In short
Liz Truss discusses UK political power, arguing the “deep state/blob” and institutions (BBC, unelected judiciary, Bank of England independence) block elected leaders; she links mass migration to social/economic decline and says the biggest threat is “Islamism.” She criticizes Blair-era reforms (Human Rights Act, Constitutional Reform Act, Equality Act, Climate Change Act) for shifting power from Parliament to courts and “leftist” bureaucracies, and says Conservatives failed by not reversing them. She recounts her tenure: a low-tax/fracking budget opposed by Treasury/Bank of England, a pensions-regulation “market meltdown” blamed on her, and her lack of time to pass legislation. She proposes reversing laws, firing/reshaping Home Office leadership, deporting illegal arrivals, and copying Trump-style border enforcement (turning boats back, deportations). She also attacks “woke” elite culture and defends free speech and X.
Guests
Liz Truss (former UK Prime Minister; former Oxford University Liberal Democrat president; later Conservative; now hosts “The Liz Truss Show”). Host: Katie Miller.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOThe Tories' Historic Defeat
0:00 to 0:45
Discussing the downfall of the Tories after 14 years in power.
“The Tories held power for 14 years, longer than any modern government, yet it ended in a historic defeat as we're seeing today.”
Liz Truss' Experience as Prime Minister
0:45 to 1:13
Liz Truss reflects on her time in office and challenges faced.
“Being a racist, according to the British liberal establishment, is worse than being a rapist.”
The Role and Expectations of a Prime Minister
1:13 to 2:32
Exploring public expectations and the limitations of a prime minister's power.
“Hi, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of the Katie Miller podcast.”
Failures of Tory Leadership
2:32 to 4:32
Analyzing the failures of Tory leadership and the impact of Blair's policies.
“And I think one of the problems in Britain is the prime minister is also a bit like the speaker of the House of representatives, in that they can be removed by the MPs at any time.”
The Influence of the Deep State
4:32 to 7:17
Discussing the deep state in Britain and its implications on politics.
“So he put in place the Human Rights Act, which gave the same human rights to illegal immigrants as to British citizens.”
Current State of the Tories
7:17 to 8:06
Liz Truss addresses the current Tory party's ability to renew itself.
“The public are so angry with everything like mass migration, economic stagnation, just how bad everything is in Britain, that I think they're now prepared to vote for a Trump style option.”
Lessons from Prime Ministerial Experience
8:06 to 12:12
Reflecting on lessons learned during her time as Prime Minister.
“So we're in a position now, and we're three years out from a general election.”
The Decline of British Culture
12:12 to 14:00
Discussing the impact of elite culture on British values and identity.
“What's your relationship with Tony Blair now?”
The Threats Facing Britain
14:00 to 15:10
Exploration of Britain's key societal threats, including radical Islam and elite culture's impact.
“if Britain cut taxes, if we cut regulation, if we're open to technologies like crypto and AI, you can get that going.”
The House of Lords and British Politics
15:10 to 17:10
Discussion on the role of the House of Lords and the influence of hereditary peers in politics.
“They understand that we're a Christian country.”
Show all 30 chapters
Rapid Change in British Governance
17:10 to 18:20
Analysis of how Britain's political structure allows for rapid changes compared to the U.S.
“and the House of Lords probably is not a big part of it.”
Public Sentiment on the Monarchy
18:20 to 20:40
Examination of current British public attitudes towards the monarchy and royal family.
“because it's going to be an almighty battle against the blob.”
Claims of Racism and Woke Ideology
20:40 to 21:40
Debate surrounding racism accusations and the influence of woke ideology on public discourse.
“They're really not thinking about Harry and Meghan.”
Mass Migration and Britain's Challenges
21:40 to 23:10
Discussion on the current migration crisis and its implications for British society.
“Being a racist, according to the British liberal establishment, is worse than being a rapist.”
Strategies for Controlling Migration
23:10 to 25:30
Insights into potential strategies for managing immigration and enforcement in the UK.
“Those bureaucrats need to be turfed out and you need different people in, more like you have in the United States of America.”
Shifting Political Ideologies
25:30 to 28:00
Reflection on personal political evolution and the challenges of implementing policies in a complex system.
“Would you send the British Navy after the boat's coming?”
Liz Truss Reflects on Political Journey
28:00 to 29:00
Liz Truss shares her transformation from a liberal upbringing to conservative beliefs.
“But yet you were born into a very liberal family.”
Family Influence on Political Views
29:00 to 30:20
Truss discusses her family's political background and her path to social conservatism.
“But then I think it was when I had children that I became more of a social conservative because, you know, I was more of a libertarian before that.”
Energy Policy and Nuclear Power
30:20 to 31:50
The conversation shifts to Truss's perspective on energy sources, including nuclear and renewables.
“because of some of the similar campaigns for nuclear disarmament where nuclear power probably is one of the preeminent power sources?”
Balancing Family Life and Politics
31:50 to 34:20
Truss shares her experiences of managing a political career while raising children.
“Definitely natural gas and fracking, I think is.”
Challenges of Parenthood and Politics
34:20 to 37:00
Discussion on the societal challenges of raising children amid political careers.
“Otherwise, to be honest, you don't get to see your kids.”
Media Trust and Political Discourse
37:00 to 39:40
Truss critiques the British press and discusses the impact of social media on politics.
“Even when you arrive at the airport in Budapest, it says, we love families in this country.”
Future of Britain and Political Engagement
39:40 to 42:04
Truss considers the direction of Britain and her ongoing work against the deep state.
“And X has revolutionized Britain and brought news that the press were trying to suppress.”
Changing the Political System
42:04 to 42:36
Explore the challenges of influencing political change and personal motivations.
“if you don't have the ability to change the system.”
Would You Rather: Fun Political Choices
42:36 to 43:41
Engage in a light-hearted game revealing personal preferences and humor.
