After 12 long years of clambering the fraught British political ladder, Liz Truss had finally conquered the summit. There was also one person who could help keep her there, the arch-political operator of his generation who had made and broken prime ministers.
Author Harry Cole told The National how her curious relationship with Michael Gove came back to bite her.
They were friends but she did not fit easily into his ideological circle of neoconservatives, not that Ms Truss was ever particularly firmly planted in any ideology.
Their friendship had extended to Ms Truss as foreign secretary lending Mr Gove her grand grace-and-favour flat in London when he abruptly separated from his wife in 2021.
But on becoming prime minister in early September there was no place for him in her Cabinet and she knew having such a canny politician on the backbenches could prove problematic.
A week before the annual Conservative Party conference she met Mr Gove and made him an offer.
“She has a strange relationship with Gove and knows him very well,” said Mr Cole, the co-author of an intriguing biography on Ms Truss. “That he is very good at politics but also troublemaker so she tried to make peace with him by dangling a very large job out of the country as ambassador to Israel or China. It was basically ‘name your job Michael’.”
But the offer came just as the mini-budget calamity was unravelling. On the Sunday that conference began, Mr Gove found himself on the same BBC political show as the prime minister.
“He came out and machine-gunned the entire budget,” said Cole. “There was an offer and that was his answer.”
Cole’s book, co-authored with James Heale, received national attention when the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer used it as a quip during Prime Minister’s Questions.
“A book is being written about the prime minister’s time in office,” he said. “Apparently it’s going to be out by Christmas — is that the release date, or the title?”
The ensuing mirth at the Tory leader was prescient but Sir Keir was wrong on both counts. Ms Truss resigned 24 hours later and the book is titled: Out of the Blue: The inside story of the unexpected rise and rapid fall of Liz Truss.
Its sharp insights into Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister could well see it bulging from many Christmas stockings.
The idea for the book came to Cole, political editor for The Sun newspaper, when he realised in early July that a little known politician was going to lead the country.
“It was clear Liz was going to win the leadership but she was the most unknown inhabitant of that office so there was definitely a market for ‘who the hell is this person?’”
After a decade as Westminster lobby journalist, Cole had grown to know and like Ms Truss and her advisers, allowing him to detail her taxing trait of self-publicity.
“I don't think she's a bad person, I think she made some bad choices,” he told The National in a quiet corner of parliament. “There's two schools of thought on Liz with very little middle ground. She either brings out massive loyalty or …” He paused. “ … it’s not despair, as that is too hard a word, but head in hands and ‘what the…’”
He outlines Ms Truss's relentless “bulldozing mentality”, which is brutally unwrapped across the unauthorised biography’s highly readable pages.
In pursuit of power, the state-school-educated politician took every opportunity to publicise the good work she was doing for Britain and no better opportunity presented itself than her role as trade secretary, jetting around the globe to land post-Brexit trade deals.
In an extraordinary direct conversation with her US counterpart, she demonstrated her “total misunderstanding of social context and social norms” by going off “on a weird tangent about shortbread”, the book reveals.
“She was like a wrecking ball and didn’t really care about what was actually expected … she just got straight to the point.”
The Washington trip was not an immediate trade success but “Truss, unchained on the global stage, was only just warming up” the book warned.
Like a highly-paid Instagram influencer, the politician rigorously pursued the ideal tapestry for a picture.
In Sydney this meant ditching her entire political schedule to drive around the suburbs looking for “the hipster coffee capital of the world that was relying on British imports.” She was finally snapped with a very British sausage role in one hand and espresso in another.
But the results failed to meet her high editorial standards and the entourage headed to a car park near Sydney Harbour Bridge, where Ms Truss was pictured on a British-made Brompton bike with a Union Jack umbrella.
Editorial standards met, the picture went around the world accompanied by her Tweet of “Get on your bike and look for exports”.
When appointed foreign secretary by Boris Johnson in September 2021, it was another step on the quest for the top spot and by now she had developed a rock star’s taste for specific travel requirements.
