Liz Truss says she’s not trying to reinstate herself as prime minster

Ms Truss said it was ‘wrong’ to hold her responsible for the rise in mortgage rates

Liz Truss has insisted she does not want to “reinstate” herself as prime minister, just days after hinting she could return to front-line politics.

The former premier said last week it was “never wise to rule anything out” when asked if she would consider standing again for the Tory leadership.

But in an interview with Sky News, broadcast on Sunday, she said she had no interest in returning to Downing Street.

Referring to her new book, Ten Years To Save The West, she said: “What the book is about is not trying to reinstate myself as prime minister.”

A return to No 10?

Asked directly whether she would like another turn in No 10, she said: “No”.

She added: “What I want to do here is explain to people what happened and try and explain some of the problems that are developed in the British system that make it very, very difficult for democratically elected politicians to actually deliver the policy they were mandated to deliver. So that is what I’m trying to do.”

Last week she was asked by LBC if she would want to return to front-line politics in the event the Conservatives lose the upcoming general election, Ms Truss said: “I definitely have unfinished business. Definitely. And I think the Conservative Party has unfinished business.

“I think, if we’re honest with ourselves, we haven’t done enough to reverse the Blair legacy.”

She insisted she had not written her book “to run a leadership campaign”, but wanted to build support for her political ideas.

But pressed if she would rule out standing for the Tory leadership in future, she said: “Well, it’s never wise to rule anything out in politics, is it?”

The former prime minster has a new book out called Ten Years To Save The West – Leon Neal

Labour has accused Ms Truss of engaging in a “twisted victory lap”, holding her responsible for a spike in mortgage rates following her ill-fated mini-Budget.

But the former prime minister told Sky News it was “wrong” to suggest she was to blame, insisting the problem was not unique to the UK.

She also revealed she had never met Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, in person – and admitted that was probably a mistake.

She said: “The issues that I faced in office were issues of not being able to deliver the agenda I’d set out because of a deep resistance within the British economic establishment.

“I think it’s wrong to suggest that I’m responsible for British people paying higher mortgages.

“That is something that has happened in every country in the free world.”

‘I faced real resistance’ 

She pointed the finger at the Bank for the market turmoil, adding: “I faced real resistance and actions by the Bank of England that undermined my policy and created the problems in the markets.”

The former prime minister has called for Mr Bailey’s resignation over his response to the economic policies she tried to enact during her short tenure in No 10.

But on Sunday, she confirmed she had never met him in person.

“I actually had a meeting set up and wanted to meet him, but I was advised that would be a bad idea,” she said.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken that advice, but that advice came from the Cabinet Secretary, and what I didn’t want to do is further exacerbate the problems … But what I was very, very concerned about is the country was in a serious situation.

“I didn’t want to exacerbate that situation by making it worse … In retrospect, yes, I probably should have spoken directly to the Governor of the Bank of England at the time.”

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles – and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.