Liz the builder, can she fix it, Liz the builder, no she can’t, says Mark Dolan

Liz the builder, can she fix it, Liz the builder, no she can’t, says Mark Dolan
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Mark Dolan

By Mark Dolan


Published: 18/10/2022

- 21:31

Updated: 18/10/2022

- 23:48

There are two ways to remove a plaster. Slow agony, as each hair gets dragged out of your tender skin, or you rip it clean off and be done with it.

There are two ways to remove a plaster. Slow agony, as each hair gets dragged out of your tender skin, or you rip it clean off and be done with it. I should have been a doctor. Any stay of execution for Liz Truss just prolongs the agony and allows the wound to get worse. The scale of Liz Truss’s unpopularity has reached epic proportions with the latest polls suggesting the British public would now have rather have a coalition of chaos, led by a divided labour party and the SNP.

I backed Liz Truss's economic plan, which was a failure of political strategy, sequencing and communication but not a failure of policy. But that ship has passed, and with it, Liz Truss’s entire purpose. Let's be honest, we're not keeping her for her oratory skills, her surefooted leadership or her political nous. Comparisons to Margaret Thatcher are now a joke. If we are looking for a figure from the eighties to compare her to, she's more Michael foot than the iron Lady.


Do you think Margaret Thatcher would have shied away from speaking in the Commons yesterday? Would she have allowed her other the ministers to say “the prime minister is in charge”, that she deserves a chance that she's not hiding under a desk? Thatcher would be on the desk, giving it both barrels leading from the front taking down her critics and dealing with the situation.

No I don't want to be unkind, because it's been a horrific few weeks for Liz Truss and she's a decent person who has been to hell and back. It must be awful. But don't sign up to be prime minister if you're not prepared or can't handle a crisis. I reiterate her policies have been right and history will judge these U-turns, harshly as Britain sinks into a deep and prolonged recession. But I believe that not only is Liz Truss now the Emperor with no clothes, she’s certainly got no policies now, I believe that personally she's not in a good place either.

She looks broken. There are rumours she was in tears before she showed her face in the commons - understandable given what she's been through and I don't judge her, but her feeble performance at Fridays press conference which featured more ooh, ums and ahs than an Elton John concert is when I checked out.

Sorry seems to be the hardest word. And her interview with the BBC’s excellent Chris Mason last night did nothing to restore confidence or demonstrate that she could get a handle this situation move on from the crisis and reboot her premiership.

I’m concerned she’s now in total personal meltdown. She needs to see her GP, not her MPs. I worry for her. So can she cling on? Unlikely. One of the best connected political journalist in the country, Christopher Hope tweeted following yesterday, with three devastating words.

I would personally urge the prime minister to resign in the morning, so that she doesn't face the abject horror show of Prime Minister's questions. Which can only further damage the credibility of this government. Forget about Keir Starmer asking questions of Liz Truss. She must ask questions of herself.

Liz the builder, can she fix it, liz the builder, no she can’t.

Put bluntly, it's not happening. She's a busted flush. The fuel tank is empty, the gun is out of ammo. The party’s over. The fat lady isn't just singing, she's in a cab on her way home. Taxi for Liz Truss.

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