So......Where Is Liz Truss?

Her persona hasn’t so far impressed people obviously - she always has a nervous look to me when addressing the nation l and so she should perhaps but this doesn’t inspire confidence - can’t see her lasting long?

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Opposition leaders said it was unacceptable that the Commons would not sit for nearly two weeks, and pressed for MPs to be brought back to Westminster early.

Recess began on Friday and runs until 11 October, meaning ministers cannot be questioned by MPs on concerns from constituents about the cost of living crisis, including rising mortgage payments. A three-week break is traditionally held at the end of September and start of October, during party conference season.

Truss and Kwarteng have given no interviews about the fallout from the budget. The chancellor was questioned outside the Treasury by the BBC about his response to the crisis on Tuesday, but declined to comment.

AFAIK, RoboTruss is undergoing behavioural modifications and extensive AI re-programming in time for the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, from Sunday 3 October to Wednesday 6 October 2021.

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Oh god. I’d forgotten that bunch of Muppets were coming round my neck of the woods.

Truss needs a major rebuild since there’s clearly several design faults and malfunctioning processor chips…

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Not sure which thread to put this observation in, as there are several which are apt.

It comes to something when we now look at the generally mournful day of QE2’s funeral as a happier time in comparison to where ET has taken us so soon afterwards.

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How it looks to me is that Truss and the Chancellor decided to announce these major changes in what they call a “mini-budget” on the very same day as Parliament goes into recess for 2 weeks, so they wouldn’t have to answer questions about the fall-out from their decisions.

Nobody in their right mind would imagine these changes wouldn’t have a serious impact on the financial markets - they received enough warnings from many quarters.
To implement this budget without allowing the Office for Budget Responsibility to see it and review it first seems wantonly reckless to me.

No wonder Truss has been keeping her head down - hiding behind the convention that leaders do not give interviews during the opposition party’s conference week.
I believe she is going to give a statement or interview on local BBC radio stations this morning.

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Here is the list of timings for Liz Truss’s BBC local radio interviews this morning.

8am: Radio Leeds

8.08am: Radio Norfolk

8.15am: Radio Kent

8.22am: Radio Lancashire

8.30: Radio Nottingham

8.38am: Radio Tees

8.45am: Radio Bristol

8.52am: Radio Stoke

Some stations are expected to run their Truss interview live, while others may record it and broadcast it after the time shown above.

Later Truss is recording TV interviews with all 16 of the BBC’s regional and national political editors. These will be embargoed until 5pm.

If Truss can maintain consistency across some 24 interviews in one day then she must, indeed, be a robot.

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Leeds:

Truss defends mini-budget, says she is prepared to take ‘controversial and difficult decisions’

Rima Ahmed points out that the pound has hit a record low, the IMF has called for a rethink and the Bank of England has spent £65bn propping up the markets. “Where have you been?”

Truss says people were facing energy bills of up to £6,000 this winter. The government had to take decisive action.

Q: But that was before the mini-budget. We have not heard from you for four days.

Truss says she is here today.

She says the government had to take urgent action, on fuel bills, and to get the economy moving.

That means taking controversial and difficult decisions.

She wants to get the economy moving.

Norfolk:

Truss says she has to do ‘what I believe is right’ when asked about criticism of mini-budget

Q: Can you reassure listeners that your judgment is better than that of people like the IMF and the Bank of England, who have criticised the min-budget?

Truss says:

I have to do what I believe is right for the country and what is going to help move our country forward.

Truss indicates she is not going to abandon mini-budget plans

Q: Does a strong leader plough on, or does a strong leader change course when necessary?

Truss replies: “This is the right plan.”

Truss says ‘difficult international situation’ contributes to UK’s problems

Q: Are you ashamed of what you have done?

Truss says we have to remember what people were facing – fuel bills going up to £6,000, rising inflation and slow growth.

Now people are not facing those fuel bill rises.

Q: But people are worried about their mortgages and their pensions.

Truss says her measures will reduce inflation.

(She is talking about the energy price guarantee, which will reduce inflation. But the mini-budget will put it up.)

Q: We saw the pound dive. We cannot have our economic system undermined like this.

Truss says the government is working with the Bank of England. She goes on: “We face a difficult international situation.”

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Lancashire:

Graham Liver on BBC Radio Lancashire is now getting his slot with Liz Truss.

Q: Do you agree with Jacob Rees-Mogg that people opposed to fracking are luddites?

Truss says: “I would not have put it like that.”

Q: Why can’t you tell us there will be no fracking in Lancashire. People do not want it?

Truss says the government is still exploring where there might be consent for fracking.

Liver asks about a fracking site in Lancashire. Truss says she has not visited it. He suggests she should.

Q: You have given a huge tax cut to the highest earners. Will your red wall supporters still back you? Is that fair?

Truss says she acted to protect people from high energy bills. It is the biggest thing in the mini-budget just announced.

Q: Interest rates are going sky high.

Truss says interest rates are a matter for the Bank of England. She says they are going up around the world.

She repeats the point about this being a global situation.

I expect more repetition so a summary of LT’s answers later will be more concise.

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Why isn’t everyone doing what she’s doing then?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-63069137

PM’s bruising local radio round

Pete Saull

Political Correspondent, BBC Westminster

The BBC local radio round has been a pre-conference tradition for political party leaders for many years - a chance to speak directly to voters in all four corners of the UK.

Theresa May once described it to me as being a bit like “speed dating”.

But Liz Truss definitely didn’t find love this morning. It was, at times, a bruising experience for the new incumbent of No 10.

Presenter after presenter put the concerns of their listeners direct to the prime minister.

Questions included: “Where have you been? Are you ashamed? How much suffering is enough?”

Truss kept going back to the support her government has announced on energy bills, while suggesting that the falling value of the pound and rising interest rates were the result of “global” factors.

But BBC Radio Nottingham’s Sarah Julian summed up the feelings of her audience: “People were worried whether they could heat their homes. They’re now worried whether they can keep their homes.”

The PM now faces a series of face-to-face TV interviews with the BBC’s regional political editors, with the footage released later this afternoon.

Presumably the TV interviewers will be no less scathing than their radio counterparts … :thinking:

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It’s working wonders Lizzy:

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/truss-radio-interviews-lead-investors-081924121.html

So, she’ doing the rounds on local radio stations, repeating her inane mantras whilst watching Rome burn. On Friday, she’ll nip onto Radio 2 at around 4.30 to do a bit of serious Jockin’ and ask Steve Wright to tell us that she’s tankin’ the economy…no G.

All she kept harping on about was the help they’ve given with energy bills. She evaded the questions about rising interest rates.

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Apparently, rising interest rates are nothing to do with LT. She says they’re the responsibility of the Bank of England and are the result of a volatile international situation … :roll_eyes:

Fanatical followers of LT’s vision, of course, believe her - the rest of the world thinks otherwise … :man_shrugging:

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I don’t usually shout at the television news… but l did when l heard her quoting the energy bill help, over and over again.

She’s lucky she didn’t get my shoe through the screen!! :laughing:

…and breathe…as Meg always advises me to do on here!!

I heard some of these, oh dear, I don’t think this lady knows what she is doing. She sounded so unsure and clueless. Margaret Thatcher she certainly is not.

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Is it any wonder why they call her, ’Poundland’ Margaret Thatcher!

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She is pretty cute though.

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