Last September Liz Truss made her first speech as the country’s new prime minister in front of 10 Downing Street. “What makes the United Kingdom great,” she said, “is our fundamental belief in freedom, in enterprise and in fair play.” She would later expand on this point in her speech to the Conservative Party conference. “I believe that you know best how to spend your money… That is what Conservatism is about,” she said. “It is a belief in freedom, fair play and the great potential of the British people.”
Two months earlier, meanwhile, Keir Starmer had deployed the same phrase with a subtly different emphasis. Speaking about his threat to resign if found guilty of the alleged lockdown breach known as “Beergate”, the Labour leader explained: “I wanted to show that politicians will risk their careers on matters of principle. That we are not… only in it for ourselves. And that I am committed to the values which earn Britain respect all around the world – fair play, respect for difference, the rule of law.”
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