London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Sep 13, 2025

Liz Truss speech: PM pledges to get country through 'stormy days'

Liz Truss speech: PM pledges to get country through 'stormy days'

Liz Truss has promised to get the country through "stormy days", as she vowed to take on the "anti-growth coalition".

In her speech to the Tory conference, which has been marked by U-turns and internal division, the PM admitted her policies would cause "disruption".

But she said "the status quo is not an option" and "we must stay the course".

The speech came against a backdrop of financial and political turmoil following the government's mini-budget.

Markets reacted badly to the plans for £45bn in tax cuts funded by borrowing, while the government's U-turn on its plan to scrap the 45p tax band for the highest earners was fuelled by opposition from Tory MPs.

The prime minister's speech lasted around 35 minutes - shorter than is usually the case for the party leader at conference - and was briefly interrupted by environmental protesters from Greenpeace, holding up a sign reading "who voted for this?".

Ms Truss - who became PM just one month ago - made no new policy announcements but pledged to stick to her promises to cut taxes and regulations on businesses.

She acknowledged "these are stormy days", citing the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

But she added: "I'm determined to get Britain moving, to get us through the tempest and to put us on a stronger footing as a nation."

Ms Truss also vowed to take on the "anti-growth coalition" and "enemies of enterprise", including opposition parties, "militant unions" and environmental campaigners - like the ones, she said, who heckled during her speech.

The prime minister mentioned growth 29 times in her speech, recognising that her goal was "difficult but necessary".

She argued cutting taxes was "the right thing to do morally and economically" as it allowed people to keep more of their own money so they are "inspired to do more of what they do best".

"I believe that you know best how to spend your own money, to get on in life and realise your own ambitions," she said, adding: "I want what you want."

However, in attempt to reassure the markets, she promised to "keep an iron grip on the nation's finances".

Highlighting her own background, Ms Truss said her upbringing in Paisley and Leeds in the 1980s and 1990s meant she knew what it was like "to live somewhere that isn't feeling the benefits of economic growth".

"I have fought to get where I am today," she told the conference, highlighting how the barriers she had faced as a woman "made me angry and it made me determined".

Echoing her predecessor Boris Johnson's pledge when he became prime minister, she promised to "level up" the country "in a Conservative way, ensuring everyone everywhere can get on".

The hall was not packed, but reaction during the speech was positive, and included several standing ovations.

Tory delegates leaving the conference hall echoed this, with one member saying: "She has steel and you need that when you are a woman in politics."

Cabinet ministers seated on the front row for the speech applauded as Ms Truss outlined her priorities. Afterwards Welsh Secretary Sir Robert Buckland was one who praised the leader's message, adding that her speech was "packed full of substance".

However, the liberal Conservative think tank, Bright Blue, accused Ms Truss's government of "amateurism and amorality".

Chief executive Ryan Shorthouse said her economic policies "do very little" for voters who backed the Conservatives in 2019 and "have for a long time felt forgotten".

There was a muted reaction from the financial markets, with the pound falling slightly against the dollar during Ms Truss's speech.

Government borrowing costs also fell but were slightly higher over the day.

The Tory conference has been overshadowed by divisions, after the government made a dramatic U-turn over its plans to scrap the top rate of income tax.

Some cabinet ministers and senior Conservatives have also publicly spoken out against the suggestion increases to some benefits like universal credit could be linked to wages rather than prices, which would amount to a real-terms cut.

Conservative MPs have been told they face suspension from the party - known as losing the whip - if they vote against Ms Truss's tax cuts in Parliament.

Levelling Up Minister Paul Scully told the BBC it would be a "very serious situation" for the government if its mini-budget did not get through and urged Tory colleagues to "think of that before they think about rebelling".

Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Ms Truss had been "at the heart of building a Conservative economy that has led to the flat wages and low growth she highlighted today".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "The Conservatives have lost control of the economy, causing eye-watering mortgage payments, soaring inflation and an ever-deepening cost-of-living emergency."


Watch: Greenpeace campaigners heckle the PM a few minutes into her party conference speech.

How did Liz Truss's conference speech go down?


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
×