Liz Truss’s time is up

[Sue]

I love to see her conference speech next week, it would be painful to watch I think

What, giving a scripted performance as opposed to answering difficult questions? Won't be anywhere near as painful/entertaining.

(I was going to mention that she'd be in front of a friendly audience too but...)

 

[prunus]

I mean obvious she stood on every rake laid out in front of her once she was on the round, but the booking of the interviews themselves weren't in error

Has anyone done a gif of sideshow bob and the rakes with Truss’s face on? I don’t have the skills. Thanks in advance.

 

[killer b]

I wouldn't be surprised if she was pelted with rotten fruit by her own side by next week tbh

 

[Smokeandsteam]

Parliamentary democracy ain't exactly my thing, but this is a good example how it can deliver ideological leaders who are lined up with just about nobody in the country. In their attempt at pandering to people with wealth, they've alienated just about everyone.

Truss was made PM by less than 60% of the Tory membership voting for her. She has been elected by no-one

As such she has no mandate whatsoever for the mini-budget. As such:

a) labour should be demanding that she resign or call an election immediately and
b) Tory MPs who want rid of her need do no more than write to the 1922 committee highlighting the fact that Truss has torn up the the key manifesto commitments that they were elected on.

It’s interesting that the political class so obsessed with constitutional and ethics a few months ago don’t seem to have noted that here we have an unelected leader who almost brought the economy to the point of near total collapse yesterday.

 

[Petcha]

I love this guy. Always the best part of PMQ's on a weekly basis.

SNP says 'reckless, clueless' Truss failed to provide reassurance with 'car crash interviews'​

The SNP also says Liz Truss’s morning interviews have made the case for a recall of parliament even stronger. In a statement Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, said:

Liz Truss has shown she is reckless, clueless and completely out of touch with people in Scotland - who are increasingly worried about the impact of the disastrous Tory budget on their mortgages, pensions, and household budgets.
Parliament must be recalled immediately and an emergency statement must be brought forward to reverse the damage of the Tory budget and prevent a catastrophic economic crash.

If this tin-eared prime minister refuses to act - then she should step aside and let someone else do the right thing before millions of people suffer.

No one will feel reassured after the prime minister’s car crash radio interviews this morning - and the longer she refuses to act the more damage she will do

 

[ruffneck23]

 

[Storm Fox]

What, giving a scripted performance as opposed to answering difficult questions? Won't be anywhere near as painful/entertaining.

(I was going to mention that she'd be in front of a friendly audience too but...)

I hope this post ages really badly

 

[Wilf]

Truss was made PM by less than 60% of the Tory membership voting for her. She has been elected by no-one

As such she has no mandate whatsoever for the mini-budget. As such:

a) labour should be demanding that she resign or call an election immediately and
b) Tory MPs who want rid of her need do no more than write to the 1923 committee highlighting the fact that Truss has torn up the manifesto commitments that they were elected on.

It’s interesting that the political class so obsessed with constitutional and ethics a few months ago don’t seem to have noted that here we have an unelected leader who almost brought the economy to the point of near total collapse yesterday.

It's a field full of open goals for the left at the moment, a real chance for all kinds of groups and grievances to coalesce. Not in some mushy cross class mishmash, though that's what Labour will see it as, in as much as they articulate the word class at all. No, more an opportunity to build some kind of real movement. Whether that happens and the rest is for another thread, but there's a real sense the tories are, by their actions, opening up the public realm, to the point where all that anger might have an outlet.

 

[teuchter]

How does this work then, if we stick to the specifics of johnson's demise? Protest about the policy stuff but don't say a word about the parties and corruption?

Depends what your strategy/aim is. Is it to get a labour government, or at least a non-tory government, in at the next election?

 

[killer b]

It's a field full of open goals for the left at the moment, a real chance for all kinds of groups and grievances to coalesce. Not in some mushy cross class mishmash, though that's what Labour will see it as, in as much as they articulate the word class at all. No, more an opportunity to build some kind of real movement. Whether that happens and the rest is for another thread, but there's a real sense the tories are, by their actions, opening up the public realm, to the point where all that anger might have an outlet.