“because that's just being the whipping boy for the failures of this system that doesn't work.”
Skincare and Beauty Routines
43:41 to 45:31
Discuss skincare routines and beauty culture in the UK versus the US.
“Gordon Ramsay, Great British Bake Off, definitely.”
Food and Cultural Differences
45:31 to 48:14
Delve into bread quality and preferences between American and British cultures.
“like the hair is so big and i don't know if british hairdressers even know how to make hair that big and one of the things i want to do in british politics is i want to get that big hair over into Britain.”
Beverage Preferences and American Experiences
48:14 to 50:34
Share thoughts on drinks and uniquely American experiences like drive-thrus.
“Like I bite into a piece of bread, it's sweet.”
Grooming Gangs and Literature
50:34 to 54:22
Discuss a significant book on grooming gangs and the importance of storytelling.
“Just so you can drive through and get anything you want.”
Dinner Party with Historical Figures
54:22 to 55:23
Imagine an unforgettable dinner party with influential historical figures.
“I think we could get Nixon there as well, find out what really happened.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Katie Miller:The Tories held power for 14 years, longer than any modern government, yet it ended in a historic defeat as we're seeing today. When you were the Prime Minister, where do you feel like you could have done better? The problem is I didn't have enough time to get legislation free Parliament. They blamed that market meltdown on me and it was just a pile-on. I was one person and I essentially had a gun put to my head. I definitely became Red Pill as Prime Minister because I discovered just how powerful the deep state is. And I thought, this country isn't really a democracy because a democratically selected leader is not able to carry out their policies.
0:38Katie Miller:Looking at the current state of the UK, the economy, housing, health care, immigration, what keeps you up at night? The biggest problem is Islamism. Everything else is reversible. Being a racist, according to the British liberal establishment, is worse than being a rapist. And they've just used it as an attack line. And I think it's so important that we never, ever respond to that. I'm getting more right-wing every week.
1:13Katie Miller:Hi, everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of the Katie Miller podcast. We're excited to be joined by Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, today, our first foreign guest on the podcast. Well, I feel honored, honored to be the first foreigner. Although I think the Brits have a lot of common with the Americans. So walk me through briefly what it is like to be the prime minister of the UK. I think Americans here know a lot about what it's like to be the president. They see a lot of President Trump doing things. They've seen President Biden, President Obama in recent memories.
1:48Katie Miller:and really what we see domestically of a foreign leader is not as much as what they do during the day or how that office functions. Well, in terms of what the British public expect, they expect pretty much of the British prime minister what they'd expect of the American president. They're expecting somebody who runs a country, who represents Britain abroad. The problem in Britain, though, is the powers that the prime minister used to have have been taken away and they've been taken on by much of the deep state. So what I discovered becoming prime minister is the public expect you to be able to do stuff, but you pull the levers and nothing happens.
2:32And I think one of the problems in Britain is the prime minister is also a bit like the speaker of the House of representatives, in that they can be removed by the MPs at any time. So you're only as strong as your caucus. So it's a bit like if the House of Representatives, you know, they elect Speaker Johnson, they could depose him if they don't like what he's doing. Same kind of way they remove Kevin McCarthy. Exactly. But in a lot of times in politics, you need to make a tough decision that's not popular straight away. And this is why in Britain, we've had a succession of prime ministers because the caucus keeps getting rid of them and saying we don't like this.
3:14But we need to change the country so much that you need to take tough decisions. So it's a kind of combination of the prime minister, the president and the speaker of the House of Representatives.
3:27Katie Miller:What would your typical day have been like? So it would be lots of media, lots of public appearances. The prime minister has to do PMQs once a week, prime minister's questions in the House of Commons. So answering questions from MPs, a lot of time working on policy, what needs to happen, making announcements, arguing with other bits of the government. And I think in that sense, it is pretty similar to what the president of the United States does. There is just more executive power now in the United States. And of course, President Trump has taken more executive power because he understands the problem with the system.
4:11Katie Miller:The Tories held power for 14 years, longer than any modern government, yet it ended in a historic defeat as we're seeing today. What do you think were the real failures of Tory leadership that kind of led to that outcome? Well, the failure was not reversing the Blair period. Blair conducted a silent revolution on Britain. So he put in place the Human Rights Act, which gave the same human rights to illegal immigrants as to British citizens. He put in place the Constitutional Reform Act, which basically took power away from Parliament and gave it to unelected judges. He put in place the Equality Act that embedded DEI into law.
4:52So he did all of these. He also did the Climate Change Act, which basically meant we We couldn't do fracking. You know, our energy prices went really high. And the problem was the Conservative Party wasn't prepared to roll that stuff back because they didn't want to be unpopular with their friends at dinner parties. They didn't want to say we're against climate change or actually we think a man can't become a woman. That's a load of rubbish. So they kind of went along with it. And by the time people realised what Blair had done and how he'd basically rigged the state against Conservatives, and every institution now in Britain is full of leftists who believe this stuff.
5:36You know, the equality departments full of transgender activists, the climate change departments full of a load of nutty environmentalists. You know, when people realized how bad it was, it was too late. And too many conservatives had been, they'd basically been corrupted by the system. They thought, if I want to get a job after politics, I don't want to go against net zero. I don't want to go against transgender ideology, because then I'm not going to be acceptable to work in a big corporation or get a job in the media. So you just had this whole group of people that essentially were conservatives in name only.
6:19That was the fundamental problem.
6:20Katie Miller:Do you think that was a derivative of the voters trying to elect somebody like Donald Trump, but always getting somebody who was milquetoast to actually make those changes? I think we, look, Donald Trump is a unique character because he is prepared to say the things that everybody is thinking and don't want to say out loud. And we don't really have anybody as fearless in Britain and as bold. So I think that's part of the issue. But also our deep state in Britain has been going longer than the American deep state. So the kind of forces we're battling, I call them the blob, are very, very powerful.
