Thread by @thetimes

The most powerful woman in politics: can anyone stop Liz Truss? thetimes.co.uk/article/liz-tr…

“Believe in yourself, believe in Britain, that would probably be her campaign slogan,” says a former adviser. She’ll mention freedom, she’ll mention liberty, she’ll mention free trade

Her ideology is late-era Thatcherism: low tax, work not welfare, slash red tape, shrink the public sector, reduce workers’ rights

She wears bold block dresses: telephone box red, electric blue, vicious mustard. They are not so much colours as statements of intent: look at me, the next Mrs T. The Iron Lady 2.0

And she does this because, if there is a leadership race any time soon, Liz Truss is in pole position - for the past year she’s been favourite among party members and has an 82% net satisfaction rating, according to the Conservative Home website

There’s a bit of a chip on her shoulder,” explains one close to her. Why? “Saj[id Javid], Raab, Hancock: for so long she was talked down to [by them]. There was a power imbalance. Now she’s on top. It’s her time”

To relax, she watches trash TV and has compared herself to Arya Stark, the teenage assassin in Game of Thrones. She likes to dance to Taylor Swift and Little Mix. She is good fun, according to former colleagues. “She is incredibly warm, kind and funny,” says one former adviser

Those who have known her for years say she “tries hard” at social interaction, “sometimes too hard”. And no one can forget her famous cringe-a-thon party conference speech in 2014

So far the largest blot in her copy book has been forgiven and forgotten by the membership: Liz Truss voted Remain. “Her pitch for Remain was incredible. It was so believable and passionate”

Was it genuine? A former cabinet minister demurs. She asked, “‘Which side do you think is going to win?’ She just wanted to be on the winning team”

Read the full story here: thetimes.co.uk/article/liz-tr…