LIZ Truss has been appointed Foreign Secretary by Boris Johnson.
Yes, you have read that correctly.
The gaffe-prone Tory minister was promoted from international trade secretary, a role in which she mastered her talent for high-profile blunders.
As well as embarrassing the UK as a whole, Truss succeeded in insulting Scots at every available opportunity.
READ MORE: Liz Truss claims Scottish businesses are 'excited' about Brexit during Glasgow visit
Here are three of the new Foreign Secretary’s worst Scotland-related blunders.
Watchdog intervenes
In August 2019, Truss was slapped down by the statistics watchdog over “incorrect” claims about the UK Government's supposed generosity to Scotland. In a column for the Daily Mail, the Tory trade minister gave the UK Treasury credit for “cushioning the blow” of lower than expected growth in Scotland.
She wrote: “Our mutually agreed fiscal framework is designed to benefit the Scottish Government if growth in Scotland is faster than the rest of the UK.
“Thankfully, it also cushions the blow when growth is down in Scotland. So I have confirmed that the Treasury will give £737 million additional cash through the block grant to the Scottish Government.”
READ MORE: Fact Check: Liz Truss’s claims just don’t add up
However, the £737m was not additional cash because of poor growth, but rather money already deducted from Scotland’s block grant in 2017-18 due to an overestimate of how much money the government in Edinburgh would take in through a new devolved income taxes. It was also, in part, down to taxes taken in by the Treasury for the rest of the UK.
The claim prompted a complaint from the Scottish Government, which was upheld by the UK Statistics Authority.
Sir David Norgrove, the chair of the authority, stated Truss was “incorrect”. He added: “The principal reasons for the block grant adjustment were in fact an initial overestimate of the Scottish tax base and faster growth of tax receipts than expected in the rest of the UK.”
Norgrove also made clear that the authority would be writing to the Treasury, demanding they “improve the presentation of the Scottish fiscal framework in line with our Code of Practice for Statistics”.
‘Secret meeting’
The following year, Truss was accused of orchestrating a “stitch-up” by inviting MPs to a meeting about crippling US whisky tariffs … two hours after it started.
The Foreign Secretary invited MPs to talks billed as an update on US retaliatory tariffs on EU and UK products. However, the SNP complained the invite arrived a full two hours after the meeting began at 4.30pm.
Brendan O’Hara MP urged Westminster to cut out the “childish games”, saying his party had been “completely shut out in a Tory stitch-up”.
The Department for International Trade contested that account – but it yet another unfortunate moment for Truss’s former department.
Australia trade deal
More recently, Truss has angered Scots with her defence of the UK Government’s Australia trade deal.
Farmers and opposition MPs raised concerns about the agreement potentially running UK producers out of business.
Yet the Tory minister dismissed all concerns about what she dubbed a “gold-standard” deal, bragging about the prospect of importing products such as swimsuits and wine from Australia.
The SNP's shadow spokesperson for trade, Drew Hendy, was not impressed.
He told Truss in the Commons: "For all her bluster, she knows that any deal with Australia can’t even make a dent on the shortfall created by the trading disaster of leaving the EU. The simple fact is we’re doing less trade now than before January 1.”
He added: “Fourteen of Scotland’s food and drinks organisations have written to her, and say they have been ignored by this government.
"They are Scotland’s farmers, crofters, producers and manufacturers. They know that they’re being dragged under water by yet another Westminster government that simply doesn’t care, and for what, swimwear?"
Good question.
As ever when it comes to Liz Truss, we're scratching our heads.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel