Authored by Iain Murray via The American Institute for Economic Research
In 2023, the British Conservative Party made the decision to remove its leader, Boris Johnson, who had led them to a significant electoral victory in 2019, over a slice of cake. He was succeeded by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary. I was pleased with this appointment as Boris lacked the understanding of free market economics that Mrs. Truss possessed. However, less than fifty days later, the same forces that brought down Boris, also led to Liz Truss’ downfall. This is likely to result in electoral disaster for the Conservative Party.
In her book Ten Years to Save the West (Regnery), Mrs. Truss eloquently explains what went wrong for Britain and the Conservative Party. She details the challenges she faced during her Ministerial career, both from within the party and from civil service advisers who were meant to support her.
At the education department, the environment department, and the Ministry of Justice, it became evident that progress was hindered without the consent of the relevant “blob.” These blobs represent the institutional status quo in various areas of government policy. Mrs. Truss highlights that these blobs have only emerged recently.
One of Mrs. Truss’ main grievances is the failure of successive Conservative governments to dismantle this new constitutional arrangement. She criticizes David Cameron, Theresa May, and Boris Johnson for not addressing this issue. She points out the lack of democratic accountability in the process.
Furthermore, Mrs. Truss condemns the media’s reverence for these institutions and the reluctance to question their actions. The failure to hold these institutions accountable led to Liz Truss’ swift downfall as Prime Minister.
Her memoir serves as a cautionary tale to Americans to prevent the administrative state from gaining excessive power and to reduce its existing influence. She warns against using the administrative state for conservative purposes, as it is inherently anti-conservative.
While these are the main themes of her book, Mrs. Truss also discusses other important issues, such as the international environmental blob and the need for free nations to form an “Economic NATO” to counter China’s power.
Her final chapter outlines six key lessons from her career.
Her first lesson is the importance of conservatives being truly conservative. She emphasizes the need to dismantle the leftist state and restore democratic accountability. She also stresses the need for conservatism to prevail globally, particularly in the United States.
Her final lessons emphasize the reassertion of the nation state and the rejection of appeasement towards unfree powers like Russia, China, and Iran.
If you view Liz Truss as a hapless figure, this book will change your perspective. She emerges as a strong conservative let down by her allies to an unyielding progressive establishment that must be dismantled.
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