Short-term Prime Minister
And what about Liz Truss? Big money could beckon after their goodbye
Liz Truss, shortly before her formal ouster as Prime Minister of Great Britain
© Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire / DPA
Liz Truss’ tenure as British Prime Minister was short-lived. What does the future hold? Possibly lucrative engagements that were already quite lucrative for their predecessors.
Liz Truss has practically no track record, her stay at 10 Downing Street was too short for that, but she has experienced a lot in her short term as British Prime Minister: the death of Queen Elizabeth II, an economic crisis, not least a head -to-head race with a head of lettuce (which the head of lettuce won).
Now, officially after 50 days in office, the outgoing head of government faces another challenge: Truss has to slide from the front row to the back seats in politics.
“I will remain prime minister until a successor is elected,” said the 49-year-old in her resignation speech on Thursday. This has now been found, the new British Prime Minister is called Rishi Sunak (and faces enormous challenges).
The modalities of the change of power were already spelled out in advance: Truss is holding a final cabinet meeting, addresses the British people one last time, is subsequently ruled by King Charles III. dismissed from office in that order. But what follows after the protocol?
Where will Liz Truss end up?
Truss is reportedly returning to the House of Commons as a Member of Parliament, a role she has not held since 2012. At least she can take the company car like him “Guardians” noted: As a former prime minister, she is entitled to a permanent driver and security staff, which she has over former cabinet members.
But with her job, Truss also loses two homes that are reserved for the office holder: the official residence above 10 Downing Street, the seat of government, and Checkers, the official country home of the British prime ministers. That leaves her with a modest family home in Tretford, Norfolk and a home in Greenwich, south-east London, like the “Evening Standard” reported.
Truss should also be unconcerned financially. Alone: Despite her fleeting tenure, as a former Prime Minister she is entitled to an annual allowance of £115,000 (around €132,000) which has recently resulted in sharp protests from politics and society.
But should she renounce this claim, as demanded not least by Labor leader Keir Starmercould open up lucrative sources of income away from daily political events.
While it’s unclear where Truss might end up — she may not yet know herself — she could potentially consider becoming a speaker. It would definitely be lucrative: Former Prime Minister Theresa May is said to have earned more than a million pounds with a total of eight lectures in front of banks and US universities, like those at the time “time” reported.
As a book author, Truss, who, like May, is not considered very gifted in rhetoric, could make an even better cut. “Most former prime ministers write their memoirs,” Giles Edwards agreed “i”, who is considered a proven expert on retirement careers after his book “The Ex Men”. “A lot of people find that helpful — not just because it makes them a lot of money, but because it helps them reflect on their life, what they’ve done, and sometimes what they want to take from this life into the next phase.”
No matter what the motives of Truss’ predecessors in office may have been – financially it has undoubtedly paid off: Margaret Thatcher collected 3.5 million pounds (around 4 million euros) for her memoirs, David Cameron 1.5 million pounds (around 1.7 million euros) and Tony Blair even 5 million pounds (around 5.7 million euros), as the newspaper reports.
And since Truss’s tenure was dramatic rather than silent, her story between covers could well bring in money—or so believes Farzana Baduel, managing director of PR agency Cursor PR.
“The public is interested in political leaders who have lived in interesting times,” Baduel said to “i”. “She witnessed the Queen’s death and state funeral, the pound’s plunge to an all-time low against the US dollar, rampant inflation, a cost of living crisis, rising fuel prices and the undermining of the stability of Britain’s pension funds.”
Whoever wants to read (and relive) this inglorious chapter of British politics is on a different page. A Tory Conservative backbencher, who will be Truss’ next-door neighbor, quipped to the paper that it will likely be a “footnote in history” – too much to write footnotes of your own.
Sources: “The Guardians”, “i”, BBC, “Evening Standard”, “Sky News”, “time”