Trussanomics’ biggest fan turns on Truss. Who was the mini-Budget’s biggest supporter?
Liz Truss PM – but for how long?
The morning’s papers won’t be an enjoyable read for the prime minister for some time as the pro-Tory press has quickly turned on Truss following her disastrous mini-Budget.
We’re looking into one of Liz Truss’s biggest supporters – and avid Boris Johnson ally, the Daily Mail and how the headlines have changed in less than a month.
The Mail was one of several newspapers that championed Trussonomics and the mini-Budget. Even before it was published, the Mail was hailing the Budget at the move that will make us all better off. Less than a month later, the paper joined the mass by calling for the prime minister to go, calling her mini-Budget a disaster and looking at who will replace her.
On days when the outlook seemed to grim, the Mail had a habit of finding a celebrity story to put on its front page – and pushing negative Truss coverage to around page 8.
But following the tanking of the pound, the sacking of a chancellor and a series of mistakes that have followed, the Mail clearly doesn’t want to be #TeamTruss anymore.
September 21 – “Freedom begins with tax cuts”
“Freedom begins with tax cuts” is the Daily Mail’s headline, reporting Ms Truss has “signalled a revolution” with a “bold agenda of tax cuts and regulatory reforms”. The paper quotes sources saying the new prime minister wants “to lead Britain into a new era”. The article was written two days before the mini-budget was released. “These measures will put more money in people’s pockets, create jobs, attract investment and fuel competitiveness.”
“It’s a bold and defiant start to her career as Prime Minister – and firmly rooted in traditional Conservative thinking.
“It’s an unashamedly Tory solution – and one that should make us all better off.”
September 23 – “Biggest tax cuts in 30 years!”
The then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng releases the mini-Budget, signed off and agreed on by Prime Minister Liz Truss – and the Mail couldn’t be happier.
“Biggest tax cuts in 30 years!” is the first headline the Mail offers up on the day of the Budget release – which the paper predicted would “turbo-charge growth” rather than precede a sterling crash. The paper describes the move as “rolling the dice on her premiership” by unveiling “the biggest package of tax cuts in three decades” which was designed to “end the UK’s cycle of stagnation,” according to the paper.
September 24 – “At last! A true Tory budget”
“At last! A true Tory budget.” was on the front page of the Mail the very next day. The newspaper’s City editor, Alex Brummer, wrote: “The boldness and courage of Kwasi Kwarteng’s debut budget is seismic,” and erroneously predicted it would result in “lifting confidence and sparking a surge in consumption and investment”.
October 14 – “How much can she (and the rest of us) take?”
“How much can she (and the rest of us) take?” asks the front page of the paper which describes the previous day – the sacking of chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, her awful press conference and the appointment of Hunt as the new chancellor – as “shambolic.” The paper’s front page describes the events in Westminster as “another day of barely believable Tory chaos.”
October 18 – “In office but not in power”
“In office but not in power,” is the headline for the Daily Mail’s 18/10/22. Less than a month after hailing the mini-Budget, the Daily Mail has completely U-turned on Liz Truss, using its front page to say her “disastrous mini-budget” was torn up by her new chancellor and says she’s the prime minister in name only – nicknamed PINO. The paper says Tory rebels are planning to oust her in the coming days if she cannot set out a convincing argument for why she should be allowed to stay.