forced to U-turn on plans to scrap the 45p rate
As well as measures to boost growth, the Prime Minister will insist she will keep an ‘iron grip’ on the nation’s finances, with a leaner state that delivers value for taxpayers’ money.
She will say, ‘This is a great country. But I know we can do better and we must do better. We have huge talent across the country. We don’t do enough of it.
‘To deliver this we need to get the UK up and running. We cannot have any more drift and delay at this vital time.’
Mrs Truss wrote on Twitter last night: ‘We are the only party with a clear plan to grow our economy and get Britain moving. We are the only party willing to deliver. Together we can unlock the full potential of our great country.’
Whips have appealed to MPs not to leave the conference until the Prime Minister speaks – a process not helped by rail strikes today, which will paralyze services to Birmingham.