The stakes could not have been higher as Liz Truss delivered her first party conference speech as prime minister. Against a backdrop of economic chaos, open party warfare and polling that shows she’s on course for a spectacular election loss, Truss insisted she was “determined to get us through the tempest”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the circumstances, the speech was short, at just 25 minutes. Pundits expected her to say little that would spook the markets or shake her audience. And, indeed, she hardly dwelt on the chaos her mini-budget triggered. Instead, she doubled down, emphasising that growth was her main priority and the only way forward.
She linked economic growth with people’s everyday struggles and, notably, began talking of “levelling up” – a move probably designed to recall Boris Johnson’s election winning formula.