7:00They're very well connected. We've got a state funded broadcaster in the BBC that is just dripping with this stuff. So I think it's both a combination of not having the person, but also the problem being bigger. And we're now at a stage where Keir Starmer, the current prime minister, is the most unpopular prime minister in British history. The public are so angry with everything like mass migration, economic stagnation, just how bad everything is in Britain, that I think they're now prepared to vote for a Trump style option. I think we're getting to that point now.
7:38Katie Miller:Or maybe I'm just an optimist. You've warned that the fall could become irreversible. Do you think the current Tories are capable of renewal, or is it time to pass the torch to the reform? So I don't think the current Tories understand what needs to change. They're not prepared to take on the institutions like the Bank of England, like the unelected judiciary. They're not really prepared to take them on. I'm not sure Nigel Farage has yet committed to do that either. So we're in a position now, and we're three years out from a general election. We're in a position now where nobody has really said anything that is big enough to take on what the problem is.
8:25Katie Miller:You know, now what you say resonates with me and probably so many of my listeners about the deep state and how long it's been continuing on and how to actually tackle it. When you were the prime minister, where do you feel like you could have done better looking back to say, oh, I could have had that opportunity and shown that I could have done what? What? So what happened was I put forward a budget, which was about keeping taxes low, getting fracking to reduce our energy costs and restraining the budget. You know, it's a classic supply side package. And it's what Trump is doing now, which is turbocharging the American economy.
9:10The point is the bureaucrats and the Treasury and the Bank of England hated it. and the night before we announced it the Bank of England announced that they were selling 40 billion pounds worth of government gilts they didn't tell me about that because they're independent and they were made independent by Tony Blair and the only way you can change that is legislation and the problem is I didn't have enough time to get legislation through parliament And then what they did is they had created a market meltdown by not properly regulating the pensions industry. But they blamed that market meltdown on me.
9:52And it was just a pile on. There's a pile on of all the conservatives in name only, all the kind of corporate types, all of the mainstream media just piled on me. And I didn't have the infrastructure or the forces to take them on. I was one person and I essentially had a gun put to my head. And I was threatened with, you know, not being able to fund government debt if I didn't change the policy. So my lesson is, you know, you need a massive infrastructure and a fighting force. If you could go back, would you have built that infrastructure before you made proposals? Well, the problem was that the prime minister jobs kind of came up because Boris Johnson had been forced out by these same Conservatives in name only.
10:42They forced him out. They wanted to install Rishi Sunak, who's like a creature of the establishment. And I thought, well, if I don't put my name forward now, then I'm just letting these people win. We're going to have more of these terrible policies. The Conservative Party is going to be vated out because everybody hates us for what we've done, which is allow mass migration, kill the economy, implement all these woke policies. So it was a bit of a, like there was no ideal choice here. I either went forward for the job when I wasn't ready, which I wasn't because I hadn't built the infrastructure.
11:20Katie Miller:Before you made the proposals, you know, and proposed the budget and done these reforms, built a larger coalition, whether that not be with the MPs, but be these forces upon the outside. The issue is that we were only two years out from a general election and I needed to show this stuff was working. And what happens with the blob is that if you don't do things on day one, they just swallow you whole. They wouldn't have even let me put my proposals on the table. I had to surprise them, which is exactly the strategy Trump used with flood the zone from day one. Do you see what I mean? If you spend time trying to persuade people, I would have been drowned by the bureaucracy.
12:06They would have come up with five million legal reasons for not doing it.
12:12Katie Miller:What's your relationship with Tony Blair now?
12:18Given that I've said that he is the cause of most of Britain's problems, it's not, it's not, we're not best buddies for it like that. I don't think he's the only cause, but I think he is, he is part of the globalist establishment that have, that has almost destroyed the West. And I include Clinton in that, Obama, Macron, Ursula von der Leyen, Mark Carney, who was also governor of the Bank of England that created a load of these problems before he went on to try and ruin Canada, which is what he's doing at the moment. But they're all part of this same club. And they have utterly failed. They've utterly failed.
12:58They've brought our country to its knees. Britain is now poorer than Mississippi, which is the poorest US state. That's how bad it is. And that is Blair is one of the central figures in creating this absolute mass. What's your relationship with Rishi now? Equally un-positive. I mean, he is just a creature of the system. He wanted to be prime minister. He had no idea what he wanted to do apart from go along with the bureaucrats. What's the point? I don't see the point of going for a job like being prime minister of Great Britain. if you're not trying to actually achieve something.
13:38Katie Miller:Looking at the current state of the UK, the economy, housing, healthcare, immigration, what keeps you up at night? The biggest problem is Islamism. Everything else is reversible. The health service is a mess. The economy is a mess. But ultimately, we know the policies that work. We know that if Britain got fracking, if Britain cut taxes, if we cut regulation, if we're open to technologies like crypto and AI, you can get that going. But if the country suffers from radical Islam, then that is very difficult to reverse. So that's, to me, that's the biggest threat that there is now. You've been a vocal warrior against woke culture, blaming it for everything from high taxes to broken civil service, that strays into anti-Semitism.
14:33Katie Miller:has British culture lost its way, prioritizing identity politics over family, over national pride? See, it's elite culture that's the problem. It's the British liberal elite who, since the 1960s, have rejected tradition. They've rejected Christianity. They've rejected the idea of the nation state. You know, they want to hang out in Davos. They're ashamed of our country. You know, Keir Starmer is the ultimate example of somebody who's ashamed of his country. That is not what the average Brit thinks. You know, the average Brit is very proud to be British. They understand that we're a Christian country.
