Liz Truss acknowledged today the need to win “hearts and minds” after market turmoil and backbench discontent forced her into a sharp U-turn over plans to scrap the 45p rate of income tax for top earners.
Truss declared this morning: “I love all of my parliamentary colleagues in the Conservative Party and I love hearing their opinions and talking to them.”
The Prime Minister is now facing a battle to keep other parts of her platform on the road. What will now be her response to backbench pressure when it comes to uprating benefits, cutting departmental spending, reforming planning law or liberalising immigration?
The manner of the reversal on the 45p tax rate — not least the strenuous and repeated denials beforehand — will serve only to give confidence to her opponents, both within and outside the Conservative Party, that they can draw further concessions. The task for Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will be to portray this U-turn as a one-off. Meanwhile, experienced former Cabinet ministers lurking on the backbenches with plenty of time on their hands seem intent on causing them further trouble.
Ms Truss’s address tomorrow is therefore a big moment. It will be another chance to lay out her vision for the country. She will have to balance the desires of different audiences, from fellow MPs to party members and, of course, the public.
William’s wildlife vow
In his first major speech as Prince of Wales, William was today set to pay an emotional tribute to his “much-missed” grandmother and pledged to honour the late Queen by continuing the fight to protect wildlife.
This represents a continuation of the Prince’s work as Duke of Cambridge, following the success of the Earthshot Prize — the annual £1 million award for contributions to environmentalism. In doing so, William is also carrying forward the work of his father, the King, who supported wildlife, conservation and climate charities for decades when he was heir to the throne.
With the King in his new role, it is heartening that his son is taking up the mantle.
Indeed, it is a pity that the King is unable to speak at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, reportedly on the advice of the Prime Minister. Net zero carbon emissions is government policy and should remain so.
Should the Prince and Princess of Wales’s children live as long as their great-grandmother, they will be going strong into the 22nd century. We must all join William in his endeavours to protect the natural world and leave a habitable planet for future generations.
Delights of Dickens
Brian May has lived many lives. Queen guitarist, astrophysicist, defender of badgers and now museum benefactor. May is also a collector of stereoscopic photographs — an early Victorian example of 3D images — and has provided several to be displayed at the Charles Dickens Museum from tomorrow. Images include Scrooge as well as ghosts from A Christmas Carol, bringing a whole new meaning to fat-bottomed ghouls. They will be on display in Holborn until early March.
