Liz Truss parties at Chequers in her final days as PM
Liz Truss parties at Chequers in her final days as PM as former aide claims her disastrous time in No10 was undone by her ‘ignoring reality’
- Liz Truss is holding a series of farewell events for MPs at staff at Chequers
- Departing PM using grace-and-favour mansion for a string of goodbye parties
- Former adviser claims Ms Truss ignored ‘political reality’ during spell in No10
Liz Truss is holding a series of farewell events for MPs and staff at Chequers in her final weekend as Prime Minister.
The departing premier, who resigned this week after a disastrous 44-day spell in No10, is using the grace-and-favour mansion in Buckinghamshire for a string of goodbye parties.
A Downing Street source revealed the PM – at her personal expense – had gathered MPs and staff at the 16th-century manor house to thank them.
It comes amid a row over whether Ms Truss should be entitled to the annual £115,000 allowance afforded to ex-PMs after her stint in office lasted only six weeks.
She is also due to receive a £18,860 pay-out for her historically short time in office.
An inquest into Ms Truss’s spectacular downfall has seen a former adviser accuse the PM of ignoring the ‘political reality of the world outside’ as soon as she won power.
Kirsty Buchanan, who was a special adviser to Ms Truss at the Ministry of Justice and who also worked in Downing Street under Theresa May, claimed the PM’s reputation was ‘in tatters’.
Liz Truss, pictured leaving Downing Street on Friday, is using Chequers for a string of goodbye parties
A Downing Street source revealed the PM – at her personal expense – had gathered MPs and staff at the 16th-century manor house in Buckinghamshire to thank them
‘The seeds of destruction were sown early as she shut out all but her closest allies and cocooned herself with those who shared her views,’ Ms Buchanan wrote in the Sunday Times.
‘With experience and institutional knowledge gone, dangerous groupthink and staggering naivety took hold at No 10.
‘Hubris went unchecked when humility was required from an administration that did not earn its majority but inherited it.
‘Politics was baked in a Petri dish, away from the political reality of the world outside.’
Ms Truss’s former aide said it would take ‘every ounce of her famed resilience’ for the PM to ‘bounce back from this humiliation’.
‘I suspect, though, that it will be the humbling in the eyes of her daughters, of whom she is fiercely proud, which may hit Truss hardest,’ she added.
The same newspaper reported that Ms Truss held a farewell party for ministers last night and would thank close aides and their partners tonight.
No10 confirmed the PM was at Chequers this weekend.
Her predecessor, Boris Johnson, also used Chequers to hold a farewell bash after he was forced to resign as PM this summer.
Like all other departing Government ministers, Ms Truss will be entitled to one-quarter of her annual salary in severance pay.
Ms Truss earned a total salary of £164,080: £84,144 for being an MP, plus a further £75,440 for being PM.
It means she is in line for a £18,860 pay-out due to her resignation as PM.
She will continue to receive her £84,144 salary for being MP for South West Norfolk.
Meanwhile, on top of the £18,860 pay-out, Ms Truss will also be entitled to claim up to £115,000 a year in an allowance for former prime ministers.
Payments are made to help ex-premiers continue to fulfil their public duties through the running of an office.
They are entitled to the money for the rest of their lives, unless they take up another public appointment.
Former PMs have to supply supporting documents – such as salary details for staff, or travel receipts – in order to recieve the cash.
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