There's a 'day of action' this weekend. It's not really clear to me what the action they're proposing we do is, other than listen to some trade union tops talking over a tannoy in a rain-soaked park, but I'm going to go along with an open mind.

 

[brogdale]

Tasty little (ex)blue-on-blue grief to demoralise the extremists even more...

 

[Smokeandsteam]

It's a field full of open goals for the left at the moment, a real chance for all kinds of groups and grievances to coalesce. Not in some mushy cross class mishmash, though that's what Labour will see it as, in as much as they articulate the word class at all. No, more an opportunity to build some kind of real movement. Whether that happens and the rest is for another thread, but there's a real sense the tories are, by their actions, opening up the public realm, to the point where all that anger might have an outlet.

Definitely. This is one of those occasions where the veil slips and people see capitalism in its naked form. Each attempt to rectify the error made simply reveals more of the parasite.

That’s why I think there will be an intervention: either Truss will be forced to reverse or she’ll be toppled.

 

[brogdale]

Definitely. This is one of those occasions where the veil slips and people see capitalism in its naked form. Each attempt to rectify the error made simply reveals more of the parasite.

That’s why I think there will be an intervention: either Truss will be forced to reverse or she’ll be toppled.

I guess the former, and most likely through the whips being made aware that, if pushed through, she'd face an embarrassing rebellion of the Sunakites.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

There's a 'day of action' this weekend. It's not really clear to me what the action they're proposing we do is, other than listen to some trade union tops talking over a tannoy in a rain-soaked park, but I'm going to go along with an open mind.

You mean the day of action to coincide with co-ordinated strikes? You could go and visit a picket line? Be a start…

 

[teuchter]

Definitely. This is one of those occasions where the veil slips and people see capitalism in its naked form. Each attempt to rectify the error made simply reveals more of the parasite.

It's only a tiny number of people in the UK, of a particular type, that are looking at this and thinking things like "ooh, here is capitalism in its naked form".

 

[killer b]

You mean the day of action to coincide with co-ordinated strikes? You could go and visit a picket line? Be a start…

Oh ok, all the publicity says to go to Piccadilly Gardens so I was going to do that.

 

[magneze]

It's only a tiny number of people in the UK, of a particular type, that are looking at this and thinking things like "ooh, here is capitalism in its naked form".

Probably more like "err, hang on ... is this how it's meant to work?"

 

[brogdale]

It's only a tiny number of people in the UK, of a particular type, that are looking at this and thinking things like "ooh, here is capitalism in its naked form".

Yes, standards of education have certainly declined under the last 46 years of neoliberal governance.

 

[Wilf]

Definitely. This is one of those occasions where the veil slips and people see capitalism in its naked form. Each attempt to rectify the error made simply reveals more of the parasite.

That’s why I think there will be an intervention: either Truss will be forced to reverse or she’ll be toppled.

In terms of political economy I think you could be right, don't fuck with the markets, don't create situations that bring opposition forces together to the point where organised labour becomes a player again. But in terms of politics, it's hard to see the tory party going for another leader in the short term - and in the medium terms it's probably too late as the election starts to loom. They are pretty much in the logic of Man United with their post-Ferguson revolving door of managers. You get another shit one, but you have to first see if they can put it right and even when it's obvious that they can't, you have to find some kind of 'process' to get them out. And not look like a much of divs for all that. She's David Moyes, by the way. The 'hapless' David Moyes.

 

[Wilf]

Oh ok, all the publicity says to go to Piccadilly Gardens so I was going to do that.

Me too.

 

[brogdale]

In terms of political economy I think you could be right, don't fuck with the markets, don't create situations that bring opposition forces together to the point where organised labour becomes a player again. But in terms of politics, it's hard to see the tory party going for another leader in the short term - and in the medium terms it's probably too late as the election starts to loom. They are pretty much in the logic of Man United with their post-Ferguson revolving door of managers. You get another shit one, but you have to first see if they can put it right and even when it's obvious that they can't, you have to find some kind of 'process' to get them out. And not look like a much of divs for all that. She's David Moyes, by the way. The 'hapless' David Moyes.

My god, I've read some things about Moyes, but really? That bad?

 

[Wilf]

My god, I've read some things about Moyes, but really? That bad?

Okay, one for our older readers, Wilf McGuinness.

 

[Wilf]

Anyway, I've got to work for a bit. Let's see what she's done by 5.00, invaded Belgium?

 

[teuchter]

Yes, standards of education have certainly declined under the last 46 years of neoliberal governance.

Whatever - if people are alarmed by what's happening at the moment then I think it's silly to believe that it's going to prompt them suddenly to identify themselves as anti-capitalist or similar. More likely that they will be inclined to vote cautiously next time round and go for a "safe pair of hands" which of course is what the Conservative party has tended to appeal to traditionally.

Already on this thread we're seeing the same kind of hand-wavy predictions that this might be "the moment" that appear on urban75 after any kind of crisis or shake-up. We read about how this might be another "opportunity to build a movement blah blah class something" and everyone goes off to attend some meetings with fellow politics enthusiasts.

Just like Brexit.

 

[steveo87]

I'm listening to the Newscast and my brain can't get around the fact she's the PM.
I'm only at the 'Leeds' interview, but she just sounds like a Junior MP who's been parachuted in with loose outline of what to say and when to say it, and anything that isn't on that list has her immediately flummoxed.

One way or another, she's had months to prepare for this, and she/they've fucked it. In the long term, it's boss, because the Tories are fucked for years now.
But short term, I've got my mortgage to pay, a son to feed, and a job to keep.
She's a fucking cunt.

 

[Storm Fox]

Whatever - if people are alarmed by what's happening at the moment then I think it's silly to believe that it's going to prompt them suddenly to identify themselves as anti-capitalist or similar. More likely that they will be inclined to vote cautiously next time round and go for a "safe pair of hands" which of course is what the Conservative party has tended to appeal to traditionally.

Already on this thread we're seeing the same kind of hand-wavy predictions that this might be "the moment" that appear on urban75 after any kind of crisis or shake-up. We read about how this might be another "opportunity to build a movement blah blah class something" and everyone goes off to attend some meetings with fellow politics enthusiasts.

Just like Brexit.

Led by who? Johnson got rid of most of the sensible one-nation tories and only promoted sycophants. Truss is worse. They are a joke at the moment.

 

[story]

Meanwhile....

Tory donor makes huge profits from falling pound

‘It’s been helpful’, says Crispin Odey on his bets against Sterling amid market turmoil

www.independent.co.uk

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication

www.ft.com

 

[story]

C&P from the torygraph link above

Crispin Odey and other hedge fund managers profit from sterling tumble​

Computer-driven traders have also gained from strong selling in UK currency​

September 27 2022

Crispin Odey believes the pound could fall to parity against the dollar: ‘I don’t think you can start getting bullish on sterling’ © FT montage/Bloomberg
Hedge fund managers including Crispin Odey are among those profiting from steep falls in sterling and UK government bonds as investors take flight on fears over the sustainability of the country’s public finances.

The founder of Odey Asset Management is one of several leading hedge fund managers who believe the pound could now fall to parity against the dollar or below. Both his group and other trend-following hedge funds have been running short positions — bets on falling prices — against the pound and longer-dated gilts for some time.

Odey’s bets — based on the belief that the market had badly underestimated how long inflation could stay high — are now paying off handsomely. His flagship European hedge fund is now up about 145 per cent this year.

“I don’t think you can start getting bullish on sterling,” Odey told the Financial Times, expressing his belief the pound could hit one-to-one against the dollar. “It’s so close” to parity, he said.

