Liz Truss’s Downing Street press conference has made everything worse, as far as Tory MPs are concerned. As soon as it was over, a number of backbenchers who had supported Truss for leader were locked into a call with Thérèse Coffey, the PM’s closest friend in Parliament and the Deputy Prime Minister. Those on the call said it was ‘like a wake,’ with even Coffey sounding ‘broken.’ ‘You could see the loss in her eyes,’ said one. Coffey reiterated the points the Prime Minister had made in No. 10, before taking questions.
The ‘wake’ line is one you hear a lot at the moment. A number of MPs who went to one of Truss’s ‘policy lunches’ in Downing Street yesterday used the same word to describe the atmosphere. Few wanted their photo with the Prime Minister – which is unusual, telling and also a particular insult for a politician who has built a brand using selfies.
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