Kishwar Desai | Can Tories run Britain, or should Liz start a drive by ditching heels?

Is anyone missing Boris? At this moment it would seem that people would be hard pressed to say whom they miss more— the Queen? Or Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister?

To get rid of him over having a few drinks seems positively trivial considering what is happening right now, when knives are already out for Liz Truss the new Prime Minister. But surely the Tories have to show some patience. If they get rid of their Prime Ministers every two years (or every two months, as may be current case) — then it is the party who should say goodbye and not the individuals they select.

Let us face it — most Prime Ministers are only as good as the team they select — and if the Tories do not have the in-house talent to run the country, then they must get hired guns to step in. Or they must call a general election, and let the people decide. In any case, it is now obvious that it will be Labour, sooner than expected.

No one thought it would this bad. Here we were, still in a state of gentle mourning. The new King has hardly had time to settle down. His coronation is more than six months away in May next year.

But Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister, is proving that sometimes it is best to be pragmatic and ditch election promises, when they negatively impact an already rattled economy. However, if that does not work, then ditch the chancellor of the exchequer. And that is what Liz did fairly quickly because Kwasi Kwarteng, her former chancellor was rumoured to have said that Liz Truss’s chances of surviving into the New Year were just 40:60. But even before he completed the (alleged) statement — he was packing his bags.

By then he had already proved himself an expert at changing his mind. There he was two weeks ago announcing a drastic tax cut. He abolished the upper band of the 45 per cent income tax rate. Champagne popped everywhere for high income earners, of course. But there were problems.

He made the announcement on a Friday afternoon as the London Stock Market was shutting shop. But markets abroad were still open across the pond in New York and farther west. The prospect of large deficits in the British budgets as tax revenue declined concentrated some

minds. Britain would need to borrow much more, they reckoned. People began dumping British government debt. Interest rates rose fast. The Bank of England had to step in to buy up the gilts being dumped.

The prospect of deficits hitting the ceiling was enough for the City of London to have shivers. The chancellor had to withdraw his tax cut and admit it was “a daft thing to do”. No doubt it was, as the Bank of England had to spend nearly 70 billion pounds in a day buying the gilts being dumped on the side pavements of the City of London. London’s reputation as a global financial centre was in danger.

And now we have a new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, desperately trying to dampen the fire. Let’s hope his strategy works and he is not planning another palace coup! One a week is more than enough!

 Liz Truss has had a sobering experience. But then there is no rest for her.

Colleagues are perhaps the worst friends when they smell a new contest coming. Suella  Braverman  is home secretary, keeping up the tradition that the post has to have a person with an immigrant background, preferably a woman and with a tough reputation for being against more immigration. Priti Patel will not be missed as Suella may outdo her in toughness. Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister, is proving that sometimes it is best to be pragmatic and ditch election promises

 This has endangered the UK India Free trade Agreement, promised by Boris and by Liz Truss when she was foreign secretary.

You can see Suella calculating her chances to replace Liz at the top. In politics, there are no friends, only competitors for the top post.

 Meanwhile, those of us who have seen men not being admitted into Delhi clubs because they are wearing sandals — should know that London’s clubs still maintain a strict dress code. One rule is no trainers or soft shoes. So the City of London Club where the bankers and brokers go to refresh themselves, had to request a high profile lady guest of a member (let her remain nameless to save her the blushes) to change her table from where she could be seen by other diners to one near the kitchen. This way her shoes, which were not high heels, could be hidden! Maybe Liz Truss could start a movement by ditching heels for trainers! It might prove more popular than tax cuts!

 Kishwar Desai is an award winning author whose latest book, The Longest Kiss: The Life And Times of Devika Rani has just won the National Award for the best book on Indian Cinema