Voters booted Liz Truss out of her Commons seat at the last election – yet she still hopped off on a jolly to Switzerland designed to improve relations with the EU
Piste-taking Liz Truss enjoyed a ski holiday to foster Parliamentary relations – despite being booted out of the Commons nearly two years ago.
The disastrous former Prime Minister was among seven ex-Tory MPs on the slopes at the 70th Parliamentary Ski Week in millionaire’s playground Davos. The event, which saw Truss finish third in the women’s race, is organised to aid relations between the UK, Switzerland and the European Union.
But Truss’ appearance there last night drew criticism from those concerned the pro-Brexiteer’s Trumpian political views will do little to help Britain’s cause and believe the event would have been better attended by those in power.
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Labour Party chair Anna Turley said: “Working families were forced to pay an avalanche of extra cash on their mortgages thanks to Liz Truss’ reckless short stint as Tory PM. Truss should spend less time on the slopes and focus on finally taking responsibility for the hammer blow she inflicted on family finances.
“How Truss thinks she can represent the UK when she’s constantly abroad talking our country down shows how completely out of touch she is. It’s time Kemi Badenoch finally grew a backbone and apologised to the British people for the damage her Tory Party did – and make clear Truss should ski-daddle out of public life for good.”
Last month, Truss, who lasted just 49 days in Number 10 after her disastrous mini-budget saw mortgage rates rocket for hard-pressed families, said she wanted to be Britain’s answer to Donald Trump. Speaking at the pro-Trump CPAC conference in Texas, Truss declared she is now dedicating her energy to working out how to emulate the MAGA movement in the UK – branding it “MEGA – Make England Great Again”.
Truss campaigned for Remain during the 2016 EU membership referendum, before later pinning her political ambitions on becoming an ardent Brexit supporter, while promising to “unleash the full potential of Britain”. While Foreign Secretary in December 2021, she took over responsibility for post-Brexit talks with the EU following the resignation of Lord Frost.
Parliamentary Ski Week attendees enjoyed lunch at Weissfluhjoch Restaurant in millionaire’s playground Parsenn, where a dish of veal, potatoes and veg can set you back £42 and a standard-sized bottle of red wine costs up to £184. Magnum bottles are also on offer for up to £368. An itinerary posted online added that the group were later due to meet at nearby Höhenweg restaurant, which sits 2,000 metres above sea level and provides a breathtaking panoramic view of the Swiss Alps. It sells its “Mountain Guide” pizza for £27.84 each and 7.5dl bottles of wine for up to £234.
Organisers say the ski event is for the purposes of “networking, political discussions about the future relationship between Great Britain and Switzerland and the EU, the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, and a diverse supporting program”. It was established in 1956 to foster diplomatic relations following the Second World War and is considered the oldest parliamentary sporting event in the world.
Beyond the skiing, the event reportedly includes training sessions and social gatherings for political, friendly, and sporting exchanges and is billed as being “the cornerstone of the close ties between the British and Swiss Parliaments”.
Other former Tory MPs who attended included Sara Britcliffe, who was MP for Hyndburn from 2019 until 2024 after winning the seat aged just 24. She lost her seat to Labour candidate Sarah Smith before founding political consultancy Polaris Partners with fellow former Tory MP Antony Higginbotham.
A personal profile on the Polaris Partners website boasts of Britcliffe’s political experience and adds: “Outside of work Sara is passionate about musical theatre and loves nothing more than hitting the slopes of the Alps”. Former top Tory Tim Loughton was MP for East Worthing and Shoreham until he announced he would not seek re-election in 2024 after 27 years in Parliament, was also there.
After a successful career as a banker, he went on to serve as Shadow Minister for Environment from 2000 to 2001 and Shadow Minister of Health and Children from 2003 until 2010. He supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum, campaigning for it through Vote Leave. In October 2017, after he was quoted saying he meditates in the bath for an hour every morning, it was reported he had claimed water bills of £662 over the previous two years on his expenses.
Former Kensington MP Lady Victoria Borwick also attended. She drew criticism from Grenfell campaigners in 2018 after suggesting the local community were difficult to help in the aftermath of the 2017 disaster because “rather like gangs, they don’t go into another territory”. Lady Borwick, whose husband is hereditary peer Jamie Borwick, also called for the tower to be torn down just days after the fire in which 72 people died in order to stop it becoming a shrine.
Another attendee was Sally-Ann Hart, who succeeded former Home Secretary Amber Rudd as MP for Hastings and Rye in 2019, but lost her seat after one term in 2024. She was investigated by the Conservative Party in 2019 for sharing a video in 2017 implying that Jewish multi-billionaire philanthropist George Soros controlled the EU. She also “liked” a comment beneath the video saying “Ein Reich”, a Nazi slogan meaning One Empire.
A second investigation was opened days later over her sharing a blog post, in January 2017, by the anti-Islam activist Cheri Berens. Hart described the blog, in which Berens condemned the 2017 Women’s March against US President Donald Trump as being used to promote a “Muslim agenda”, as an “affecting read”.
Hart, who also faced controversy after defending paying people with learning disabilities below the minimum wage because “they don’t understand money”, later said the investigation into her social media posts had concluded and she was “not found to be anti-Semitic, Islamophobic or anything else”. She admitted to voluntarily joining social media training sessions, organised by the Antisemitism Policy Trust, on recognising Jew-hate.
Henry Smith, 56, who was Tory MP for Crawley until 2024 after announcing he would not seek re-election, was another competitor. He is reportedly a Eurosceptic who supported backbench calls for an early referendum on exiting the EU. He joined Reform UK in September last year.
Brexit supporter Ben Everitt, who was Tory MP for Milton Keynes North from 2019 until 2024 when he was defeated by Labour candidate Chris Curtis, was the fastest British skier at the event. In 2021, Everitt was criticised for claiming nearly £2,800-a-month in expenses for a second family home in London. Stats showed he was among the top ten claimants of second home expenses out of 650 MPs, despite his constituency being within a short commute of London.
He also received criticism that he had claimed for the large home despite his children, who were educated in Milton Keynes, not visiting the property during the 2020/21 financial year. But an investigation by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority found no evidence Everitt had broken any rules. He has reportedly worked as a Director for MK Capital, and a Senior Partner at CRS Global Advisors since his defeat in the 2024 general election.
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade Andrew Griffith was the only serving MP to attend the ski event, which was held earlier this month. Tory peers Lord Ashcombe, Lord Young, and Lord Jamieson were also there, as was British Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation James Squire.
According to the Davos tourist board, who partly fund it, the event provides excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, and a diverse supporting program”. They added: “This ski week is the cornerstone of the close ties between the British and Swiss parliaments, which both sides intend to maintain for many years to come in political, sporting, and friendly terms.”
In January 2024, Ms Truss, then MP for South West Norfolk, was among eight serving Tory MPs who attended the same event, enjoying almost £13,000 worth of hospitality. The group also included Griffith, Loughton, Everitt, Hart and Britcliffe, as well as Damian Collins and Karl McCartney. In the Register of Interests, Truss later declared she enjoyed more than £2,000 worth of hospitality from organisers, including one ski pass as well as “50% of one discounted ski pass” worth £310, a reception for four at £91 and “Ski guides, plus one ski pass and 50% of one discounted ski pass, and hospitality for four people, value £1,719”.
Liz Truss’ spokesman declined to comment when contacted by the Mirror.