The Peter McCormack Show

Episode #111: Liz Truss – The UK Needs a Trump-Style Revolution
Released September 9, 2025
Host: Peter McCormack
Guest: Liz Truss (Former UK Prime Minister)

Episode Overview

This episode features former Prime Minister Liz Truss in an in-depth conversation with Peter McCormack about the dire state of Britain—covering issues of bureaucracy, law and order, economic decline, the left-right culture war, institutional capture, and the need for radical, Trump-style political change in the UK. Truss outlines her case that the UK’s establishment, bureaucracy, and media elite are ideologically captured and unaccountable, arguing that Britain needs a profound overhaul, not just electoral change. The conversation is candid, wide-ranging, and marked by Truss’s call for optimism, direct action, and a new breed of political and business leadership.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Crisis of the “Dispossessed Centre” and Britain’s Political Divide

• Dispossessed Centrists: Truss and McCormack discuss how “centrists” feel politically homeless as the Overton window (the range of acceptable political discourse) has shifted to extremes.
  • (00:00, 10:25, 25:00)
  • Quote: “There are lots of dispossessed centrists… what on earth has happened?” – Liz Truss [00:00]
• Polarization: Debates are now binary and extreme, with little middle ground on issues like free speech, migration, and traditional values.
  • Quote: “You don’t get engagement by being a rational, reasonable centrist. We promote the extremes because that’s what gets the debate.” – Peter McCormack [10:16]

2. Institutional Capture, the “Blob,” and the Limits of Political Power

• The Blob: Truss describes Britain’s senior bureaucracy, judiciary, and media as a largely unaccountable ‘blob’, resistant to reform.
  • Quote: “…the elite, the establishment, the blob, who are very, very impervious and will take a lot of shifting in order to get change.” – Liz Truss [03:42]
• Limits of Prime Ministerial Power:
  • Truss outlines the real powerlessness of the PM versus the entrenched civil service, Bank of England, and legacy laws.
  • Quote: “No, you cannot change this thing. It needs to be completely overhauled.” – Liz Truss [11:42]
  • Quote: “As Prime Minister, you’re quite isolated… any one minister, or indeed Prime Minister, is quite isolated.” – Liz Truss [12:25, 13:34]
• Civil Service & Bureaucratic Hostility: Key policies are decided by a left-leaning bureaucracy and not the elected politicians.
  • Quote: “The problem we’ve got is not solely having them [Labour] as incompetent people… the policies are being driven by the permanent bureaucrats.” – Liz Truss [24:27]

3. Collapse of Law & Order and Social Cohesion

• Personal Crime Anecdotes: McCormack shares recent criminal incidents affecting his family and business, linking them to a wider sense of lawlessness.
  • Quote: “There’s just this like, general breakdown in law and order… People don’t care.” – Peter McCormack [06:41]
• Police Priorities: Truss criticizes the police focus on “thought crimes” and social media posts over real-world crime.
  • Quote: “Senior police… decided they’re going to focus on arresting people for what’s been posted on X or even on a WhatsApp group.” – Liz Truss [06:41]
• Failure of "Middle Ground": Law, policing, and justice issues now spark severe polarization without pragmatic compromise.
  • (07:47 – 10:25)

4. Economic Decline and Mismanagement

• Rooted Economic Issues: Truss blames decades of institutional and policy failure, particularly during the Blair and post-Blair era, for the UK’s economic woes.
  • Quote: “Britain’s economic failings have been going on for 30 years… Blair created these unaccountable institutions.” – Liz Truss [22:05]
  • Quote: “America’s had lower taxes, it’s got on with fracking, it’s had massively low energy costs… they’re now 50% richer per head.” – Liz Truss [54:48]
• Taxation and Business: Sharp criticism of high taxes, the rise in corporation tax to 25% (driving business and talent out), and the attacks on small business and entrepreneurship.
  • Quote: “I always knew the policies were right… that corporation tax shouldn’t be raised to 25%.” – Liz Truss [33:06]

