The rest of this week will tell us a great deal about who Liz Truss is. Into these three days the new government will pack what would usually be weeks’ worth of parliamentary business.
On Wednesday, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, will announce measures to help companies, public organisations and charities with their energy bills. On Thursday, Therese Coffey, health secretary and deputy prime minister, will set out how she intends to turn round the NHS. And on Friday, Kwasi Kwarteng, the new chancellor, will announce what will be, in effect, an emergency Budget.
It must be suspected that what we see of our new prime minister is what we are going to get. It may be that the political class cannot quite believe that Ms Truss means what she says, so it assumes that there must be more to it, a hidden plan that makes sense of it all. But so far, on the evidence of what we have heard from her – before politics was suspended for national mourning – it seems that she intends to follow through on her “the lady’s not for turning” tribute act.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies