Having tentatively predicted that Liz Truss would become prime minister in the autumn, the likelihood is that this will now happen on 5 September. She has already overcome her biggest hurdle – winning the support of enough Conservative MPs to make the final two – and all the polling suggests she has a commanding lead with party members. Anecdotally, I hear much the same thing.
Truss is a bit of a mystery to many close followers of politics. She can be a poor communicator – the “pork markets” speech will not be forgotten by those who saw it – and her record as a minister is mixed, but she looks set to reach the pinnacle of British politics. She voted Remain but has reached the final two thanks to the support of the most die-hard Brexiteers. She was once a Liberal Democrat calling for the abolition of the monarchy but now finds her support on the right. She is accused of being both an inflexible ideologue and a flip-flopping opportunist.
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