Liz Truss, the Tory leader, is a strong communicator, brave and could prove an economic “nightmare” for Labour, according to some of the opposition party’s leading strategists.
Labor Allies leader Sir Keir Starmer was also impressed by the way the foreign secretary has turned in the race to succeed outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson. “The idea that she’s a pushover is way off the mark,” said one.
In a poll this week by Redfield & Wilton Strategies asking who would make the better prime minister, Truss enjoyed a three-point lead over Starmer, while her rival, former chancellor Rishi Sunak, trailed Starmer by six points.
“Liz Truss is not a fool, she is brave,” said Lord Peter Mandelson, architect of New Labour’s 1997 election victory, noting that she ran as an “early Thatcher rebel” rather than a long-serving minister.
He said that while Labor must not allow Truss to “present himself as a departure from the last 12 years”, the party must also “show that it is changing so that it can change Britain”.
“Labour needs to demonstrate its own thinking and ideas and that it is the party for the whole country,” Mandelson added.
His comments were echoed by John McTernan, a former adviser to former prime minister Tony Blair and the Australian Labor Party. “Liz Truss will have the firepower of government and the freedom of movement afforded by a landslide leadership victory,” McTernan said.
“Meanwhile, Labor still lacks the confidence of voters on economic competence. The nightmare for Labor is that Liz Truss spends more freely than Jeremy Corbyn could ever dream of, while voters see her as economically dry as Margaret Thatcher,” he added.
Truss has also earned some respect in Starmer’s inner circle, with one ally saying that “her clear strength is the simplicity of her message”.
“She’s talking about what she’s for, while Sunak sounds like he’s talking about what he’s against. There is no complacency from our point of view. She appears to have been relieved of the prospect of holding the top post,” they added.
Starmer hopes to deal with Truss if she becomes prime minister by dismantling her economic strategy, which he says will rely on large-scale borrowing without focusing aid on the most vulnerable.
He will also ask the question ‘Whose side are you on?’, as he believes Truss’ preference for scrapping corporate tax rises for big companies over handouts for the poor will sway many voters.
Starmer faces a difficult autumn, with unions already criticizing him for a failed attempt to ban shadow ministers from standing on columns in support of striking workers.
His allies believe Lisa Nandy, the shadow secretary, has damaged her own standing with colleagues by joining a Communications Workers Union picket this month, but she will not be disciplined.
Starmer, currently on holiday, also faces the challenge of defining his party’s response to the cost-of-living crisis, which will lead to the biggest contraction in incomes for more than 60 years.
Labor will outline a new package of measures before August 26, the date when energy regulator Ofgem sets the next energy price ceiling, which will apply from October.
A YouGov poll this month analyzing general election voting intentions gave Labor a four-point lead over the Conservatives, with the opposition party on 37 points and the Tories on 33.
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