London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Can Liz Truss's new charm offensive win over Tory MPs?

Can Liz Truss's new charm offensive win over Tory MPs?

When a leader lets it be known they are in listening mode, or words to that effect, it usually means there is already a 170 decibel political firework display well under way.

There is and it's volcanic.

The breakdown in discipline during the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham last week was extraordinary because of its breadth: nervous activists, jittery backbenchers and disloyal cabinet ministers.

So where do we find ourselves as MPs prepare to return to Westminster?

In the words of one senior figure: "This is a party that is unstoppable when it has the will to win. But the opposite is true too, when it decides it has a death wish."

Among Liz Truss's critics, and there are many, her speech to close the party conference "bought her half a week" in the words of one.

"It wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't terrible."

But things do seem just a little cooler than they were in the hothouse of Birmingham.

The appointment of Greg Hands as international trade minister, replacing Conor Burns, is seen as good news by those wanting to see evidence the prime minister is listening.

Mr Hands was a supporter of Rishi Sunak for the party leadership, and very, very few of those MPs were given jobs in Liz Truss's government.

Bizarrely, given the prime minister has been in post for a month now, this is the first normal Westminster week of her time in office.

After the mourning period for the Queen and the party conferences, Parliament is back, and the usual weekly fixtures, such as Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday are in place.

Conservative MPs can expect a noticeable dollop of love and attention coming their way from Downing Street, with the PM leading meetings of groups of Tory MPs, Project Reassurance (my phrase, not theirs) is underway.

There will be a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning as usual.

Among many of the issues causing ructions: benefits payments, and whether Universal Credit, a benefit received by 5.6 million people, rises in line with wages or inflation.

A basket of benefits have, by law, to go up in line with prices - such as the Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Carers' Allowance and Incapacity Benefit.

But Universal Credit does not - it is a decision taken every year.

The inflation figure that the rate could be lifted by is the one for the Consumer Prices Index, in September.

Ministers will have that number by the middle of next week - and so will have, by then, a more rounded sense of how much of a cost gap there is between the two options.

The prime minister says she has not decided what to do, although my understanding is her initial hunch was to put them up by the lower amount (wages), rather than the higher, more expensive amount (prices).

But, it doesn't look like she has the numbers in Parliament to do it.

Just this morning, the former cabinet minister Sajid Javid joined those saying it must rise by the higher amount.

"The last week means the prime minister has no political space at all," one cabinet minister told me.

A final thought.

If anything you have read in the last few days sounds like a fountain of hyperbole from excitable reporters - and yes, we are occasionally guilty of a splash of excitability - just measure the depth and breadth and verbiage of the pushback in the newspapers over the weekend.

Cabinet ministers, including Penny Mordaunt, arguably the most transparently disloyal last week, pledged their loyalty.

Then there was a grandee, Sir Bill Cash; and a message from the grassroots too, in a letter to the Sunday Telegraph.

At all altitudes of the party, there is a collective attempt to discourage what some see as a lemming tendency taking grip.

It's the prime minister's job to try to turn that fatalism off.

It's one heck of a job.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×