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It would have been the perfect moment for some team bonding, but we couldn’t even go to the pub,” recalled one aide. It was a moment for which officials had been preparing for years. When the queen’s death was announced at 6.30pm, Operation London Bridge was activated – and the cogs in the British political system ground to a halt.
Famously, the Blairs' eldest son Euan was found by police lying drunk on the pavement in central London at the age of 16. Seemingly not. “She was wounded, but that only made her more angry and defiant,” said one aide. “The belief was we just needed to explain better and harder.” The U-turns begin In contrast, her leadership rival Rishi Sunak made “restoring trust” one of the key planks of his campaign, and repeatedly said that would only be achieved by being honest with the public about the economic pain ahead. As she was driven towards No 10 on the last leg of her round trip, the car made several detours to wait for a break in the rain in which Truss could make a speech, while a bin bag was temporarily used to protect the waiting, sodden podium.Liz Truss on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme at the start of the Conservative party conference, 2 October 2022. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Frances worked on the digital team at the campaign headquarters after gaining a computing qualification at school, Truss told The Daily Telegraph. For 10 days, most officials were diverted to help with preparations for the queen’s lying in state and funeral. ‘There was basically zero institutional memory left ’
Queen Elizabeth II and Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle, 6 September 2022. Photograph: Jane Barlow/AFP/Getty ImagesLiberty "has been at quite a few campaign meetings and doesn't hesitate to offer me a lot of political advice," she added. Wednesday 19 October started worse than terribly. A gruelling prime minister’s questions left uncomfortable grimaces on the faces of the Tory MPs behind Truss. The couple met at a Conservative Party conference and Liverpool-born O'Leary stood unsuccessfully to become a Tory councillor.
During her Tory leadership campaign Truss said the girls, who reportedly attend state schools, were actively involved behind the scenes.
His hubristic handling of a series of self-inflicted scandals over the last year – Owen Paterson, Partygate and Chris Pincher – left his integrity fatally wounded and public trust even more diminished. With support ebbing away, Truss realised she might not have the numbers to get her plans through parliament. Such a defeat would have been treated as a vote of no confidence.
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