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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Politics
Martin Farrer

‘Into the storm’: what the papers say about Liz Truss’s first day

Liz Truss Boris Johnson Daily Record Britain Downing Street Sun
Some front pages as Liz Truss became prime minister and addressed the nation from outside Downing Street.
Some front pages as Liz Truss became prime minister and addressed the nation from outside Downing Street. Composite: The Sun / The Daily Telegraph / Metro / Daily Mail / Daily Mirror

Liz Truss may face a tough job to win over the nation’s voters, but she already has delighted Britain’s headline writers with a meterological metaphor from the steps of Downing Street that provided a gift for the front pages on her first day at the office.

Although a late summer downpour threatened to rain on her parade, the skies cleared just in time for the new prime minister to promise a sunnier times ahead as the country faces a cost of living crisis, the aftermath of the pandemic and war in Ukraine.

“We can ride out the storm” proclaims the headline in the Telegraph, above a picture of Truss and her husband, Hugh O’Leary, in front of the famous black door. The paper says that her pledge to cap energy bills at £2,500 “could halve inflation by next summer”, and also applauds the “most diverse top ministerial team in history”.

The Times has the same headline – “We can ride out the storm” – and looks forward to Truss unveiling an “historic package” of tax cuts and bailouts”.

The Mail’s front page says that the sudden change in the weather disappointed the “Leftwing Twitterati” who it claims were crowing about the prospect of rain ruining Truss’s big day. “Then in a moment loaded with cheering symbolism, the skies cleared – and our new PM declared… Together we can ride out the storm”.

The Express goes with the same main headline – “Together we can ride out the storm” – and also reports that Truss has taken revenge on Rishi Sunak’s allies with a “brutal reshuffle”.

The Guardian turns the weather metaphor around to suggest that there could be trouble ahead. “Into the storm: Truss vows to solve cost of living crisis”, its main headline says. Also on the front, columnist Jonathan Freedland notes that Truss’s predecessor Boris Johnson exited Downing Street “in sunshine, she entered after a heavy downpour. And those optics will have suited Boris Johnson just fine”.

“Truss assumes office with vow to steer Britain out of energy storm” says the Financial Times, while the i has “Truss era begins with tax warning”.

The Mirror has a large picture of Truss giving her speech and the headline “Now fix the Britain you lot broke”, again pinning blame for the country’s woes on the Tory governments of the past 12 years.

“Hello, Liz” is the headline in the Sun, with a picture of Truss meeting the Queen at Balmoral.

The Metro is another to go with “We can ride out the storm”, adding that the prime minister then went on a “cabinet sacking spree”.

The Northern Echo also likes that line: “We can ride out the storm”.

Finally, the Daily Record doesn’t really think much of anything truss had to say, calling it “bland and full of hot air”. Its headline is “Nothing to say here”.

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