Liz Truss was this week asked if she thought she was our worst prime minister. Of course, no one would admit they were and I don’t think she was or is. But her response to the question I think shows why she is managing to become the most embarrassing prime minister.
Truss, who is also still sore about being outlasted by an iceberg lettuce, said that she thought Tony Blair was a worse PM, not because he took us into the disastrous Iraq war but because he created things like the Equality Act, the Human Rights Act and the Climate Change Act. Of course, Blair was only prime minister for one of those (the Human Rights Act).
This answer was and is classic Truss of today, the woman who once stood with me against FGM and took Christopher Chope to task when he objected to legislation that would protect girls at risk of FGM, is now rubbing shoulders with Right-wing hate mongers and fighting an imaginary war against “woke”.
I have no idea who is advising her or telling her she is doing something great when she goes on these mad rants. But what I can tell you is that she is making the world and this country unsafe for women who look like me and so many others who once called her a friend. People, who even though she was a little bit wacky, defended her.
Truss still thinks she has a chance of being Tory leader — the only way to stop that is by directly calling her out
During her book tour while in America Truss shared the stage with Steve Bannon at a CPAC event in February and said nothing as he called Tommy Robinson a “hero”. Yes that would be the same Tommy Robinson who led an angry mob shouting racist and xenophobic slogans in London last week.
These are not just isolated incidents. This is a post-Downing Street strategy which Truss has consciously chosen to adopt and one which needs to be called out more, because it is corroding our country and society. Even if it was only for 45 days she is still a former prime minister. She has a duty to the people of the country. There should be certain things that those who have held office should not partake in and one of those is sharing a platform with those who incite hatred towards some of the most vulnerable people.
I know Truss is not the first recent former prime minister to say inflammatory things, but she should know better. She is also still seeking to be re-elected as a Conservative MP. After this election — however it goes — the party will need to do a lot of soul searching. The far Right does not have a home here because the people of this country have rejected those ideas again and again.
I am proud that we are a diverse and tolerant nation but we also have to be a proactive anti-racist nation. The reason Truss wants to still be an MP is because she thinks she has a chance of being the Conservative leader. As delusional as that might sound, the only way to stop that is by calling her and others out. We cannot think that extremist ideology will not seep into our politics and parliament. Populism, which is the new cosmopolitan word for fascism, has become the norm in Europe and it is foolish to think it will not infiltrate our political system as well.
The fact that Nigel Farage is now standing in this election will encourage more of the Right but he and they cannot win. We cannot allow them to, and the Tories cannot think nor campaign with the view that to win seats they have to adopt a more Truss or Farage style of politics. That will not only lead to their demise, but also to disaster for our future and how we build our democracy.
It is truly sad watching where we are right now as a country, but it is also an opportunity for us to do something and sound the alarm.
I am starting with Truss, who could still apologise for some of the ridiculous things she has said and done and take a page out of the book of Theresa May and lead a better post prime-ministerial life, which is possible and more rewarding. She could focus on female entrepreneurship and emancipate millions of women who are in need of someone to champion the realities of trade and access to education. That is something she did well before she became prime minister. She could drop this madness and do that again.
