Thetford has its say on Liz Truss' rollercoaster start as PM

Elected as PM at the start of the month, Ms Truss has arguably inherited the most profound set of crises of any British leader in living memory, from the war in Ukraine to an inflationary energy crisis.

And within two days of her taking office, the Queen died.

No sooner had the period of national mourning passed than Ms Truss' government unveiled its radical growth strategy, prompting a seismic response from the markets, with a sharp fall in the pound.

We spoke to people in Thetford, the largest town in her South West Norfolk constituency to see how they thought their MP was faring.

'She's in a catch-22'

Sue and Ted Main agreed that Ms Truss had had a tumultuous three weeks.

“She’s been thrown in at the deep end, hasn’t she,” said Sue, 70.

“It’s a sort of catch-22,” said Ted, 73.

“I can see what she’s trying to do, but I can’t see it coming to fruition,” he added.

“She’s trying to say that if she reduces taxes at the top, at the end of the day, things will move forward, people will invest, the economy will grow, and off we go.

“But with inflation going up, everybody has got this background fear about what’s happening.”

'It's not a job you'd want'

Cedric Nunn, 74, said he wasn’t sure how to judge Ms Truss's performance so far, because he hadn’t seen enough of her as prime minister.

“I’ve never seen her in Thetford even - she needs to come to Thetford,” he said.

Asked if she was up to the challenge of leading Britain through the energy and cost-of-living crises, he said: “I don’t think so, but nor do I think anyone can.

“She’ll probably do her best, but it’s a difficult job.

“I don’t know why they [politicians] do it really. If they do right for someone, it will be wrong for someone else.

“It’s not a job you’d want, is it really?”

'We just hope she can manage'

Standing by a tourist information board, Elizabeth Kaiser and her husband Jochen - visiting from Herrenberg, Germany - were busy reading about East Anglia’s ancient capital.

Asked what they knew about Britain’s new PM, Ms Kaiser said: “We know that she was foreign minister and she was in favour of Brexit.”

Ms Truss backed Remain prior to the referendum, but has since championed the benefits of leaving the European Union.

Asked if she thought Ms Truss would cope with the country's challenges, she said: “She will be in the job for maybe two years, so we just hope she can manage.

“I don’t know her politically very well, but surely someone who has been in the political business for some time will know something.”

'It is a bit worrying'

Jeanette Barrett, 60, said she was concerned about the rising cost of living.

“It is a bit worrying, you’ve just got to cut down as much as you can,” she said, adding that she was hopeful Ms Truss's government would ease the pressures.

She added that she wanted to see more funding for the NHS.

“At the moment, I’ve got health problems. I live in Hockwold and I have to have a blood test before my hospital treatment and now the GP won’t do my blood test.

“I have to go all the way to King’s Lynn, which is a quarter tank of diesel in my truck, [as well as] parking money, just for a blood test... when the GP surgery is just five minutes up the road, so that’s added costs on things as well.”

'Every month it's a struggle'

Sheron Rourke, 37, said the new PM had had "a turbulent couple of weeks”.

She gave Ms Truss credit for her leadership during the period of mourning for the Queen.

“I think she’s done well, stepped up to the plate, and has supported her new King in the way that is expected of her, as prime minister,” said Ms Rourke.

But Ms Rourke, a barista, said she was “not particularly confident” about the government getting on top of the soaring cost of energy bills.

“Every month it’s a struggle, and every month I get an email from my energy company saying they want to put my direct debit up, again.

“I’ve got two little ones and a partner and we’re putting off putting the heating on just because we cannot afford it.”