The issue that will win or lose the election for Liz Truss

Nobody knows what they think about Liz Truss. Not literally nobody – those of us with a wholly unusual level of interest in politics of course have our pet theories – but nobody in the sense of the broad sweep of the general public. As Tony Blair noted in his memoirs: ‘For most normal people, politics is a distant, occasionally irritating fog.’ That is, in fact, a pretty good description of the last month of a Conservative leadership race that tested the appetite for politics of even the nerdiest among us.

Not since John Major’s rapid rise-without-trace to succeed Margaret Thatcher has a new arrival in 10 Downing Street been more of a mystery to voters. So don’t believe polls purporting to know how people will react to her premiership. Everything is up for grabs.

But what Blair also noted was that there are key times when the ordinary voter ‘switches on’.