Truss at 10: How Not to Be Prime Minister

by Anthony Seldon

Liz Truss's disastrous premiership was the shortest and most chaotic in British history. In the space of just 49 days, Truss witnessed the death of the longest-reigning monarch, attempted to remould the economy, triggered a collapse in the value of Sterling and was forced on a series of embarrassing U-turns that ultimately led to her resignation. The aftershocks of her time in office are still felt today. How did she blow her opportunity so spectacularly?

Based on exclusive interviews with key aides, allies and insiders, and focusing on the critical steps that led to her demise, this gripping behind-the-scenes work of contemporary history gives the definitive account of Truss's premiership.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Current Affairs, Audiobook, British Literature

403 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2024

About the author

Sir Anthony Francis Seldon, FRSA, FRHistS, FKC, is a British educator and contemporary historian. He was the 13th Master (headmaster) of Wellington College, one of Britain's co-educational independent boarding schools. In 2009, he set up The Wellington Academy, the first state school to carry the name of its founding independent school. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham from 2015 to 2020. Seldon was knighted in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to education and modern political history.

Reviews

[Geevee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Seldon shows why he is trumpeted as a master-writer of contemporary British politics. This account of the seven week tenure of Liz Truss as British prime minister in late 2022 is very engaging, readable, and enjoyable (even if the events weren't so enjoyable on my pension and investments).

Full of intriguing details and genuine moments of surprise, especially where Truss fails to listen, consider and act on sensible advice and experienced voices, the account leaves the reader in no doubt that Mr Seldon has the measure of the lady, and she has only herself to blame for failing in Number 10.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy good, political narrative and/or current affairs with well-sourced comment and analysis.

[Nick Garbutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liz Truss has long both appalled and fascinated me. She was one of the more grotesque figures to emerge during the fag end of the Tories long mismanagement of the UK.
When she became her party’s choice to succeed the disgraced Boris Johnson the absurdity of the choice seemed emblematic of the UK’s descent into pure farce.
What followed was the shortest prime ministerial term in the 300-year history of that office. The economy was crashed, the nation’s credibility destroyed, her budget was shredded a few days after it was published and she was forced to resign less than 50 days after being appointed. Two years later her party suffered the most heavy defeat of its history. She even lost her own seat where she had previously commanded a 20,000 plus majority.
Yet despite all that she still blames the “deep state” for her demise, refuses to apologise and spends a lot of time in the USA feted by fellow libertarian cranks.
It was therefore impossible to resist this short, definitive analysis of her failure which is sub-titled How not to be a Prime Minister. Anthony Seldon has written extensively about all the UK’s recent prime ministers and has unrivalled knowledge of the office and the skill set required to master it.
This is a brilliant, if jaw-dropping read. It beggars belief as to how a party with a rich history could choose such a person as its leader. I used to at least admire Truss’s resilience. Now I am beginning to understand that if she were ever to get near to power again she would almost certainly try to do the same as before.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and insightful look at Truss Government and her being the shortest reign ever as Prime minister

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable and accessible account of Liz Truss's short tenure as UK Prime Minister. Sir Anthony Seldon is a shrewd and knowledgeable writer about modern British politics and the constitution. He brings this experience to bear as he recounts the disastrous period of the Truss government in 2022. The book is largely a narrative and is gossipy in tone; not surprising as it is based on personal recollections.

There is a much more substantial assessment to be done of this period, especially of the rationale behind the "mini-budget". This probably needs access to all the relevant official papers. I suspect that it is a more complicated picture than is displayed here. At this stage in the historical process, one is left with the impression of a politician who had little to none of the skills needed to lead a government and party. The wonder is that Truss's colleagues allowed this situation to arise.

As an interim view of Liz Truss as PM, this is a decent account but I do not think it is near the full story.

[John Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much of the time this read like a thriller, though of course I knew the ending..
A fascinating, if frightening, read. Balanced and very well researched.

Normally, being the softie I am, I would have started to feel for poor ET but she does not evoke sympathy. I kept thinking about Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus whilst reading. I recall the play being a study of arrogance and what happens when taken to extremes. I wonder whether she ever read it? Never too late and I must re-read it some time soon.

