It has been a baptism of fire for Liz Truss in her first few weeks as Prime Minister.
Her government's £45billion tax-cutting package plunged the pound to historic lows and forced the Bank of England to intervene to calm the markets.
Labour was catapulted to a 33-point lead over the Conservatives in a YouGov poll, which would see the Tories wiped out across swathes of Britain if replicated in a Westminster election.
Read more: Liz Truss: Seven challenges in Northern Ireland facing the new Prime Minister
The pressure mounted just days after the UK emerged from a national period of mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Ms Truss will be hoping to dispel any party concerns as the Conservative conference kicks off on Sunday.
But what do Tories in Northern Ireland think of the turbulent start to her premiership?
After the party chose Ms Truss over Rishi Sunak, who had repeatedly warned during the leadership contest that tax cuts could worsen inflation, is there any sense of buyer's remorse?
Roger Lomas, a former Westminster and Stormont election candidate for the Tories in West Tyrone, rarely misses the party conference and said he would be attending again this year.
He said usually around 20 Conservatives from Northern Ireland would attend each year. It is estimated under 600 people in the region are members of the party, which has an overall membership of around 160,000.
On the government's contentious mini-budget, Mr Lomas said he had "very mixed feelings about it".
He expressed concern over it "coming across as it being for the very rich".
The former election candidate from outside Omagh said that "the proof will be in whether it works" in achieving Downing Street's aim of boosting the economy.
"I think there's a few nervous people about. I think this will rattle a few people, but it's too early to tell to be honest," he added.
Mr Lomas, who backed Mr Sunak in the leadership race, said he was disappointed with Ms Truss' response to his question at a Northern Ireland hustings about appointing a new Secretary of State.
When he asked if she would pick "another fly-in, fly-out, absentee political landlord", she pledged her choice would be the "absolute best at delivering for the people of Northern Ireland".
Chris Heaton-Harris was later appointed following claims the new Prime Minister had been "struggling" to fill the post.
Mr Lomas said: "We ended up with a Secretary of State who was the second, third or fourth choice."
Alan Dunlop is a former chair of the NI Conservatives. He quit the party last year over former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's handling of Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.
The businessman, who this year warned the Tories in Northern Ireland were becoming "an extinct species", recently made a bid to rejoin the party but said it had been rejected.
Mr Dunlop said the financial slide was "deeply worrying, as is the looming prospect of run-away inflation".
He acknowledged the UK is not alone in facing "fierce" economic challenges amid Russia's war in Ukraine, but he said Ms Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng must "steady the ship".
"If the mini-budget needs tweaked or fine-tuned, then it should be done without delay," he added.
"It's important to rebuild confidence and to demonstrate that the government is listening to international criticism from rating agencies that has contributed to a bruising attack on the pound sterling.
"Tackling rampant inflation must be addressed. Hard choices may have to be made right up to and including a windfall tax on multi-billion-pound profits chalked up by energy companies to restore voter confidence."
Mr Dunlop said the Prime Minster "has it all to do" and the "path ahead won't be easy and it will involve pain".
But he said it was better to have Conservatives in government than Labour, arguing the opposition party would "impose swinging tax on middle-earners" and "excessive taxation demands on large and medium-sized companies."
Matthew Robinson, chairman of the NI Conservatives, sought to give an upbeat perspective.
He said the government's plans would "boost the economy" and "help get the UK moving, as well as cutting the taxes enabling workers to keep more of their own money".
He argued the mini-budget was "just what we need in the aftermath of the global pandemic to kickstart growth and greatly increase our international competitiveness".
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