U-turns are an inelegant but necessary manoeuvre on the erratic journey of politics. Tony Blair executed one on his pledge to hold a referendum on the EU constitution, deepening integration in the early 2000s, while George Osborne engaged his reverse gear as chancellor over benefit cuts to diffuse an internal row in 2015. What matters is often less the volte-face than the ability of nimble (prime) ministers to declare that they understand the need to do the opposite of what they said before — and then get back to the road map.
The problem for Liz Truss, reeling from her belated kybosh of the 45p top tax-rate cut, is that it has highlighted the corrosive impact of a reckless mini-budget and weekend of crisis which has clearly strained her relations with her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, even before they turned up to address the party faithful at Conference.