[Steve Kimmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m never going to get on with a book detailing contemporary political events. Just not my leisure reading scene. But this specific event interested me - the shortest period in office by any British Prime Minister, ever. Just 49 days.
A British Prime Minister is the effective head of state even if there are legal niceties linked to meetings with and formal approvals for some actions from the hereditary head of state, the King/Queen at that time. They are not directly elected by the population but are the leaders of the parties whose representatives we do vote for on a local basis. It’s up to these local representatives, Members of Parliament, MP’s, to decide who leads them, though they usually consult their party members across the country. That can be complicated…

Since the trauma of Brexit, the UK leaving the European Union, the ruling Conservative Party has had crisis after crisis, leading to a quick turnover of leaders, and hence Prime Ministers. Liz Truss, the latest, snuck into the position after the initially popular but idiotic Boris Johnson lost all support of his MP’s. As usual with all unplanned leadership changes there was plenty of backroom dealing and plotting, which means a new leader inevitably starts off with plenty of enemies as well as friends. In addition this new leader came into power with a radical economic programme (free market economics that were intended to kick start sluggish growth, mainly heavy tax cuts funded initially by borrowing, though no plan for state spending restrictions) which hadn’t been tested in a national election as dramatic policy changes normally are. Result - almost an economic meltdown as the markets (the free markets she thought were beyond reproach) decided that the debt burden was probably unsustainable (admittedly it’s all judgments). Then a massive policy U Turn, with key staff sacked to protect her, but that didn’t help for long. On top of all this the longest reigning monarch in UK history dies during her short period in office and she doesn’t really play the sympathetic leader role properly. That’s the essential political summary!

The book takes longer, of course, to describe these events, their background and the players involved. The author has already written several books on recent prime ministers so he has a track record. Personally I found it rather dry, but it’s not intended as a thriller (though bits seems like that at times because of fast moving events) and it’s very heavily referenced to the outside sources used for the information, to show the book’s veracity. There’s a lot of detail on the individuals involved, politicians plus the researchers and assistants who lubricate the political wheels and play key roles. I developed a general distaste for them with their bizarre loyalties even as mistakes became very apparent. I accept that some politicians are in the job to improve things for the country and the people in it, rather than implementing ideologies, but it was very hard to identify anyone in that position in this book. All in all, a bit depressing. I’m just hoping, though not confident, that the rival party now in power, and one I generally favour, does a better job. Maybe more pragmatic attempts at improving conditions, rather than the full on ideological beliefs that brought Liz Truss’s time to an end.

She’s still around even after losing her normally very safe MP’s seat in the last election, now trying to say there was a ‘deep state’ conspiracy, an establishment ‘blob’ working against her, a ‘left wing’ governance at the Bank of England (!) and even trying to get Donald Trump’s attention with visits to the US (he seems to be ignoring her)!

I guess it was interesting in its way, and it clarified why she rose and collapsed so quickly as prime minister. So I can’t fault the author or the book even if I don’t intend to read similar books again. That I read it all is an achievement which compliments the standard of writing. I wasn’t sure about the ‘tick box’ criteria he used as an analysis tool for a successful PM, though he’s right that she failed all of those he presented.

It’s not as long as the page count suggests - fully ⅓ is made up of detailed references to source documents and an index.
I’ll give it 5* and a recommendation to any GR friends who are unwise enough to pass their leisure time reading about contemporary UK politics.

[Julian Worker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful insight into the 7 weeks of Liz Truss's tenure as Prime Minister (PM) in 2022. It was a complete catastrophe and everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

How the Conservative Party members thought she was suited to be PM, I've no idea. The first and only time she said 'thank you' to her close staff members was when she was telling them that she'd resigned. She was thin-skinned, unsure of her decisions, outwardly aggressive and uncompromising, convinced 'the Blob' was against her, and wanted to implement her policies straightaway without any thought as to their consequences.

She blamed other people for her failures, and was in denial about the political realities, all the time she was concerned she only had two years to make a difference before the next General Election.

This book is based on exclusive interviews with insiders, allies, and her closest advisers making it an enthralling read.

Her collapse of the value of the pound sterling and the creation of a vast hole in the UK economy has probably tarnished The Conservative Party's reputation for being careful with the economy and for fiscal prudence for a generation.

Recommended.

[Colin Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed, blow-by-blow account of who did what, said what, and when. Doesn't add much to what a British audience that follows politics would know already, and really rather too measured and polite about Truss herself. One of the few striking points made is that Truss was convinced she was supported by the electorate because she was enthusiastically supported by Tory members and she confused the former with the latter. It's a mistake the Tories have been making for a long time - Tim Bale's "The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron" mentions that the Tory leadership was so convinced that their obsessions (crime, Europe) were voters' obsessions that they sacked their pollsters for telling them otherwise.