15:14They believe in things like freedom of speech, but they've been suppressed. So there's a big difference between the elite and the population of Britain. What do you think is Europe's biggest threat right now? Islamification. And I mean, I think the biggest threat to the world is China. But I think China uses the threats of radical Islam as part of their toolbox of how they're going to defeat the West. And I think the radical Islam is a key part of that toolbox.
15:53Katie Miller:There's been increasing talks about reforming or even weakening again the House of Lords. Do you think Britain would be better off with less aristotic influence in politics today? The House of Lords isn't really full of aristocrats. I mean, there aren't that many hereditary peers and Labour are getting rid of them. It's just full of placement. Like the House of Lords is full of former senior civil servants, former judges. You know, it's all the same people that have caused all the problems are now in the House of Lords. Do you think the weakening back to the turn of the century when they dramatically weakened the House of Lords and kneecapped, I would say, the aristocracy's hold over what was the British system changed British culture and changed Britain in a way that isn't beneficial for the country that led to some of the problems you see today?
16:46I do think in general the hereditary peers are a good influence in the House of Lords. But to me, the bigger changes Blair did were the human rights laws, the kowtowing to the globalist institutions like the UN. That's the thing that really changed British political culture. and the House of Lords probably is not a big part of it.
17:17Katie Miller:Do you think overall weakening, I would say, the Crown's influence on British politics has shaped and has pushed this again towards the ability to create such radical changes in such a short period of time, whereas it was more resistant over centuries? Britain has always been a country where radical change can be achieved. I mean, we had Cromwell, we had the Restoration. So there has always been an ability. If you want to change things in Britain very quickly, you can do it. It's unlike the American constitution where you've got checks and balances. We don't have checks and balances. Parliament's sovereign.
18:00And what Blair has done is he took the powers away from Parliament and gave it to all these unelected bodies, which were then captured by woke ideology. But if you get 350 MPs who want to change it, they can change it. You've just got to get them elected and they've got to be able to do what it takes because it's going to be an almighty battle against the blob. And these, you know, their mates in the BBC and all of these elements of the deep state that I've been talking about, they're not easy to deal with. even now under Trump too, you know, the blob has not gone away. You know, they're still there in places like the State Department.
18:40Katie Miller:Do you think it'd be popular to put hereditary peers back in the House of Lords? I don't think the public would care very much, to be frank. Like, people are so frustrated. Like, they're frustrated with illegal migrant hotels and, you know, girls of 12 being raped. You know, they are angry about the state of the NHS. They're angry that all the traditional industries have died because energy prices are so high. I don't think you really care who's in the House of Lords or not. I think they just want it fixed. I would say Americans really care about British royalty to a degree that I'm not sure it is the same maybe it is in the UK.
19:25Katie Miller:I think that's right. I think Americans, and also Americans think they have more power than they do. The king is able to kind of make decisions. That's just not true. It's just not true. So then what do you make of, I would say, maybe it's tabloids than it is reality, you know, of the crown diminishing further should when King Charles not be king anymore and as the lineage goes further down, especially what goes on with Harry and Meghan? I mean, Harry and Meghan are not in the line of succession, thank God. So I think the monarchy has a secure future in Britain. There's a clear line of succession.
20:09Do you think the British people want to retain them? Yes, definitely. There really isn't any even talk about it. As I say, people have got such visceral, real concerns about what is going on in towns and cities. I mean, the grooming gangs who are raving white girls, you know, this kind of, that is what people are bothered about. Or the fact that you get arrested for posting on the internet and you can be jailed, that is what people are thinking about. They're really not thinking about Harry and Meghan. Maybe some of them are, but we're just glad
20:46Katie Miller:that you're looking after them at the moment. But the same visceral, I mean, I'd say a lot of Americans have a visceral reaction now when you mention Harry and Meghan's names. Is that shared across the pond? Yeah, it definitely is. It definitely is. Do you think royal TV shows like The Crown have damaged the monarchy's image or has it made it more relatable? I think I watched The Crown. I think it's a great show. How true it is, I don't know. the Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan and the Netflix series accuses the palace of racism you've you're someone who has met the king and many I'm sure presumably many members of the royal family is that are those claims fair or do you think that's a calculated attack on them of course they're not fair and this is a you know this is a problem with woke ideology and that is what has been perpetrated by Harry and Meghan.
21:41Of course, it's not fair. Racism has been used as a weapon. Being a racist, according to the British liberal establishment, is worse than being a rapist. And they've just used it as an attack line. And I think it's so important that we never, ever respond to that.
21:59Katie Miller:How do you view the monarchy's role in the future of Britain? do you wish they were more vocal or should remain as neutral as they've been? As neutral as possible. And I think the late Queen, and I was fortunate to be the final prime minister that she appointed, when the late Queen got it absolutely right, absolutely right. She was an immense figure. And, you know, for 70 years on the throne, can you imagine that 70 years on the throne? She never revealed what she thought once. Not even privately? Well, she revealed it privately, but not in public. You've linked mass migration directly to Britain becoming a failed state with the mass influx under the current leadership.
22:45Katie Miller:Do you think this can be fixed with tougher enforcement? Or how do you envision the current migration situation being fixed in the UK? So it can be fixed. But first of all, you need to reverse all the laws that I was talking about, like the Human Rights Act. The next thing you need to do is get better people in the Home Office. So at the moment, there's a load of bureaucrats who believe in open borders. Those bureaucrats need to be turfed out and you need different people in, more like you have in the United States of America. And the problem is that the British, this is one of the issues I had as prime minister, is under the laws now, you can't hire and fire these people.
23:27And we have to change the law to be able to appoint the people that are needed who are actually prepared to go and deport these people. Is that easy to do, just change the law?
