Sajid Javid says backing Liz Truss to lead Tories was his ‘biggest political mistake’ | Sajid Javid
Sajid Javid has said backing Liz Truss in the Conservative leadership contest that ultimately made her prime minister was his “biggest mistake in politics”.
Speaking while promoting his memoirs at the Hay festival in Wales, the former chancellor, who is no longer an MP, said he had friends in the Conservative party with whom he kept in touch.
Asked if he was still talking to Truss, Javid replied: “No. I said ‘friends’.” Broadcaster Aasmah Mir then asked: “Wait a minute, didn’t you support him in his first leadership election?” Cavid replied to this: “The biggest mistake in politics.”
Following Boris Johnson’s resignation in 2022, Javid launched his own campaign for the Conservative leadership before backing Truss after she was eliminated from the contest. Truss’ premiership lasted just 49 days in 2022 after his government’s disastrous mini-budget.
Mir asked Javid, who is standing down as an MP at the 2024 election, what he thought of the group of Conservative MPs defecting to Reform, and he simply replied: “Get well soon.”
He also argued that the quality of Britain’s political class had deteriorated in recent years. He said: “Has the caliber of politicians fallen in recent years? Yes. I think dramatically. But it would be unfair to put the blame for this solely on politicians. Politicians reflect what you voted for.”
“After all, the caliber of politicians is in the people. If you want different politicians, you have to vote differently – don’t just think about their party label and all that – but also think about what kind of person they are, what really motivates them.”
Javid, who is now a partner at an investment firm, suggested MPs’ salaries should be increased, saying: “We don’t pay politicians enough to attract people who are the best at their jobs – and that could be a headteacher, it could be an accountant, it could be a doctor – they’re going to quit their jobs and say, you know what, I want to serve my country.
“So to some extent you get what you pay for… We should halve the number of MPs and double their salaries.”
Javid held a number of cabinet posts under David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson, including home secretary and chancellorship. He later returned to government as health minister under Johnson, resigning in July 2022 amid a wave of resignations that eventually led to the end of Johnson’s premiership.
After resigning as an MP ahead of the 2024 general election, Javid became a partner at Centricus, the Mayfair-based private equity and asset manager founded by his former colleagues at Deutsche Bank. He also serves as president of the Holocaust Remembrance Day Foundation.
