Liz Truss, Britain's former prime minister, has launched CPAC GB in London, the first UK edition of the American Conservative Political Action Conference. The event brings together hard-right figures from multiple countries and features prominent American conservative voices, including influencer Jack Posobiec, as keynote speakers.
Truss, who served as prime minister for just six weeks before resigning in September 2022, is using the conference to rebuild her political standing within the British right wing. Her brief tenure ended after massive economic turmoil triggered by her mini-budget, which spooked financial markets and tanked the pound. She has since positioned herself as a voice on the party's ideological right, frequently criticizing the centrist direction of her successors.
CPAC originated in the United States and became a significant platform for conservative movement-building, particularly during Donald Trump's rise to prominence. Bringing the conference model to Britain reflects Truss's ambition to cultivate influence among British conservative activists and intellectuals, even after losing her party's top job.
The gathering signals an effort to create a distinctly ideological conservative space in British politics, separate from the traditional party establishment. By importing American CPAC's structure and ethos, Truss aims to position herself as a bridge between American and British right-wing movements while rehabilitating her image among Conservative Party members and sympathizers.
The presence of international hard-right speakers underscores the conference's ambition to build a transnational conservative network. For Truss personally, CPAC GB offers a platform to maintain relevance after her political collapse and potentially influence future Conservative Party direction from outside parliament, where she currently serves as an MP for Norfolk Southeast.
Whether CPAC GB becomes an enduring fixture in British politics or remains a one-off event depends partly on whether it attracts sustained funding and audience interest from British conservatives seeking