5. The Problem of Unaccountable Quangos and Media Failure

• Unaccountable "Experts": Institutions like the Office for Budget Responsibility, Bank of England, and Resolution Foundation are cast as left-wing, unaccountable, and beyond democratic control.
  • Quote: “I mean, [Torsten Bell] is a socialist. He believes that the more you raise taxes, the more money you will get from business.” – Liz Truss [26:00]
• Failings in the Media: Mainstream media accused of covering up or under-reporting scandals, crimes, and genuine debate—thus fueling alternative, independent media.
  • Quote: “We do have a mainstream media problem in this country.” – Liz Truss [58:10]
  • Quote: “The failure of the British media to examine what our country's problems are… is just shocking.” – Liz Truss [73:14]
• BBC License Fee: Truss openly advocating for its abolition.
  • Quote: “Yes, the license fee should be abolished.” – Liz Truss [76:50]

6. Case Study: The Mini-Budget and Market Crisis

• Vindication: Truss addresses her forced resignation and the subsequent realization that her economic warnings were prescient.
  • Quote: “There’s a lot of commentary that’s come out recently, a lot, which was: Liz was right… and it’s a growing chorus.” – Peter McCormack [37:04]
• Institutional Sabotage & Hostility: She claims that the Bank of England and OBR actively undermined her economic plans.
  • Quote: “When you’re facing a hostile system, you have to act quickly, otherwise you will get nothing done… you have to take them on straight away.” – Liz Truss [38:04]
  • Quote: “They [the Bank of England and OBR] are not people who are comfortable with conservative economic policy, and yet they are the people dictating the terms.” – Liz Truss [43:16]

7. Calls for a "Trump-Style Revolution" and Mass Overhaul

• Need for Radical Change: The UK needs a “Trump-style” populist counter-revolution, abandoning Blairite and technocratic consensus politics.
  • Quote: “There is a fight for the future of this country.” – Liz Truss [61:36]
  • Reforms Proposed:
    • A “Great Repeal Bill” to abolish legacy legislation (Equality Act, Human Rights Act, Climate Change Act, etc.), and fundamentally rebalance the state.
      • Quote: “You need to put it all on the bonfire… pretty much every piece of legislation passed by Tony Blair and frankly, quite a lot passed by the last Conservative government.” – Liz Truss [56:28]
    • Restoring accountability to police chiefs, the Bank of England, and senior bureaucrats.
    • A call for more business and entrepreneurial figures to enter politics.
      • Quote: “What that leads us to know is actually having a powerful business and entrepreneur class that are prepared to act is very, very important...” – Liz Truss [87:16]

8. Concerns Over Sectarianism, Social Unrest, and Leadership Deficit

• Potential for Civil Unrest: Truss and McCormack discuss the risk of domestic extremism, growing sectarian divides, and lack of strong, unifying leadership.
  • Quote: “There is a fight for the future of this country. We are seeing growing sectarianism as well.” – Liz Truss [61:36]
  • Quote: “I think there are real risks of more serious terrorist attacks in Britain.” – Liz Truss [61:42]
• Leadership Void: Both agree there’s a lack of voices able to transcend division and unite the country, in part due to the “woke” capture of traditional cultural and media figures.
  • Quote: “The problem is that Starmer… put himself on one side of the argument. I don’t think he’s got the credibility to rise above it.” – Liz Truss [68:17]

