With support ebbing away, Truss realised she might not have the numbers to get her plans through parliament. Such a defeat would have been treated as a vote of no confidence. She described Frances as "maybe a bit more centrist" and Liberty as "maybe very slightly more Conservative", adding "they are both very supportive of me".

Trust in British democracy and the state has plummeted to new depths under Boris Johnson with his rejection of the normal conventions of government. If you like satirical, funny and topical T-shirts, including this Twatspotting #2 Liz Truss T-shirt, then we have some good news for you. We have a range of other T-shirts available, and we’re constantly adding to the collection to release new Tees as the news breaks. See the full collection here. The mini-budget was pencilled in for Friday 23 September, the final sitting day of the Commons before recess. Labour’s autumn conference would begin two days later and Truss thought the statement would “blow them out of the water”, leaving the opposition facing uncomfortable questions about whether they would support this tax cut or that. Meanwhile, Grant Shapps strolled around the party conference hotel boasting about his spreadsheet containing a list of unhappy MPs and their grievances. He had felt slighted by her at the start of the leadership election, and when he was passed over for a cabinet job became one of the leading figures in the fight to remove her.When he won a landslide victory in 2019 his relaxed relationship with the truth was already well known – but enough voters were willing to set that aside in return for his boosterism and Brexit promises, and because they didn’t like the alternative of Jeremy Corbyn. It was silly of Liz not to squeeze every ounce of goodwill out of people by being the one to appoint them, so things got off to a bad start on literally day one,” said one of those appointed that day.

Truss walks off stage after delivering her keynote speech at the Tory party conference in Birmingham, 5 October 2022. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA My kids were one and four when I was elected (MP in 2010) so I always say they haven't known any different," she told the newspaper.It would have been the perfect moment for some team bonding, but we couldn’t even go to the pub,” recalled one aide.

Truss’s premiership had become a tinderbox. There was no need for ministerial resignations or no-confidence letters – the sense of inevitability that she could survive for only a few more days was overwhelming. I don’t make promises I can’t keep and I am a straightforward person who tells it like it is,” she said at one party event. This last measure had been discussed by Truss and Kwarteng over the summer, but they had not intended to announce it so soon. Truss was keen to use the honeymoon period that she thought would be afforded to them to “go big”, but there was disbelief among Tory MPs when the details emerged. Seemingly not. “She was wounded, but that only made her more angry and defiant,” said one aide. “The belief was we just needed to explain better and harder.” The U-turns begin This contrasts with the much-photographed and scrutinised early years of the children of US presidents, such as Chelsea Clinton or the Obamas' daughters Sasha and Malia.Queen Elizabeth II and Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle, 6 September 2022. Photograph: Jane Barlow/AFP/Getty Images By mid-October, MPs were whispering that Truss had until Christmas to turn things around. But that was about to change. But whatever faith he gained among that part of the population over Brexit, he had already squandered with the rest by proroguing parliament, and later through his willingness to break international law over the Northern Ireland protocol.