23:37Katie Miller:I know here it's very complicated. It never happens. It is easy to do, provided you have 350 MPs with backbone. But you know what the House of Representatives is like. It's like saying you need every single Republican in the House of Representatives to vote for tough stuff. And it's really difficult. It's really difficult to get MPs because they all get lobbied, you know, by all these do-gooders, etc., etc. So it's quite a tough ask to say 350 people who are prepared to do that. But that's what's needed. You've praised President Trump's border strategy. What should Britain copy from his approach without crashing the economy?
24:20Well, the deportation strategy, the enforcing the border. In America, it's a wall. I mean, we've got the English Channel. We don't need a wall. But what's happening is boats are being let in. So we need to make it much tougher for people trying to cross on small boats and turn the boats back and be prepared to deport people. None of this stuff is actually difficult. It's just there's such a wall of opposition. And you can see that with ICE and the fact that you essentially have an armed insurrection against what ICE officers are doing. Now, in Britain, maybe the people don't have so many arms, but the left will go absolutely mad.
Read the full transcript
25:02and they will use every possible tactic, lawfare, targeting people, intimidating people. One of the shows I've just done recently on my new podcast, The Liz Truss Show, which I have to mention, available on YouTube. But a journalist who raises the issue of the boat crossings in Calais now needs police protection. So this is what's happened. Anybody who even talks about this stuff, who talks about the illegal migrant gangs, is targeted by the Islamists.
25:35Katie Miller:Would you send the British Navy after the boat's coming? Would you do similar things like, say, the United States has done to those bringing drugs from Venezuela? What would be your approach to stop the mass migration? Yes, you need to do that, and you need to just stop the Bates landing. You need to stop the Bates landing, but also you need to deal with the illegal immigrants who are already here. Because if people know the minute they land on British shore they're going to be deported, they won't come over. The problem is now, the minute they land on British shore, they get put up in a hotel.
26:06They get given a food allowance. They think they can go around sexually attacking young girls.
26:12Katie Miller:You know, it's just completely the wrong system. During your leadership, Ed, you talked about expanding skilled visas for growth. Looking back, do you think that was the right strategy? Or was the tidal wave not crashing, so to speak, yet? I mean I think you should be able to have visas for business people to come and set up businesses in your country and I think Donald Trump's introduced a golden visa a gold card what is that called a gold card the gold card essentially expedites citizenship via green card for those who are skilled etc who are paying a certain amount of money to be able to come here quicker to attract the best and brightest throughout the world But I think that's a small number of people.
27:00And the salary threshold is far too low in Britain for coming. People have been able to come as bogus students. They've been able to come as the dependents of students. And also, people have been able to bring their family in. And that's one of the problems we have with the Pakistani Muslim enclaves is chain family immigration. So what I want to do is put a stop to that. So you, yes, high school people, limited numbers. And also, I think it matters which country these people are coming from. So if it's Japan, that's different from Somalia. And we should be honest about that. So I like what President Trump has done about banning certain countries altogether.
27:43We should ban everybody from Afghanistan coming to Britain. They've got the highest rates of sexual assault of any nation. And the highest rates of PTSD. Yeah.
27:54Katie Miller:I would say that you have some very, we'd call in America, very based viewpoints, not woke ones. But yet you were born into a very liberal family. And at one point, served as the president of Oxford University's Liberal Democrats before switching parties. What specifically turned you, in this country, we'd say red-pilled you, but what specifically, you know, had you switched the Tory party? So I definitely became red-pilled as prime minister because I discovered just how powerful the deep state is. And I thought this country isn't really a democracy because a democratically selected leader is not able to carry out their policies.
28:36So that like red-pilled me about how bad the system was. But I think it was going to university and studying economics that I thought this socialist stuff doesn't work. And I've always I've always believed in freedom and personal freedom and be able to shape your own life. And I think that's what frustrated me about the left. And they would try to control things and plan things. So that's why I became a conservative. But then I think it was when I had children that I became more of a social conservative because, you know, I was more of a libertarian before that. Now I've become more of a conservative.
29:14So it's been a lifelong journey. I'm getting more right wing every week.
29:20Katie Miller:It's just true. You described your parents as left of labor. What's your relationship with them now? Have they still managed? Are they red pilled like you? They're definitely not red pilled. They are still on the left of politics. I mean, my mom, just to be clear was an activist in the cnd the campaign for nuclear disarmament so when i was a child she used to take me to these bases to campaign against nuclear weapons and lie on the road and stuff like that you know and stay at a peace camp so they are pretty like 60s liberals essentially would they support nuclear energy now as it relates to power or they're still no no i had an argument with my mom a few weeks ago just political discussion and she just said we should stop all cars.
30:07What? All cars? All cars. Yeah, let's just stop all cars. They're just ruining our city. Even the electric ones? All cars.
30:18Katie Miller:All cars. Do you think nuclear has gotten a bad rap because of some of the similar campaigns for nuclear disarmament where nuclear power probably is one of the preeminent power sources? Definitely. Yeah. Although, I mean, I support nuclear, but it does take time to build nuclear. And the big shame in Britain is that we're not using oil and gas. That's just, it's nuts. It's nuts. Do you believe in solar power then? I know you were a big proponent of, you know, coal and natural gas and we're opposed to solar. Do you think solar has a place in the future? I think if you want to put solar on roofs and people want to install it, great.
31:03All of these technologies have to compete in the market. If they're going to deliver cheap power, I'm not against them. I mean, I'm against some aspects of offshore wind for security reasons or wildlife reasons. But the point is none of these renewable energies have had to wash their own face. They're getting massive subsidies from the government and people are paying that through their bills. And that's completely wrong.
31:29Katie Miller:But if nuclear takes so long to build and we currently need vast amounts of power because of the increasing of data centers, not only in the United States, but in Britain and China and elsewhere, don't you see there a need to be a need for like other energy such as solar, such as an increase in, say, natural gas to be able to fill those gaps? Definitely natural gas and fracking, I think is. And Britain could be energy self-sufficient in natural gas. So that's like the most obvious thing. As I say, I'm not against solar on people's roofs or whatever to supplement it. But it's an intermittent power supply.