But on the whole, the book lacks any analysis of why it all went so horribly wrong for Truss, who was an experienced minister who had never loused anything up on this scale before. For example two factors unaddressed by Seldon were:

1. that the Tory leadership faced the impossible task of making Brexit deliver for British capitalism. As Truss herself puts it at one point, the available choices were Norway and Singapore - and since Norway meant accepting rules you had no power to make, it had to be Singapore, or a badly implemented version of Singapore, which then blew up on the launch pad (Truss had a weak understanding of economics, though she made it central to her plans, and adhered to a simplistic version of her hero Thatcher, which didn't help).

2. the growth of the hard right internationally, especially Trump's victory in 2016. Yes, he was gone by the time Truss became PM. But her hatred of the "blob", her belief that she couldn't trust state bodies like the Treasury or the Bank of England, her impatience with protocol, her determination to drive through change by the force of her individual will, her claim that she was nobbled by the "deep state" - all this is Trumpian, very unlike any kind of British Conservatism.

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic instalment in the Prime Ministers series, with an excoriating assessment of Truss’ catastrophic time in office.

I particularly rated the structure of the book, which functioned almost as a performance report against which Truss’ failures could be measured. Especially against the backdrop of Truss’ conspiracy theories which attempt to blame everyone but her, using such quantitative measures of success (or complete lack thereof) made for a stronger analysis of the premiership.

As always, the authors have unparalleled access to insiders, offering a chance to understand what was really going on in Number 10 during that chaotic period, making Truss at 10 a must-read.

[Walden Effingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do like to read Prime Ministerial autobiographies, but I would not wish to read Liz Truss's as it could well be unreliable. This is the next best thing. It's a very good account of her short time in office, and what a catastrophe it was. It is hard to believe that a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury , and then Prime Minister, and former management accountant could be so financially illiterate. I'm not generally an armchair critic, but I could have done a better job (that's how bad it was!).
A fascinating account that can be read at pace. I was so impressed, I may now seek out Seldon's account of Boris Johnson (as I'm sure the same could apply!).

[Owen McArdle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this – it certainly benefits from only needing to cover a short period of time to give us an awful lot of detail of who did and said what and when!

[Issy Fleming · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting bits and interviews, but there's a bit of a lack of actual analysis - ends that it was multi causal and mostly because she was bad, but I think we already knew that. Found the way of structuring a bit lazy

[Martin Empson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an opportunity to watch the car crash of Truss' premiership again. Though this time in slow motion and HD.

[Simon Dane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sobering reminder of the hapless and hopeless term of office of Liz Truss, but dissected with an objectivity and evidence. Spoiler alert - Liz doesn’t come out of this well!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps written to soon and to try a make a book of her short stay at No 10, you get the feeling that there is a lot of going over old ground.

What I found most interesting was the authors comparing Liz with earlier PMs, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, maybe the perfect PM is an impossibility. One PM highlighted for his intelligence and understated manner was Clement Attlee, often forgotten, but the architect of NHS bought in successfully during the constraints after WW2.

Somehow the Tory party managed to keep in power for 14 years even though there has been infighting over the EU from John Majors reign. Brexit cut across the traditional party lines, but seemed to hit crisis point with the Tories s they tried to neuter Farage and which ever party he was leading at the time.

After the disgraceful way they treated May over the negotiations for Brexit, trying to square the best interests of both the country and her party, perhaps they had learnt the script for regicide.

Maybe letting the party members choose the PM should be stopped after Johnson and Truss.

[Peter Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did this as an audiobook. Took me about two weeks to finish. Which felt like longer than she was in office.

I was a Labour Party member at the time and remembered saying it was great for us and bad for the country when she was elected.

This book is well researched and feels pretty fair headed. Even when I don’t support a prime minister I can always talk about how good or bad they were in certain areas. However I always thought if Truss hadn’t crashed the economy, or even been PM, sunak would have had an easier general election.

I understand now where it all went wrong, what truss believed and how she was way in favour get her head becoming PM. This is really good political journalism and I’ll be picking up his book on rishi.

I’m sure it won’t be long until his Starmer one is released as well

[Andrew Mulliner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation of Anthony Seldon’s excellent series on British prime ministers, a series that seems to be churning out books with increasing regularity!!

