'Frozen' Liz Truss fell into 'wax works mode' in Commons
‘Liz Truss’ body is telling her she is defeated’: ‘Frozen’ PM fell into ‘wax works mode’ in Commons before ‘self-heckling’ as she tried to persuade nation she is ‘hanging on’, says body language expert
- PM sat motionless as Jeremy Hunt took a wrecking ball to her economic policies
- Came after Penny Mordaunt tackled an urgent question tabled by Keir Starmer
- Ms Truss then gave interview to the BBC last night amid turmoil within her party
- Body language expert Judi James says Ms Truss appeared ‘frozen’ yesterday
- She is ‘desperately trying to persuade us and herself’ that she can remain PM
Lis Truss was ‘frozen’ and fell into ‘wax works mode’ as she sat in the House of Commons before ‘self-heckling’ as she tried to persuade the nation she is hanging onto her leadership, a body language expert has said.
The Prime Minister appeared briefly in the Commons as her new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt took a wrecking ball to her economic policies by reversing a raft of tax cuts that had formed the basis of her leadership campaign.
But she sat almost motionless for 30 minutes before scurrying out to shouts of ‘bye!’.
It came after Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt had to deny that Ms Truss was ‘hiding under a desk’ after she was sent to the dispatch box for an urgent question tabled by Labour leader Keir Starmer.
The PM then gave an interview to the BBC last night amid the turmoil within her party, vowing that she will carry on and even fight in the next General Election.
But author and body language expert Judi James today said Ms Truss appeared ‘frozen’ yesterday and is ‘desperately trying to persuade us and herself’ that she can remain in her role.
Ms James told Sky News: ‘It was bizarre. From start to finish the body language was so hard to fathom. The best way to describe it would be a lack of emotional intelligence.
‘If we look at the arrival [at the Commons], there had been an hour of “Where’s Wally?” going on. She bounced in, she sat down smiling, she was chatting to Hunt and laughing – I found that very strange.
‘Penny [Mordaunt] had been standing there like someone on a sinking ship for over an hour armed with a teacup, bailing her out. She gave three apologies which were delegated to her, and then Truss arrived and started laughing and chatting behind her – there was no bonding going on between the two women.
Prime Minister Liz Truss sat almost motionless for 30 minutes as Jeremy Hunt announced a raft of changes to her economic policies before scurrying out to shouts of ‘bye!’
Despite being absent for an urgent question in the Commons tabled by Labour leader Keir Starmer, Ms Truss gave an interview to the BBC last night in which she laughed when asked if she would ‘definitely’ lead the Conservative Party into the next General Election
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Prime Minister Liz Truss pictured together in the Commons and Penny Mordaunt tackled an Urgent Question from Keir Starmer
Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt had to deny that Ms Truss was ‘hiding under a desk’ after she was sent to the dispatch box for an urgent question
Author and body language expert Judi James today said Ms Truss appeared ‘frozen’ in the House of Commons yesterday
GOING
INCOME TAX
Jeremy Hunt ditched the plan to cut the basic rate by 1p from April.
When Rishi Sunak was in No11 he promised to reduce the level in April 2024. That was brought forward by Kwasi Kwarteng in his disastrous mini-Budget.
But is now being shelved ‘indefinitely’ in a bid to raise £5billion more for the Treasury.
ENERGY BILLS
The typical household energy bill has been capped at £2,500 for the next two years.
The ‘guarantee’ policy was estimated to cost the government over £100billion.
But that could now be overhauled, with help targeted on the poorest after April.
DUTY-FREE SHOPPING FOR TOURISTS
EASING IR35 RULES FOR SELF-EMPLOYED
DIVIDEND TAX CUT
STAYING
STAMP DUTY
Stamp duty was abolished under £250,000 at the mini-Budget, with first-time buyers exempt on up to £425,000.
That has already taken effect, and Mr Hunt said it will stay in place.
NATIONAL INSURANCE
The government promised to reverse the increase to National Insurance.
Legislation has all-but cleared Parliament, and Labour back it.
It is the only other part of the mini-Budget to survive Mr Hunt’s cull.
‘With Hunt, clearly those signals were supposed to display the idea of “oh look everything is fine, we are getting on well, this is my new Chancellor and we adore one another”. But we had seen those signals with her previous chancellor a week or two ago.’
Describing her frozen state as Mr Hunt delivered his speech to the Commons, Ms James added: ‘She fell into what I call “wax works mode”. She didn’t join in at all. Her facial expression became frozen. Her hands lightly clasped and she started a sickly frozen smile.
‘If you watch her eyes, she is doing what is an eye stutter – that is often referred to when someone has a burst of adrenaline caused by anger or frustration.
‘But I looked very closely for a very long period of time and it didn’t seem to have that aspect to it.
‘In fact, the longer I looked the more it looked like someone who is fighting sleep. If you go to see a bad play, you can feel your eyes beginning to droop, it was that kind of blinking going on.’
‘There was very little endorsement signals going on. Normally we would expect to see her looking at Hunt, nodding, agreeing, but she just sat there looking slightly glazed and looking at the opposition but without any real focus. Then within half an hour she pottered off again – all very strange.’
Asked whether the Ms Truss looked ‘determined or defeated’ during her BBC interview last night, Ms James said the PM’s own body language is ‘heckling’ her.
She said: ‘[She looks] determined in the brain cells, but I think generally her body is telling her she is defeated. She is self-heckling.
‘She was asked if she would be leading the party into the next General Election. It is those really dreadful pauses she makes before she answers.
‘No one should leap on an answer because it looks like you’re lying, but there’s that slightly bewildered “I haven’t actually thought about this”.
‘It looks as though she is desperately trying to persuade us and herself that she is in there and she is going to hang on, but her body language is heckling her and saying: “Oh actually, I’m not quite as confident as I am trying to sound”.’
After a day of high drama in Westminster, Ms Truss last night said she wanted ‘to accept responsibility and say sorry’ for the turmoil sparked by last month’s mini-Budget.
Ms Truss sat motionless for less than half an hour before she left the Commons following Mr Hunt’s statement
A Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey had Labour 36 points ahead – the biggest advantage for any party since Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide
The dramatic announcement – which sent the Pound spiking (pictured) – came as ministers scramble to fill a £72billion hole in the public finances, after Kwasi Kwarteng’s fiscal package sparked a complete meltdown
She is also said to have ‘apologised’ to members of the One Nation group of moderate Conservative MPs during a meeting yesterday evening.
It came as her new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that £32billion worth of unfunded tax cuts were being reversed.
He also drastically cut back the Government’s energy bills support scheme from two years to six months to reassure the markets.
In the interview with the BBC, Ms Truss admitted the U-turns meant growing the economy ‘will take longer’.
She also opened up about how ‘painful’ it was to sack former chancellor and close friend Kwasi Kwarteng.
Asked by the corporation’s political editor Chris Mason ‘who is to blame for this mess’, she replied: ‘Well, first of all, I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made.
‘I wanted to act to help people with their energy bills, to deal with the issue of high taxes but we went too far and too fast. I’ve acknowledged that.
‘I put in place a new Chancellor with a new strategy to restore economic stability. Now what I’m focused on is delivering for the public.’
Asked if her vision of a low-tax, high-growth economy was ‘dead’, she said yesterday’s U-turns were about ensuring ‘economic stability’.
She added: ‘I remain committed to the vision, but we will have to deliver that in a different way.
‘I recognise that we did act too fast, and that’s why I’ve adjusted what we’re doing and I do think it is the mark of an honest politician who does say, “yes, I’ve made a mistake”. I’ve addressed that mistake.’
And asked if she accepted whether the economic turmoil had made it harder for people to pay their bills due to rising interest rates, she said: ‘Well, first of all I have said sorry. We went too far and too fast.
‘We are in a difficult situation as a country and this difficult situation is being faced around the world and we’ve had to adjust our policies as a consequence.’
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