32:06You can't, our grid is not organised around it. And what's happening is there's just a danger of blackouts, because we're becoming more and more reliant on unreliable renewable energy. And it's, it's just been a bit of a fad. and all the solar panels are produced in China as well. So I'm not saying it shouldn't be allowed. I'm just saying it should have to compete.
32:29Katie Miller:Didn't Australia help their grid though via solar? It's a sunnier country. Anyone who's been to Britain knows that it is not the best place for solar power. It really isn't. So you've been married for 25 years now? Yeah, that's correct. And have two daughters? Yes. How old are your daughters now? They're now, the older one's almost 20 and the younger one's 17. And what have they thought about this experience of politics, prime minister now? Like how do your daughters look up to this period of time and how do they see it? Well, they sort of live through it all. And I always used to take them campaigning.
33:09They came to lots of political events. So they now know so much. My younger daughter is doing economics at school and she just she she kind of knows it all already because she lived it and she understands it. So they've got a unique I always tell them if they moan about whatever their life. I just say you've had a unique experience that no other children have had.
33:35Katie Miller:What what point in your career did you have your kids? So it was 2006 and 2008. So it was before I became an MP. And yet you still managed to become an MP and prime minister with young children. Yes. How did you manage? How did I manage? Got a very supportive husband. We had various sort of au pairs and nannies. And I did take them to work quite a lot. because politics isn't an activity you just do in an office. There's campaigning, there's meetings, there's events. And my whole approach was to just involve them in that life as much as possible. Otherwise, to be honest, you don't get to see your kids.
34:23Forgive me for not knowing, but what does your husband do? He's an accountant.
34:28Katie Miller:He's nothing to do with elected politics. A rather stable job. Yeah, he's nothing to do with elected politics. So was he able to pick up, I want to say the slack, but some of the caregiving when you were on the road and were busy doing? Basically, yes. Yes. And my younger daughter is still 17, so she still needs looking after. So what would your advice be to other young women who have kids who want to run for office and want to do something great and are like, I'm not sure if I should have kids now or wait? You didn't wait. No. And actually, if anything, I think I would have had kids earlier. I mean, I had my first daughter.
35:09I was 30 at the time and actually got married when I was 25. Oh, wow. And I, yeah, I might have started earlier. I kind of think that my husband doesn't necessarily agree with this, but I'd love to have more children.
35:25Katie Miller:Do you think that's a derivative of the fact that now there is so much talk about the declining birth rate? not only in the UK, but worldwide. I didn't even start thinking about this until actually after I left office. And it's amazing, isn't it? We didn't sort of see the declining birth rate as a massive problem, but it clearly is. Do you think it is more on men and them not stepping up young boys, the lost boy generation? Or do you think it's on women who put their careers too far forward? I think that, first of all, we have made it so economically hard for young families. It is so hard to get a house in Britain.
36:11It's even harder than it is here. But if it's really hard for people to move out of home, get their own house, if it's really hard to earn a decent living then you're not going to have kids and I I think like if you look at what Victor Orban is doing in Hungary I think that is the best example we've got so far but I just think that needs to be put on steroids so if you're a woman and you have more than I think it's two or three children you don't pay tax for the rest of your life it's great you know and if you're a family I've already
36:47Katie Miller:hit bingo. Yeah, exactly. If this doesn't work out, you can move to Hungary. Yeah, already hit bingo in Hungary. But you also, you get preferential treatment on housing, you get preferential treatment in all kinds of ways. Even when you arrive at the airport in Budapest, it says, we love families in this country. And it's creating that positive culture around having a family and saying, we're going to make your life easier if you've got kids, not harder. And it's just so hard. I mean, one of my many jobs in the government is I was childcare minister. It's just, childcare is expensive. It's also difficult.
37:26It's also bureaucratic. And we've just made it really, really, really difficult for people.
37:33Katie Miller:Do you think that only people with children have a stake in the future? I think having children gives you a different perspective. And it does make you really care about what's going to happen next. You can't just write off things. You've held many different roles in the government. What's been your favorite job? Well, Prime Minister was my favorite job. And it was like I learned so much. I mean, I've learned so much about what needs to change about Britain as a result of that job. I love being trade secretary. I did over 60 trade deals. In the immediate post-Brexit period, we had to sign all the new deals.
38:19And that was interesting. And I love coming to America. I like getting energy from ideas about what's happening elsewhere. So that was a great job.
38:34Katie Miller:Are there just a lot of cats at number 10? What is with all the cats that I see? There's only one cat, really, which is Larry. I think some people try and port their own cats. Did you ever take care of the cats? Well, Larry was very keen on me. He did love me a lot. He was very sad when I went. He was very angry, actually, Larry. Where do you get your news from? X. Anywhere else? Just X? No. I occasionally read the British press just to get angry and get motivated to do stuff. But like all of the British press is pretty much captured. You know, the Times and the Financial Times, people think these are neutral.
39:14They're not. They're part of the liberal establishment that is trying to stop any kind of populist revolution in Britain. So do you think Harry's right about the press? I do agree with Harry on the press. He's not wrong about everything. He's right about the press. He's right about the press. I invited him on my podcast to talk about his views of the British press because it's the issue we agree on. And X has revolutionized Britain and brought news that the press were trying to suppress. So the grooming gangs is the biggest example. It's absolutely horrific what's happened. tens of thousands of British girls age 11 and upwards you know groomed raped tortured by Pakistani Muslim gangs and the mainstream media in Britain has largely tried to cover it up and even when they reported it they only reported it for one day and then they talked about you know something else probably Prince Harry or whatever and Elon Musk and X have made these issues much more widely known about and are creating a different tone in politics, which I think is fantastic.
