In an interview with the Eastern Daily Press, Liz Truss addresses the controversy surrounding her selection:
On being honest about her past: “I feel I was open and transparent in the process. When I submitted my CV, I made it very clear about the affair. My understanding was that would be part of the CV discussion when the six CVs were selected to go forward. When I went to the meeting my understanding was the local officers would know about that. If I had known that they didn't know, I would have rung them up. I have been open and transparent at what I thought was the right point in the process. With hindsight I would have taken out a billboard! But hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
Regretting the affair: "I've very much learned from the past. We are coming up to our 10th wedding anniversary. Since this happened we have become a lot stronger. I am sorry about the affair it was a mistake. The main person I am sorry to is my husband. We have now made that up and moved on from that.”
Her Liberal Democrat past: "“I am not from a Conservative background. My parents were left-wing. I became a Conservative when I was at university. I understand how to appeal to people who are outside of the Conservative Party and bring them on board. I can talk to all sorts of different people from all sorts of different backgrounds. I did join the Lib Dems, and I gradually moved to the right. I grew up in a political household and when you are thinking about your views and exploring things, some are right and some are wrong. I came to the conclusion that I was a Conservative because my core belief is that I believe in personal responsibility and I believe in hard work. Because I believe in personal responsibility, I believe in decisions being taken at a local level.”
The EDP's Simon Lowthorpe concludes:
"I've seen enough to believe she deserves the chance to be an MP. But what I really wonder is, given what she has gone through, do the Tories of South-West Norfolk deserve her?"
Tim Montgomerie
> Yesterday we published a poll of Tory members which found that 81% feared deselecting Liz Truss would damage the Conservative Party.