In the early morning hours of July 5th, a political earthquake shook the United Kingdom. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, widely expected to easily retain her parliamentary seat of South West Norfolk, had been defeated in a stunning upset. As the reality set in, the assembled officials, activists and journalists at the Lynnsport leisure centre in King’s Lynn waited with bated breath for Truss to appear and address her shocking loss. But the former PM was nowhere to be seen.
When Truss finally did walk in, 45 minutes after Labour candidate Terry Jermy was announced as the victor in her constituency, she was greeted with a slow, sarcastic clap from the crowd. In a defining moment that encapsulated the Conservatives’ dramatic fall from power, Truss refused to take the stage and deliver a concession speech. It was an ignominious end to a disastrous campaign for the Tories, and a personal humiliation for the woman who just months ago resided at 10 Downing Street.
The Unthinkable Loss
South West Norfolk was considered a true blue safe seat, having been held by the Conservatives continuously since 1964. In 2019, Truss was reelected with a seemingly insurmountable majority of 26,000 votes. But this time, the political winds had shifted. As Jermy and his Labour team knocked on doors throughout the constituency, they heard a common refrain from longtime Conservative voters: “We will not vote for Truss.”
A week after we started campaigning, I remember saying to members of the team: ‘She could very well lose this’.
– Terry Jermy, Labour MP for South West Norfolk
Truss allies argue that the backlash was less about her personally, and more about dissatisfaction with her successor Rishi Sunak’s government. In her book Ten Years to Save the West, Truss wrote that “Sunak had been complicit in amplifying Labour’s lies and spreading smears about me and my premiership … My running under his banner in the general election had sent out a mixed message to electors.” But clearly, the voters of South West Norfolk were not buying it.
Embarrassing Disappearing Act
After the devastating result was announced, Truss briefly took the stage, but delivered no concession speech. She quickly exited after a short BBC interview, in which she conspicuously ignored a question about whether she felt she’d let voters down. It was an awkward disappearing act unbefitting of a former prime minister.
“I thought she would give a speech,” recalls a befuddled Jermy. “I had seen other Tories during the night giving generous concession speeches and I thought she might get up and thank her staff and her volunteers at least, but there was none of that.” Truss’ team insists the lack of remarks followed local tradition of only the victor speaking, but it came across as graceless and tone-deaf given the shocking nature of her defeat.
Truss Plots Her Comeback
Despite the humiliating result, one thing is clear: Liz Truss is not done with politics. In the months since losing her seat, the ever-ambitious Truss has made multiple splashy public appearances. She drew a packed crowd at the Conservative Party conference, arguing Tory fortunes would’ve been better had she led them into the general election instead of Sunak. Truss has become a fixture in the United States as well, speaking at the Republican National Convention and loudly backing Donald Trump’s new presidential bid.
Those close to Truss say she is carefully laying the groundwork for a political revival. She continues to argue that Western democracy is broken and can only be repaired by strong leaders willing to challenge ossified institutions – a less-than-subtle suggestion that she sees herself as the solution. Some allies believe Truss will attempt to win back South West Norfolk at the next general election, pointing to press releases she’s issued criticizing her successor Jermy. But Conservative Party elders, perhaps still smarting from the disastrous election result, would prefer the former PM keep her distance from UK politics for the foreseeable future.
As for the current occupant of the South West Norfolk seat, Jermy says he’s enjoying his unexpected role as MP. “There are bits of the job I have really enjoyed,” he notes. “Casework, constituency visits and surgeries – I have really enjoyed all of that. I am very much a presence in the constituency, and that is a bit of an adjustment for local people.” After years of absentee representation from a jet-setting Truss, the voters of South West Norfolk are no doubt appreciating a more hands-on approach from their new member of parliament.
Only time will tell if Liz Truss can engineer a remarkable political comeback after her spectacular fall from grace. But if recent history has taught us anything, it’s to never count out the dogged determination and relentless ambition of the former prime minister. The Truss saga is far from over.
