Truss’s workmanlike conference speech
Spectator (UK)Dec 23, 2022
The Facts
Two protesters from the environmental campaign group Greenpeace disrupted UK PM Liz Truss's first speech since taking office. During her address to the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday, the demonstrators interrupted and held up a banner reading: "Who voted for this?"
The disruption, just as the PM said she wasn't prepared to "consign our great country to decline," prompted booing from the audience right before the pair were escorted from the conference hall by security.
The Spin
Right narrative
Ami McCarthy, who shouted at and heckled the PM during her maiden speech, has a history of offering unsubstantiated, woke commentary, including allegations that the British Army "killed civilians" and "ruined the world." It's unsurprising that McCarthy would seek to undermine the PM — though Truss ultimately dealt admirably with the disruption.
Left narrative
Liz Truss has abandoned her party's green manifesto pledge and the voters that supported it. Amid a chaotic series of policy U-turns and economic turmoil in recent days, the PM's mediocre speech was overshadowed by a moment of democratic protest. Despite her attempts to distract with rhetorical references to growth, voters are more concerned about the impacts of Truss's policies on the cost of living crisis and fracking in their local communities.