'Worse than Theresa May': Liz Truss faces revolt in 'brutal' encounter with backbench Tory MPs

[Emrys]

Tory MPs are ‘openly plotting how to put this Government out of its misery,’ one MP said
...
Speaking to the 1922 Committee of MPs on Wednesday night, Ms Truss “called for the party to highlight the devastation that would have been caused to small business had we not acted” by capping energy bills, according to a No 10 source. She added that “Labour had no plan to avert this”.

But in response, critics including Robert Halfon, the chairman of the Commons education committee, accused her to her face of abandoning Conservative values and questioned her decision-making ability – prompting rounds of applause from colleagues.

One MP told i: “That was a worse 1922 meeting than any under Theresa May. Brutal.” MPs are “openly plotting how to put this Government out of its misery,” they said.

Ms Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng will hold talks with rebel MPs from next week onwards to convince them that the “medium-term fiscal plan” on 31 October will address their concerns, according to Thérèse Coffey, the Deputy Prime Minister. She added: “It’s all about engagement.”

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/worse-than-theresa-may-liz-truss-faces-revolt-in-brutal-encounter-with-backbench-tory-mps-1908658

The disastrous 1922 Committee meeting followed a disastrous Prime Minister's Questions performance from Truss during the afternoon. So bad was the committee meeting that afterwards Truss was driven to attend the Commons Tea Room in a desperate measure to seem engaged with her party's MPs, many of whom had instead headed straight for the Strangers Bar for a stiff drink or many.

The Twitter hashtag #1922Committee is teeming with reports of despairing observations from Tory MPs exiting the meeting, some of which will no doubt form the basis for articles like this one from the Guardian:

At a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee, MPs described her performance as “just appalling” and raised serious concerns about mortgage rates and polls showing a hefty Labour lead.

The chair of the education select committee, Robert Halfon, told Truss she had “trashed the last 10 years of workers’ Conservatism”, citing achievements under David Cameron and Boris Johnson such as apprenticeships and levelling up, and comparing those priorities to tax cuts and banker bonuses. The MP Julian Lewis asked if Truss was planning to compensate mortgage holders.

Leaving the room, one MP said the atmosphere was “funereal” and another that the prime minister had “done absolutely nothing to reassure colleagues whatsoever”. Another described the situation as impossible.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/12/liz-truss-in-fresh-peril-as-senior-tory-mps-round-on-her-over-economy

One such report suggested that as many as 40 Tories might join the Opposition in the lobby if a no confidence vote is called soon.

BBC Newsnight offered this summary:

Link to tweet

BBC Newsnight
@BBCNewsnight

#Newsnight’s Political Editor @nicholaswatt examines whether momentum is building within the Tory party to replace the PM

Where does Liz Truss go from here?

[Twitter video]

A random Twitter user offered this one:

Link to tweet

Rich Payne 🌱
@richpayne88

How the fuck are all our key leadership decisions made by someone “going to tearoom” or writing a letter to the “1922 Committee”?

This is real life in 2022, not fucking Hogwarts. Embarrassment of a country.

Hogwarts would be an improvement. It at least had some discipline and direction, nobody froze and everybody got to eat, and the goodies won in the end.

[elleng]

1. 'accused her to her face of abandoning Conservative values

and questioned her decision-making ability –'

[T_i_B]

2. Truss appears to have her own vision of Conservative values

However, her vision appears to directly contradict what other people consider conservative values. It also seems to be wildly at odds with anything practical or realistic.

[elleng]

3. 'conservative values' are WIDELY misunderstood, EVERYWHERE.