One arrives, the other leaves. The British Conservative Party crowned Elizabeth “Liz” Truss as British Prime Minister two days before the death of the other Elizabeth. Changes at the head of the country which usher in an era of uncertainty in the United Kingdom.
“England is going back to the days of Queen Victoria, with its misery and its beggars,” portrays Richard Allen. He comes to get, his face emaciated, a meal at the soup kitchen in the town of Thetford, capital of the constituency of Liz Truss. The native of the place says he has lost weight by “3 stones”, some 20 kilos, since his dismissal last December.
The last time Richard Allen voted was for Margaret Thatcher. “I never made that mistake again. I haven’t voted since. And Truss? He shrugs. “It’s not like she’s in control. »
We are a long way from London here, as in many other English countrysides. The cost of living is exploding and the policies of Westminster do not change much. Everything costs around 10% more than last year in the UK, according to September data from the Office for National Statistics.
“I pay around £700 a month for electricity. A few months ago, I was paying the same for three months, calculates the manager of the community kitchen, the bubbly Sharon Thompson. Stores that offer help don’t give as much as they used to. And those who ask for help are always more numerous. […] More and more foreigners are living with us and sleeping in tents. »
It is in this difficult context that Liz Truss took the reins of the United Kingdom on September 6th. She won this post after the resignation of Boris Johnson, stuck by the scandals, and at the end of a race for the nomination during which only the members of the Conservative Party had the right to look.
A leading party spokesman says the choice is not at all unanimous. He agreed to speak on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak with the media. “Her leadership campaign has been slow to gain momentum to allow her to be considered a serious contender. Quite frankly, the last two in the race — Mme Truss and M. [Rishi] Sunak — weren’t universally the first choice for many members. They both held senior positions in Boris Johnson’s cabinet, so some skepticism was evident. »
Winter fears
To cool discontent and warm English cottages, Liz Truss’s first maneuver was to cap electricity bills at £2,500 a year for the next two winters. “What is controversial is that it will subsidize energy companies [à hauteur de 40 milliards de livres]. The option proposed by the Labor Party [l’opposition officielle]is to introduce a series of windfall taxes to pay for it,” notes in an interview with To have to the head of the Department of Political Economy at King’s College London, Andrew Blick.
Despite this emergency aid, the average Englishman will be cold this winter.
“For a lot of people, it won’t change much. They will pay much more for food. The rent also increases, but not the wages. They will have to make choices ”, observes Andy Bull, crossed at the soup kitchen of Mme Thompson. As proof, another man enters the community room and asks for a hot meal. “It’s better hot, because I don’t have any more electricity to cook,” he says.
Sharon Thompson prefers not to answer when asked how she will spend the winter if it turns out to be harsh. With her head bowed, she returns to her stove to fill plates for the poor who are waiting in line.
The real Liz Truss
The Truss style contrasts with the flamboyant one of its predecessor. In public, the 47-year-old politician has drawn plenty of teasing so far. An excerpt from a speech often comes back to haunt her. “We grow wheat more productively than the Canadian prairies. We produce more kinds of cheese than the French. And we sell tea in China”, she had launched a few years ago in front of an audience of conservative members flabbergasted by these lame comparisons.
It was rather the behind-the-scenes dealings that put her on the podium of English politics, observes a Conservative Party aide on condition of anonymity. “In a past life, she was a Liberal Democrat, our third national party. She talked about being a Republican and supported policies that were not those of the Conservative Party, then or now. I’m not sure when or why she changed her allegiance, but it left a lot of people confused as to who the real M is.me Truss. She seems to support what she thinks is politically astute to get votes. »
Liz Truss’s transition to the role of Minister of State for Foreign Affairs still gives her the allure of a woman capable of holding the helm of her country in stormy international seas. An ardent defender of Ukraine, she also barred access to the English parliament to the Chinese ambassador because of the genocide of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Thatcher 2.0?
Many may be tempted to compare her to Margaret Thatcher, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Both began their terms in times of intense inflation. Both came out as Eurosceptics. Both were brought to power by the right wing of their party. When a BBC reporter asked Liz Truss if she could name an economist who supports her policies, she replied “Patrick Minford”, the same answer Thatcher gave more than 40 years ago.
The comparisons between the two women end there, according to Professor Blick. “Thatcher was rigid, stubborn in her beliefs. Truss is more flexible, in that she can overrule her own decisions. »
The latter will therefore have a lot to do to establish its governance during the first real test, the general election, scheduled for 2024 at the latest. Mr. Blick also maintains that the Conservative Party could overthrow it before its time if it does not fails to reverse the trend of the polls which, for the moment, place it losing.
“I am simply not convinced that she has the personality necessary to conquer the electorate in sufficient numbers”, concedes for his part a conservative collaborator.
The week of mourning that the United Kingdom is going through has suspended all parliamentary debate. The recovery promises to be intense for those who, unlike the king, govern but do not reign.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.