The adverse market reaction to chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting, high borrowing plan last week has hit both sterling and the gilts market, as investors fretted about its impact on inflation, government debt and Britain’s hefty current account deficit.

After the chancellor — who at one stage worked for Odey — suggested at the weekend there could be further tax cuts, sterling hit an all-time low of $1.035 on Monday.

“It’s been helpful,” Odey said about his short sterling position. “It [sterling and gilts] is all part of the same story of higher inflation . . . The market has been a long way from where inflation was.”

The pound is now down more than 4 per cent against the dollar since Kwarteng’s fiscal plan on Friday, while UK gilts are on course to post their worst month on record dating back to 1979.

Odey described his bets against gilts as “the gifts that keep on giving”.

The fund manager has donated significant sums of money to Conservative causes over the past decade. He has given more than £800,000 to pro-Brexit campaigns, including £32,000 to the UK Independence party when it was led by Nigel Farage.

Odey donated £10,000 to Boris Johnson’s Tory leadership campaign in 2019, but was criticised by Labour politicians after it was revealed that he was betting against the pound. He told the FT that suggestions he donated to the campaign to profit from a potential chaotic Brexit outcome were “crap”.

Many of the bearish bets on sterling have also been run by so-called managed futures hedge funds, a sector running $390bn, according to data provider HFR. These strategies try to latch on to trends in global markets.

The pound’s fall from more than $1.40 in June last year has provided a strong trend for funds to follow. Funds have held a short sterling position for well over a year, according to Société Générale’s Trend Indicator, which models the positions of such funds, and in 2022 it has been the second most profitable bet for them, behind only wagers against Japan’s currency.

Rotterdam-based Transtrend, which manages $6.3bn in assets, is shorting sterling against several other currencies, and also betting against British fixed income instruments. Such bets together have been a big contributor to the fund’s gains of 7.4 per cent this month, while so far this year the fund is up about 30 per cent.

Many in the market are bracing themselves for further falls.

“Buying sterling here is like licking honey from the razor’s edge,” said Hugh Hendry, founder of Eclectica Asset Management, which wound down its hedge fund in 2017. “It would be remiss of the foreign exchange community not to allow for [sterling] to trade back at parity with the dollar and possibly trade below that level in the short term.”

Pilar Gomez-Bravo, director of fixed income for Europe at MFS Investment Management, has been shorting the pound for some time and increased this bet to the maximum allowed in her portfolio following Kwarteng’s announcement last week.

She believes the pound could fall to parity with the dollar “and keep going unless there is a policy response” from the Bank of England or the government, although she added that she expected such a response to come.

Odey said he expected the pound to “bounce around now” and that both sterling and gilts were getting closer to the point at which being short was no longer attractive. He said his bet against the pound was not magnified by using debt and had been bigger in the past.

Odey said he did not have a trading advantage because Kwarteng previously worked as a consultant to Odey Asset Management.

“There’s a mad idea that one’s behind every twist and turn,” said Odey. “All I can do is catch the wind now and again.”

Additional reporting by Sebastian Payne in Liverpool

 

[not-bono-ever]

I know it’s ripe for piss takery but fucking hell, this goes beyond funny. They are in control of the country and doing whatever they want

 

[tommers]

In terms of political economy I think you could be right, don't fuck with the markets, don't create situations that bring opposition forces together to the point where organised labour becomes a player again. But in terms of politics, it's hard to see the tory party going for another leader in the short term - and in the medium terms it's probably too late as the election starts to loom. They are pretty much in the logic of Man United with their post-Ferguson revolving door of managers. You get another shit one, but you have to first see if they can put it right and even when it's obvious that they can't, you have to find some kind of 'process' to get them out. And not look like a much of divs for all that. She's David Moyes, by the way. The 'hapless' David Moyes.

She needs to find some mid table country and get them back into Europe. Oh, hang on.