‘Revved up’ Liz was ‘bossing it’ in maiden PMQs but Keir ‘read from notes’

Liz Truss was ‘bossing it’ as she made her first appearance at Prime Ministers’ Questions, a communications expert has said.

The newcomer to No10 appeared to be ‘revved up’ at her maiden clash with opposite number Sir Keir Starmer, according to Emma Serlin.

Ms Truss clashed with opposite number Sir Keir Starmer on her tax plans and fielded hostile questions from MPs on her debut this afternoon.

The new Conservative Party leader was judged to be at ease in speaking unscripted and had short, sharp lines in response to his attacks.

Emma, of the London Speech Workshop, said: ‘Liz Truss is having the best time, she showed adrenaline and is clearly good at unprepared speeches and debating. This is probably her at her best.

‘She was revved up and was quite good at rousing the crowd, including with some strong one-liners. She was using short, punchy language, such as when she said she was on the side of people who work hard and want to do the right thing, which hits people in the heart.

‘If you look at Keir Starmer he was reading from his notes and constantly looking down, which is the worst thing if you want to make impact.

‘She also used some strong rhetorical devices, such as the rule of three [where a trio of ideas or thoughts is used for impact], really good eye contact and a strong, firm voice.

‘Regardless of what I think about her policies, she was bossing it, she was having fun and was in her element.’

Sir Keir attacked the new leader’s plans to address the cost of living crisis, accusing her of ‘protecting oil and gas profits and forcing working people to pay the bill’. He also told the House of Commons that ‘there is nothing new about the Tory fantasy of trickle-down economics’.

Emma found elements of ‘subterfuge’ in Ms Truss’s responses as the prime minister kept her anticipated response package under wraps.

Emma said: ‘When Keir Starmer accused her of looking after energy companies’ profits with tax breaks she came back by saying she was attracting companies rather than pushing them away, therefore that’s going to create more jobs and bring in more revenue.

‘It was the hazy, subterfuge element of a politician avoiding a question they don’t want to address.

‘My point always to politicians is to respond as directly as you can, to make sure the point is dealt with. But the main points are that she maintained direct eye contact and she was strong with punchy, short sentences and rhetorical devices such as the rule of three.

‘An interesting feature she does is the blink when Keir Starmer said something she didn’t like before she came back into her powerful energy.

‘She did impressively well for her first PMQs, she didn’t seem intimidated and there was no imposter syndrome.’

Ms Truss became the new Tory leader on Monday after a narrow victory over Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest.

She has pledged to set out her energy bills support package tomorrow.

The intervention is expected to freeze household bills at around £2,500 a year, which will be her most significant act since becoming prime minister.

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