Reading the story of Liz Truss’s premiership makes you realise just how fine the line between success and failure can be in politics. A woman with ambitious ideas, but poor timing and many flaws, her story also highlights the ineptitude of some of those at the very top of British politics. In the end, it is a tragedy for the people of the UK.

Seldon examines, in successive chapters, what it takes to be a successful prime minister, where Truss succeeded, and where and why she came unstuck. With his customary insight and easy-flowing writing style, this is a welcome addition to the series.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seldon’s Prime Minister books are pure catnip to me, being lively and effortless accounts of political histories that I feel invested in, but wasn’t always able to fully appreciate at the time. This one starts out feeling like a lot to swallow, inundating the reader with names upon names of people, many of whom have thus far been largely hidden behind the scenes, but the drama of the book makes the real issues behind Truss’s downfall feel legible.

I devoured this in a matter of days and probably will do so again when Seldon tackles Sunak and Starmer. For the political aficionados out there, the contents of this book are likely old hat. But for me, I really appreciated it as a means to clarify and organise a tumultuous and rapid period of modern British History.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liz Truss was the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history. And one of the worst, if not the worst.

Anthony Seldon explains why this is so in 330 absorbing and entertaining pages. He does so by examining her failure to master 10 skills that, he says, successful PMs must master, such as securing the power base or avoiding U-turns.

I personally found the chapters on "mastering the big events", which focusses largely on Truss's handling of the repercussions of Queen Elizabeth II's death, and "maintaining a reputation for economic competence", about the disastrous mini-budget of September 2022, the most rivetting, but none was bad. Taken as a whole, the book makes a persuasive case for regarding Truss as a complete failure and unmitigated disaster as PM.

The writing is excellent - crisp and witty. Like Seldon's Johnson At 10, it shows a considerable improvement on May At 10 in this regard.

Recommended.

[F.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though what happened with Liz Truss’s (very) brief government was highly embarrassing and costly for the country, it was also hilarious to watch. Never have I been so glued to Twitter. I remember hearing details of the mini-budget and thinking it was never going to work; I remember being on a train back from Manchester when Kwasi Kwarteng boarded a plane from Washington and everyone – bar him – knew he was going to be sacked on his return; and I recall waiting to see who lasted longer – lettuce or Truss.

Anthony Seldon’s books have been at the periphery of my vision for a while, always covered in the broadsheets on their release. I must read more of them. This is a fantastic encapsulation of the brief era, with the occasional jaw-dropping detail thrown in as he tries to make sense of utter chaos.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book an interesting read particularly the comparison between different prime ministers in history. The 10 rules that Liz Truss broke in her efforts to be Prime Minister were carefully examined. In general everyone could learn from them especially listening to other people and learning from other people’s mistakes. A well written book. I enjoyed the style of the author.

[Abe Staples-McCall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd just started a new job in the civil service when Liz Truss came to power. I was starting to vaguely understand it when she left.

This was truly one of the maddest time and Seldon's book does a great job of breaking it down so you can understand and see where it all went wrong, from poor party management to believing her own hype. Must read to understand just how politics has got to where it is.

[Beckie Turton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently on holiday with my mum who had listened to an interview with the author on the radio… so naturally asked if I could speed read the book on hols and tell her the good parts. A relatively balanced read yet one that does make clear how delusional Liz was.

[Asli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into the short but eventful premiership of Liz Truss. Particularly interesting (and poignant) was the detail in which the passing of the Queen was covered. The book lives up to its title - any aspirants for the role of PM or any high office should read this to understand what a delicate balancing act the job is.

This is the first book I have read by Anthony Seldon - I will be now going backwards and reading about each of the other Prime Ministers he has written about - Boris is 10 is next.

[Ryan Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting details in the book, but some noticeable factual errors that made me question veracity of other information. Also, the book was written in the semblance of being thematic, when actually it was just chronological which limited the impact on analysis.

[Olivia Brooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoyed this !!!

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads well but quite light on source material and is padded out in places.

[Libby Conway · Rating 3 out of 5]

“she came, she saw, she crashed” - the chance to relive the complete car crash of liz truss

[Jake Maude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lettuce

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very accessible overview of the short-lived Truss Premiership. I struggled with some of the deeper economics, but otherwise a very readable and exhilarating telling.