By Ben Kerrigan-
Tory Mps claim that Liz Truss is not bright enough and lacks judgement is already dogging the woman believed to be the favourite to become prime minister later today.
Added to that view is the assertion that Ms Truss has little empathy and only sees things on terms of money – a very negative start for Ms Truss , who needs the support of the country as she enters no 10.
One top Tory MP said: ‘Liz Truss is not very bright, has poor judgement, little empathy with people and sees everything in terms of money.
‘In the worst of times she’s the worst possible choice for PM.’
The view that a woman of her experience in politics, and her education, is not bright, is one that should very much disturb the woman who says her secondary school in Roundhay Leeds did not teach pupils there how to read and write effectively. She no doubt as an adult has no problem reading and writing, and graduated from Oxford University, but that doesn’t make her bright according to her political critics.
She is not perceived to have the intellectual brilliance required to address important questions and handle scrutiny competently.
Voting among the Tory members closed on Friday, and either the foreign secretary or Rishi Sunak will be declared the victor at 12:30pm by 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady.
Truss is expected to e handed the keys to No 10 at Balmoral on Tuesday, but cynical Mps already believe she is a disaster waiting to happen, and one that would beg for Boris Johnson’s prime ministerial leadership to be revived.
Discontented Mps are reportedly plotting the return of Boris Johnson, and are determined to force a leadership vote by Christmas. The plotters are apparently keeping their identities and communications secret because if they were unmasked they would lose the Tory whip and could not vote in the leadership challenge they are trying to arrange.
Boris Johnson became prime minister with the biggest ever majority of a Uk prime minister, but was let down by systemic failings one after the other, eventually being forced out after it emerged he hired an Mp, despite knowledge of misconduct allegations against disgraced Mp Chris Pincher.
Tories hatching the plan against Truss will need to obtain 54 signatures from fellow MPs in order to trigger a leadership challenge, or confidence vote, which they hope to obtain before the new year.
An PM hit by that many signatures would need to step down, and there would then be another leadership contest, which could potentially bring Boris Johnson back to the top job.
Not all Mps agree with the plot. One Mp said: ‘This is madness. ‘The country won’t wear 160,000 Conservative members choosing another PM, especially a retread. We’ll end up with a general election.’
The Labour Party sees potential weakness in a government led by Liz Truss. Some Labour aides say Truss has an occasional tendency to gloss over details and maker mistakes, and feel she will come on stuck under severe scrutiny as prime minister.
“She’s got this weird tendency to dig in and say: ‘No, I meant to do that,’” the Labour staffer said. “Having found herself in a hole, she will stay in it, even as it fills with water. You can have that happen in little-known ways at the Ministry of Justice, or environment, or trade, but you can’t do that as prime minister.”
Truss has been described as a “political shape shifter”. She used to support Britain remaining in the European Union before becoming a hardcore advocate for Brexit.
Prior to joining the Conservatives in 1996, she was a member of the more centrist Liberal Democrats and supported the legalization of cannabis and end of the monarchy.
Truss is believed to be vulnerable and averse to scrutiny over ethical issues, and notorious for being opaque when addressing questions about even unimportant details.
In the Kuenssberg interview, Truss repeatedly stressed her utter belief in low taxes, a smaller state and minimal regulation, with her team talking about a “bonfire” of rules protecting workers.
The result of the six-week contest between ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, 42, and Truss, 47, will be announced by Sir Graham on Monday. The pair will be told the outcome approximately 10 minutes beforehand and it is expected that Truss will come out on top. However, only 113 backed her in the final Commons vote compared to Sunak’s 137 and Penny Mordaunt’s 105 votes.
The rebels insist the only chance the party has to win the next election is with Boris at the helm.
Rebels plotting Boris comeback: Image:news.sky.com
Lord Marland, who led Mr Johnson’s London mayoral campaign, said there was a ‘distinct possibility’ the outgoing Prime Minister would make a future bid for the top job – once he’d topped his bank balance up.
‘The scenario could be that we lose the next election, we could be looking for a leader who can win elections – and of course Boris Johnson has that.’
The situation could become an open movie with live characters from the world of politics shaping it up.
Truss has already promised to freeze energy bills to help struggling families, once voted in as prime minister.