The Tory MPs who fear a swing to the right under Liz Truss

Moderate Conservatives are worried that a Truss premiership will fail to connect with the country as a whole, writes Kate Devlin

Truss is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher (AFP/Getty)

After a lengthy leadership contest Tory MPs are now nervously awaiting the outcome of the next few days to see if they can discern the shape of their, and our, new government.

Some fear the Truss administration will mark a lurch to the right. The frontrunner to win the keys to No 10 does not want to unite her party, one former minister told me this week, she wants to be tribal and be seen as the darling of her faction.

As ever, MPs worry what that could mean for their prospects at the next general election. Politicians like to joke it is hard to underestimate how soon they will start campaigning for re-election. But with the clock ticking, the next polling day is not far from anyone’s mind.

Some Conservative MPs fear a swing rightward could be a gift to their political opponents. The Lib Dems are hoping to repeat their astonishing victories in by-elections earlier this year by targeting moderate Tory voters in seats in the south of England. And while Boris won a number of previously Labour constituencies, and a large Commons majority, with a polarising message, the fear is Ms Truss will lack the rallying cry that was “get Brexit done“ next time around.

Linked are the multiple challenges she faces when it comes to party management, an issue her predecessor failed to grasp to his cost. When it comes to her reshuffle, Tory MPs will be watching the appointment of junior ministerial roles anxiously. Many believe this could be their last chance – and there are not enough jobs to go around. Those who arrived in parliament before the 2019 intake will be particularly aggrieved to be overlooked. More worryingly for Truss, they could feel they have nothing left to lose in the run-up to an election, and no reason to support the government over the demands of their own voters. Boris Johnson found that a nominal Commons majority of 80 not all it was cracked up to be, but initially at least he had the benefit of time and the hint of future patronage. The new prime minister will have precious little of either.

Some of her supporters take a more mixed view of where she will lead her government, however. They argue the administration will judged on one thing and one thing only, to quote Bill Clinton’s strategist James Carville “the economy stupid”. Soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis and will swamp the government, they believe, and there just is not the bandwidth within Whitehall to launch a series of culture wars. Not at the same time as trying to keep the lights on this winter.