40:32And of course, Keir Starmer is busy trying to ban X. He is. He's commissioned Ofcom, which is the British media regulator, their name is Ofcommunist. He's commissioned them to do a study about grok bikini images or whatever. I mean, the left are desperate to close X down and And the EU is trying to close X down as well through the Digital Services Act.
40:57Katie Miller:Do you think that's just because they're so used to controlling the legacy media and they're not able to control this new function? Of course. Absolutely. It's a threat. It's the biggest threat to their power and rule is free speech, which is why they're going after it. So in such a tough way. Where do you think it ends? Well, there's two choices. Either Britain becomes like a version of the Soviet Union or we become like a version of Trump's America. That's the choice. I know which one I vote for. What's your daily routine these days? There isn't really a routine because, you know, I'm doing a lot of it, but I'm doing my podcast.
41:47I'm working on what needs to what is the infrastructure that we need to take on the deep state because there are all these people at the moment in politics you know talking about the issues of the day you know Nigel Farage whoever else they're debating these issues what I know is it doesn't matter what your policies are or what your personnel are saying if you don't have the ability to change the system. So that's what I'm working on. How do we change that system and put in something new that actually works? Would you ever run again? I don't rule anything out. I don't rule anything out, but what I wouldn't want to do is go back into the cesspit of British politics without the infrastructure and the levers that I know can actually change things.
42:38because that's just being the whipping boy for the failures of this system that doesn't work.
42:47Katie Miller:So every episode we play a game of would you rather. Would you rather have afternoon tea and crumpets with King Charles or late night McDonald's with President Trump? I mean, that is so easy. Late night McDonald's with President Trump, of course. Would you rather have your political career dramatized in the crown or have your personal life psychoanalyzed by Piers Morgan on live TV? I'd rather be in the crown, definitely. Piers Morgan is part of the British establishment who tries to pretend he's not. He's a snake. Would you rather refight the Revolutionary War or relive the infamous lettuce meme?
43:26Katie Miller:I would fight the Revolutionary War, but I don't know which side I'd be on. Would you rather be the third wheel on Meghan and Harry's podcast or be a contestant on the Great British Bake Off with Gordon Ramsay as a guest judge? I mean, that's pretty easy. Gordon Ramsay, Great British Bake Off, definitely. Would you rather get a tattoo of the Union Jack or rock Boris Johnson's hairstyle for a year? The Union Jack tattoo, even though I'm scared of needles. So when I said I was recording with you, the number one question I got was, everyone seemed to really want to know how you did your skincare routine.
44:03Katie Miller:ah so will you please share with the viewers your skincare routine I don't know why they want to know that but it's not very sophisticated it's like I want you know I wash my face that I put on moisturizer not many steps it's not many it's not a many step routine no do your girls do a lot more of like or maybe just American culture of like the going to the beauty store, spending tons of money on makeup and products and trying them all out? They do. I do buy a lot of makeup. So I'm a bit like the sort of, you know, the French regime. I believe in sort of sticking a lot of filler on top. That's the way to deliver.
44:48But my, yeah, my daughters do love makeup. And I think people are more clued up about skincare now.
44:55Katie Miller:Do you feel like you've had to get made up more frequently than say a man would being the prime minister to do that and is it more time you spend on it or were you just more focused on the job so yes it's more that so I did all my makeup myself and there just aren't people that do that kind of thing in number 10 so it's a bit you know getting hair stuff done I had a hairdresser come in it just takes extra time definitely and I don't think the British system is particularly built around that but you know one of my big envies of americans is their great hair great hair and great teeth and so when i go to seapag america like they just have such like the hair is so big and i don't know if british hairdressers even know how to make hair that big and one of the things i want to do in british politics is i want to get that big hair over into Britain.
45:52You do have great hair.
45:53Katie Miller:I don't know what it is about Americans. I love the hair. Americans do spend a lot proportionally on their hair care, skin care. But what, see, what do you actually do to have American hair? Just, can you just tell me? Okay. I don't know what other people do because I have a pretty low maintenance routine. But I wash my hair with whatever is, I think right now it's some inner sense. I'll give you, it's the organic Maha, like most Maha shampoo and conditioner. And I blow dry it and that's it. That's it. So I don't know what other women do to their hair. I know a lot of women color their hair. We do, there's toner in your hair.
46:30Katie Miller:There's some shine products you can put in your hair. There's always something when you go to a hair salon that they will upsell you on that I 100 % say yes to. But do most women like go to the salon all the time to get blow dries? I would say yes. I would say if you have an event, most people are going to go get a blow dry. All right. 100%. There's just so many more blow dry parlors here. It's just like per capita. A lot. Like the same way, I mean, I don't know what it's like, but again, a lot of people are going to get their nails done a lot. The nail thing has got into Britain, but not the hair thing.
47:02Katie Miller:Eyelashes. Getting your eyelashes done is a big thing. I don't know if that's like that for you. There's a lot of teeth whitening. There's a lot of way to gay to get the left off in Britain. Yes. From the time that you're very little, which is very barbaric, by the way, that they're still putting braces on like six, seven year old kids for like a year and tightening them to get their teeth to be straight from a very young age. But you do have great teeth, so maybe it's worth it. I had braces. The pictures at 13 were rough. What's a conspiracy theory that you believe in? Well, obviously the deep state is real.
47:42Which are the conspiracy theories? I'm very interested in the stuff that's going about Nixon and how he was actually done over, and I think that's true.
47:52Katie Miller:Fascinating. What's one aspect of American culture that you think the UK should adopt and vice versa? Well, big hair. Okay, perfect. That's my number one thing that I absolutely love here. But American bread is not good. You've got a real bread problem. I agree. And it's often got sugar in it. Yes. And why is that? Like I bite into a piece of bread, it's sweet. And Britain has had, like, even though we're like in economic Armageddon and, you know, people are really suffering. We've had this huge surge of bakeries in Britain producing really great bread. And I am a sort of Maha believer. I love whole foods and I love the inverted triangle and all that stuff.
