During a Q&A at CPAC – a spinoff of the US pro-Trump conference she’s hosting in London – she complained about the turnover of Prime Ministers and COVID-19 restrictions and issued stark warnings about the deep state
Liz Truss blasted her own party claiming it had been “ideologically captured” by “DEI” – and branding business people who wouldn’t follow her into politics “cowards”.
It came during a sweary rant onstage at CPAC GB – a spinoff of the huge American pro-Trump conference which she is hosting in London this week. She also bemoaned the rapid turnover of British Prime Ministers, of which she is the most prominent example.
“We’ve had seven Prime Ministers in ten years,” she said. “That’s the equivalent of a crap football team changing its manager all the time but not changing what happens on the pitch.”
Five of those seven Prime Ministers have been Conservative, and she was the shortest serving of all of them. Asked during a Q&A why the Conservative Party “did not represent a real conservative party,” Ms Truss said: “I think the Conservative Party got ideologically captured. The central office got captured by DEI.”
Ms Truss did not specify what period of time she was referring to. Yesterday she confirmed to the Mirror that she remains a member of the Conservative Party.
She was making the case for the right to set up “parallel institutions” and “parallel media” to combat what she claimed was a left-wing bias in the British civil service.
She said this could only be changed if successful people who had avoided politics, choosing to make their fortunes in “finance” or “bitcoin”, would follow her into politics and be prepared to take over institutions including the immigration department, foreign office and local police forces.
“I don’t think the right’s movement has developed enough to have that pool of people,” she added. “I think there are people I could mention, there might be people in this room, who could serve. But do we have the organised group, no we don’t.”
Of those who had been reluctant to join her right-wing “counter-revolution”, she added: “Their success will mean nothing if the country is ground into the ground. That’s the point. A lot of people have opted out of politics, I’m gonna make a living in finance or in bitcoin or in property or whatever and I’m going to opt out of politics….it’s time for the successful people in Britain who actually care about the future of our country to step up. To stop being such cowards because at the moment they’re being cowards.”
She teased that next year she would “name names.” Reminded by the host that there was a lot of risk involved in getting into politics, Ms Truss retorted: “Yeah, no s**t.”
Ms Truss’ CPAC GB has been dogged by poor attendance, with barely a third of seats in the 500 capacity hall occupied for her event this morning. More are expected to attend this afternoon, when Nigel Farage will give his first speech since forcing a by-election in Clacton.
The event is understood to have already sparked a row within the Tory party over whether Conservative MPs should be sharing a stage with Reform rivals including Suella Braverman and failed by-election candidate Matt Goodwin. Reform’s London Mayoral candidate Layla Cunningham spoke immediately before Ms Truss on the stage today.
Yesterday, Andrew Griffith, a member of Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet spoke at the conference. It’s understood his speech and appearance were not cleared with Ms Badenoch’s office ahead of time. The Conservative Party declined to comment.
And she predicted Andy Burnham will not still be Labour leader at the next General Election, and suggested he would lead Britain into a “financial crisis.”
“The money’s going to run out,” she said. “I think the problems with migration are going to get worse, and the general decay and stagnation of Britain is going to continue. I think the question is how long the pro progressive authorities can continue.
“My prediction is that there will be another Prime Minister before 2029.”
She also said she had been “worried” about the restrictions brought in to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What worried me with COVID was not only did people go along with it they reported their neighbours, they reported their friends,” she said.