9. Optimism and Next Steps

• Holding onto Optimism: Despite the bleak diagnosis, Truss and McCormack end on a note of determined optimism, believing change is possible if those who care take action.
  • Quote: “I want to be more optimistic… if we can unite those different factions of people who are angry… then perhaps that can solve a lot of the crime and the discipline.” – Peter McCormack [84:19]
  • Quote: “It’s about British people reclaiming their ancient liberties… I think there’s a kind of muscle memory… people need to reconnect with and are reconnecting with.” – Liz Truss [85:31]
• Entrepreneurial Involvement: Explicit call for entrepreneurs and business leaders to get involved in politics to enable change.
• Truss on her Future: She refuses to rule out a political comeback, emphasizing teamwork, infrastructure, and commitment to restoring Britain’s greatness.
  • Quote: “I’m not ruling anything out. I’m pretty much prepared to do virtually anything to get this country back.” – Liz Truss [90:24]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “You can’t just be centrist in arguing back to them… the left have shifted the Overton window so far that there needs to be an equal and opposite reaction.” – Liz Truss [00:33]
• “We are in the dark Blair era… rampant inflation, quantitative easing… has really shafted working people.” – Liz Truss [22:05]
• “The policies are being driven by the permanent bureaucrats.” – Liz Truss [24:27]
• “Socialism has always been about equal misery for all. That’s, that’s their philosophy.” – Liz Truss [27:20]
• “I always knew the policies were right… I actually want to see small businesses, independent people, entrepreneurs.” – Liz Truss [33:06]
• “No Prime Minister, once they’ve had a no confidence vote, has actually survived.” – Liz Truss [34:29]
• “Can you imagine how everyone listening to this would feel if they had 50% more money? … because that’s what they would be if they were in America.” – Liz Truss [54:48]
• “We need a bureaucracy that’s actually accountable to the people that run the country. That’s what needs to happen.” – Liz Truss [57:15]
• “These freedoms are very long-standing in our country. And I think there’s a muscle memory… that people need to reconnect with.” – Liz Truss [85:31]
• “We will not be able to achieve this… counter revolution, without them [entrepreneurs].” – Liz Truss [89:47]

Structure & Timestamps of Major Sections

• 00:00–03:42: Political polarization, collapse of the centre, rise of extremes.
• 03:42–11:41: Entrenchment of the establishment (“the blob”), failure of mere elections to change anything.
• 11:41–16:28: Realities of being Prime Minister, bureaucracy's power and infrastructure inadequacies.
• 17:39–24:27: Functioning of government vs. bureaucracy, structural flaws, economic decline origins.
• 24:27–32:44: Unaccountability of economic policy, influence of left-wing think tanks.
• 32:44–45:48: Systemic difficulties in effecting change, media’s role, Truss’s attempted reforms.
• 45:48–52:25: Social breakdown, contrasts between London elites and suffering regions, homelessness, crime.
• 52:25–58:10: Ideological capture across the state, scale of needed reforms.
• 58:10–76:50: Mainstream media’s role, alternative media’s growth, institutional structures (“BBC should be abolished”).
• 76:50–84:19: Law and order, policing, police accountability, cultural discipline.
• 84:19–92:26: Reclaiming cultural and economic optimism, call for new leadership, Truss on her political future.

Memorable Moments

• McCormack’s personal crime stories illustrate public frustration with policing and law enforcement (05:26–06:41).
• Truss’s candid admissions about being “forced out” (34:22) and the real constraints faced by outsider political leaders.
• Discussion of civil war and sectarianism in the UK—usually taboo in mainstream discourse—brings urgency and gravitas to the episode (59:21–61:41).
• Truss’s unapologetic stance on her policies and refusal to back down or seek rehabilitation from the media (38:04–45:48).
• Frequent referrals to the “Trump model” as inspiration for the necessary British counter-revolution, drawing a global populist parallel.

Summary Note

This episode is a deep-dive diagnosis and call-to-arms for those dissatisfied with Britain’s economic decline, institutional unaccountability, cultural fragmentation, and lawlessness. Truss offers blunt, unapologetic prescriptions—demanding a structural overhaul, grassroots activism, and business leadership, refusing to place hope in incremental political change. The tone is frank, urgent, occasionally dark, but leavened with a persistent belief in the possibility of British renewal—if, and only if, a genuine “revolution” is mounted.