48:42and we just have great bakeries now in Britain. How long should bread last? You should eat it well. It shouldn't have any preservatives in. But I think a good loaf of like, so I would get brown sourdough bread. I think that can last three or four days with no preservatives.
49:01Katie Miller:Have you seen where you put water in it and then put it back into the oven to bring it back to life? No. I just taste it. Why do you need to put it in? I don't get that. You haven't seen this actually? You haven't seen this where if you cut a loaf of bread in half and then you put it under like a faucet if the bread is stale and like too crunchy like real bread you can put it into the oven for like a 350 and it brings it right back to life as if it was never dying in the first place. Really? Yeah. And then you can re-toast it and then it's good bread again. I'm just happy with like tasting old bread.
49:30Katie Miller:I like that. When it gets too crunchy it's not my thing. do you put ice in your water not generally this ice thing is a bit excessive as well here and like you just have a whole cup it's like ice what is this and it dilutes everything so like it's okay but a couple of cubes is fine you don't need a whole glass full of ice cubes do you drink iced coffee certainly not have you ever had a good starbucks iced coffee? Because I don't have milk in my coffee. I like espressos. So they didn't really do iced espressos. It's not really. Have you ever had like an American iced coffee at Starbucks where they put the ice to the very brim?
50:13Katie Miller:No, I haven't. No. But as I say, I don't really like coffee with milk in. Well, you'd hate that one then because there's so much ice. I'm a big Starbucks skeptic. I actually think McDonald's coffee is better than Starbucks coffee. no I don't think Starbucks coffee is good I just don't I think McDonald's is way worse what temperature do you like your beer uh cold cold what's the most American experience you've ever had that is quite tricky well as I've told the the blade dry bars are very American and maybe it's the drive-thrus, like drive-thru coffee bars and things like that. That is very, that feels very alien.
51:01Just so you can drive through and get anything you want.
51:05Katie Miller:It's a magical experience. I love it. I love it. I will drive an extra 10 or 15 minutes out of the way to go through the drive-thru so I don't get out of my car. That just doesn't happen. But like drive-thru espresso bars are weird. That's for us, Brits. What's the last book you've read? I've just read, actually, a book by Maggie Oliver about the grooming gangs, which I've just been interviewing her for my podcast, but she was one of the detectives who basically whistleblow about what's going on. And so her book is called, I think it's called Survivors, but it's very interesting and scary. Have you spoken with any of the survivors and victims of the grooming gangs?
51:51No, I haven't. I've spoken to the detective involved and I'm hoping to do an interview with one of the survivors very soon.
51:58Katie Miller:I think one of the most powerful things President Trump has done and we've done is with these angel moms and angel families of those killed by illegal immigrants here in the United States and bringing their stories to life. I think of Patty Morin, for example, Jocelyn Nungary's mother, who's at the State of the Union. And those have been incredibly powerful stories to share with the American public just about how terrible, you know, having illegal immigration is on the country? Well, we have this group called the Pink Ladies who are campaigning against the migrant hotels for that reason, you know, for young girls getting attacked in the school playground, you know, in the local park.
52:42What's your favorite? Who's your favorite royal? Go dead or alive. I'm a, well, the late queen was fantastic. I'm a big fan of Princess Anne she's great there was a very famous interview she did where there was a kidnap attempt on her I think it was on like Polmont and they opened the door and tried to get her out and she said and they said are you coming come with us and she goes not bloody likely
53:10Katie Miller:I just sat there I just think it's so great Growing up in the UK I'm sure you've met and given your role, many royals. Who's your favorite behind the scenes? What I've just said, it's Princess Anne. Yeah, fantastic. She's such a stoic. She does such fantastic work. And she keeps going. She's a lot like her mother. You think stoicism is just the hallmark of what a good royal should be? Absolutely. Duty, stoicism. When the Queen met me, she was in very, very bad health. the whole leadership election had dragged on. And she insisted on standing up to greet me, even though she was in great pain, because she so believed in doing her duty.
53:58And that, I think, is equality lacking in a lot of people in public life in Britain. And it was that stoicism and duty that she so represented.
54:11Katie Miller:So the last question we ask for everybody on the episode, if you could host a dinner party with three people, dead or alive, who's sitting at the table and what are you eating? Dead or alive. I'm going to go for some U.S. presidents, I think. Okay. So obviously Donald Trump. I think we could get Nixon there as well, find out what really happened. And maybe George Washington. I would have gone with Queen Victoria, you know. In this situation, she's someone I'm absolutely fascinated by. Really? Absolutely. That's interesting. Actually, the queen I'm fascinated by is Queen Elizabeth. Because she, you know, Elizabeth I, she was on the frame when Britain was on the up.
54:56And I think that's very exciting. What are you eating? I'm feeling like tacos.
55:05Katie Miller:Do you eat a lot of tacos in Britain? I love Mexican food. I love Mexican food. the taquias in Britain aren't that great there's a few good restaurants but here is much better it's all that immigration you'd expect you'd get better tacos sometimes soon. We don't have Mexican immigrants
55:22they're not
55:26I'm not very bad off them anyway
55:28Katie Miller:thank you for doing this. Great pleasure thank you. Thank you so much for watching this episode of the Katie Miller podcast don't forget we're available every Tuesday night at 6pm eastern where you get your podcast Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and share. And also don't forget to tune in to Liz Truss's new podcast on YouTube. On YouTube. And it's also on Spotify. It's The Liz Truss Show. Thank you so much for watching. And we'll see you next week.
From the publisher
Newest Episode with former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss!