Truss dismantles the eco ‘axis of evil’

Politics is a cruel business. One minute the gods are shining brightly on you, the next, you’re consigned to the barren wilderness. And few know that better than Liz Truss, our northern Premier with a Sicilian bent. For Truss, The Godfather appears to be less a film than an instruction manual, judging by the nature of her first reshuffle. Her old enemies were purged with Michael Ellis the sole surviving Sunak supporter.

Truss knows better than most the fickle nature of the political game. Just two years ago, she was in the fight of her life at the DIT when she was battling to push through post Brexit trade deals. Ranged against her free trade philosophy were a trio of protectionist ministers in cabinet: George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, his predecessor and Zac Goldsmith, a junior Defra Minister in the Lords. Truss and her allies privately dubbed them ‘the axis of evil’ as they battled it out with the National Farmers’ Union and the Mail newspapers to force through the Australian trade deal.Now though, Truss is triumphant and master of all she surveys. So it must have been a great delight to her when she was given the chance to dismantle the ‘axis of evil’ that had been ranged against her. Gove had already been fired by Boris Johnson; Eustice duly followed him out of the door last week. And today we learn that Goldsmith, the millionaire eco-activist, has been stripped of his Defra role, as Truss seeks to roll back the Johnson agenda of the recent years.For Truss, revenge really is a dish best served cold.