Liz Truss is ready to be unpopular. Or at least that is what the new Prime Minister is keen to suggest. On a media round from New York – where she is attending her first international summit since entering No. 10 – she told the BBC’s Chris Mason:
If that means taking difficult decisions which are going to help Britain become more competitive, help Britain become more attractive, help more investment flow into our country, yes, I’m absolutely prepared to make those decisions.
‘Yes, yes I am’, was how she answered Beth Rigby’s question about whether she was prepared to be unpopular. Is this significant? Well, it points to two things. First, it suggests that the politically sensitive measures floated in the media ahead of Friday’s mini-Budget – such as lifting the cap of bankers’ bonuses – are policies Truss would be happy to oversee. When pressed, she would not rule it out.
Second, it marks a shift between Truss and her predecessor. Boris Johnson was never very comfortable being unpopular and his team cared about focus groups and snap polling. In the end, the Prime Minister brought in a windfall tax after being convinced it was a politically savvy move. In contrast, Truss is happy to argue publicly against windfall taxes – and rule out future ones – despite the fact that they are popular with the public.
Ultimately the view of the Truss team is that anything that helps with their primary aim of boosting economic growth is worth any short-term political pain. That obviously relies on the bet paying off – and it having the desired effect. But it also rests on Truss really being happy to be unpopular. It’s one thing to say, it’s another thing to stand by if the polls turn and nervous MPs start to fret.
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