British embassies were sent memos on what to expect:
— Double espressos served in a flat-white-sized takeaway cup.
— No pre-made or plastic-packed sandwiches
— No big-brand coffee.
— Bagels or sushi for lunch — absolutely no mayonnaise on anything, ever.
— A bottle of sauvignon blanc provided in the fridge of any overnight accommodation.
Her desire for the limelight was incessant. When she heard that Mr Johnson was meeting US President Donald Trump for preliminary trade talks in New York she ordered her staff to pull every string to get her in the room. They failed but their boss succeeded by collaring the then prime minister after a press conference, knowing he would accede to a direct request.
Ms Truss was “like the cat that got the cream” an aide recounted. “She was grinning ear to ear when she told us, ‘We’re in. I’ve sorted it!”
Exiting the meeting with the two world leaders, her first words were: “Get the pictures.”
Foreign travels meant that Ms Truss was stranded in Indonesia when Mr Johnson resigned in July only getting back to London two days later.
But she rapidly gained ground in the leadership contest, reaching the crucial second place behind Rishi Sunak and it was then that Cole, 36, knew the Tory membership would ultimately make her prime minister.
After Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Ms Truss waited until 23 September to launch the financial hand grenade of unfunded tax cuts that put her administration into an irrecoverable tailspin.
“I think she was in a hurry, she wanted to quickly turn it around,” said Cole “She thought ‘I'm at the peak of my powers, we are going to jump-start this thing’.”
As someone who was “transactional rather than ideological” Ms Truss had no tribe of Tories to rely on when things went wrong. “That's when the true sort of extent of her skills and all her failings became very clear and very quickly. She had tried to be too many things, too many people.”
What now for Ms Truss? “I imagine it's probably going to hit her quite hard at some point,” he sympathised. “But she's the youngest ever living former PM and obviously very talented as you don't get to that top job without having a pretty skilled control of politics. I’d be fascinated to see where she ends up.”
The book’s publication was delayed for two more chapters to be written on her six week premiership, one with the ambiguous title of “Into the Red” — either referring to the massive budget deficit or Labour’s likely general election victory as a result.
But Ms Truss indefatigable nature might suggest this will not be the last chapter.
Out of the Blue: The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss by Harry Cole and James Heale is published by William Collins in hardback on 24 November. Currently available on Kindle.
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
match info
Southampton 0
Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')
Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)
Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%C2%A0profile
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CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3EElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20%E2%80%93%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS
Men – semi-finals
57kg – Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) beat Phuong Xuan Nguyen (VIE) 29-28; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) by points 30-27.
67kg – Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Huong The Nguyen (VIE) by points 30-27; Narin Wonglakhon (THA) v Mojtaba Taravati Aram (IRI) by points 29-28.
60kg – Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Amir Hosein Kaviani (IRI) 30-27; Long Doan Nguyen (VIE) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 29-28
63.5kg – Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Truong Cao Phat (VIE) 30-27; Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Norapat Khundam (THA) RSC round 3.
71kg – Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ) beat Fawzi Baltagi (LBN) 30-27; Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Man Kongsib (THA) 29-28
81kg – Ilyass Hbibali (UAE) beat Alexandr Tsarikov (KAZ) 29-28; Khaled Tarraf (LBN) beat Mustafa Al Tekreeti (IRQ) 30-27
86kg – Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Mohammed Al Qahtani (KSA) RSC round 1; Emil Umayev (KAZ) beat Ahmad Bahman (UAE) TKO round
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Leganes v Getafe (12am)
Levante v Alaves (4pm)
Real Madrid v Sevilla (7pm)
Osasuna v Valladolid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Eibar v Atletico Madrid (12am)
Mallorca v Valencia (3pm)
Real Betis v Real Sociedad (5pm)
Villarreal v Espanyol (7pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Barcelona v Granada (12am)
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
More Iraq election coverage:
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya
Three stars
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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START-UPS%20IN%20BATCH%204%20OF%20SANABIL%20500'S%20ACCELERATOR%20PROGRAMME
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Company%C2%A0profile
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