Who is Liz Truss? Tory hardliner struggling to get to grips with life as PM


Laura O'Callaghan
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Liz Truss became the third woman to enter Downing Street as British Prime Minister on September 6 after running a more successful campaign for Conservative leadership than Rishi Sunak.

The victory, by 81,326 votes from party members to Mr Sunak's 60,399, put her in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

Ms Truss, 47, became a strong contender to replace Boris Johnson early in the race, thanks to her public image as a Brexit-supporting libertarian who opposes high taxes and wasteful spending.

But after taking the reins, she has faced immediate difficulties. Queen Elizabeth II died two days later, beginning a period of mourning and frustrating Ms Truss's ability to plan for the early days of her term in office.

Racing to catch up, she sent Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to announce a radical shake-up of the economy to fuel growth but in doing so sent the pound tumbling, rocked the FTSE and handed a record poll lead to the Labour opposition.

Her first Conservative party conference has been riddled with ill-discipline and there are already rebellions from within and outside her Cabinet. Some suggest they would consider another leadership change if matters do not improve quickly.

Early years

Born in Oxford to a maths professor father and a teacher mother, Ms Truss came from a Labour-leaning family.

During her younger years, she joined her parents on anti-Thatcher demonstrations and as a teenager progressed to the Liberal Democrats' youth and student wing, frequently taking part in protests.

The politically minded and ambitious Ms Truss became president of the Oxford University Lib Dems then joined the Conservatives after she graduated.

She spent more than a decade in the private sector, primarily as a management accountant and then as deputy director at the right-wing think tank Reform.

Then Conservative Parliamentary candidate for South West Norfolk Liz Truss, whilst canvassing in the village of West Walton, in Norfolk, during the 2010 General Election campaign. PA
Then Conservative Parliamentary candidate for South West Norfolk Liz Truss, whilst canvassing in the village of West Walton, in Norfolk, during the 2010 General Election campaign. PA

She is married to accountant Hugh O'Leary and the couple have two daughters, Frances and Liberty.

Ms Truss spent two years as a Conservative councillor for Greenwich borough in south-east London before being elected as MP for South-West Norfolk in 2010.

She lives with her husband and children in a three-bedroom detached home in the market town of Thetford in her constituency. She frequently stays at her second home in Greenwich.

From Remainer to Brexiteer

Ms Truss voted “remain” in the 2016 Brexit referendum, only to later advocate the UK leaving the EU.

Promoting herself as prime ministerial material, Ms Truss took to Twitter to say she had a clear vision for Britain and possessed “the experience and resolve to deliver it”.

Her zeal for limited government resulted in her pledge during the early stages of her campaign to “start cutting taxes from day one” and reverse a planned National Insurance increase.

That stance played well with the Conservative party base but raised eyebrows among others, who feared such promises would make the party seem naive on fiscal matters.

She has served under three prime ministers — David Cameron, Mrs May and Mr Johnson.

The latter found a staunch ally in Ms Truss and, in September 2021, rewarded her for her loyalty with a promotion from international trade secretary to foreign secretary.

New PM's tough stance on Russia

Since being appointed to head the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Ms Truss's outspoken stance against Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been seen as an example of her no-nonsense approach to challenging issues on the international stage.

A few weeks before Russian troops entered Ukraine, Ms Truss arrived in Moscow for crisis talks with her counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Before the summit, she posted a tweet demanding Russia withdraw more than 100,000 troops from the boundaries with Ukraine “or face severe consequences”, and said an incursion would be “a huge mistake”.

Her combative nature and warning about the possibility of a conflict between Russia and the West after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine landed her in hot water.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned what he called “absolutely unacceptable” remarks about possible “clashes” between Nato and Russia.

He said comments by Ms Truss and others had fuelled Moscow's decision to put its nuclear arsenal on a “special regime of combat duty”.

Liz Truss, right, opted for a matching fur hat and coat during a trip to Moscow in February, a subtle nod to Margaret Thatcher's style. AFP
Liz Truss, right, opted for a matching fur hat and coat during a trip to Moscow in February, a subtle nod to Margaret Thatcher's style. AFP

Channelling Margaret Thatcher

Echoing her political idol Thatcher, Ms Truss has stressed the need to support democracies and said the West must “face down global aggressors” such as China and Russia.

She has, time and again, been compared to Thatcher. She has been emulated her staged photo opportunities by posing with a calf, riding in a tank and wearing a fur hat during a diplomatic trip to Moscow.

Mr Kwarteng was among the first Tory MPs to publicly back Ms Truss's bid for No 10. Tipped to become chancellor of the exchequer in her Cabinet, he said her libertarian stance was one of the reasons he decided to support her.

“Liz’s basic instinct on tax is right … She doesn’t think people should be paying increasingly higher taxes to pay for higher spending”, Mr Kwarteng said.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Brexit Opportunities Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg also backed Ms Truss's campaign, cementing her position as the arch-Brexiteers' candidate of choice.

In the past, she has put forward her Brexit credentials, looking ahead to a “confident, outward-looking, patriotic and positive” future for the UK.

EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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England v South Africa schedule
  • First Test: Starts Thursday, Lord's, 2pm (UAE)
  • Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
  • Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
  • Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures

Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)

Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy

Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy

Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy

Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

The Cockroach

 (Vintage)

Ian McEwan 
 

PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP

Men’s: 
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)

Women's: 
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

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If you go

The flights

Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes. 

The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes. 

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest. 

 

Abu Dhabi GP schedule

Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm

Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm

Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm

The Gandhi Murder
  • 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
  • 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
  • 7 - million dollars, the film's budget 
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Mobile phone packages comparison
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

French Touch

Carla Bruni

(Verve)

The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.

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Match info

Wolves 0

Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')

Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)

Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results

2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)

2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili

3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson

3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar

4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly

Updated: October 05, 2022, 9:27 AM`