Editor's note: Freddie Reidy is a freelance writer based in London. He studied history and history of art at the University of Kent, Canterbury, specializing in Russian history and international politics. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The UK Conservative Party conference in Birmingham began with a dramatic U-Turn as the voices of dissent grew ever louder, raising the stakes for the newly installed Prime Minister and party leader Liz Truss and her Chancellor Kwazi Kwateng. The new government's flagship economic package, announced by the new Chancellor, sent a shockwave through the markets, causing the value of the pound to plummet and the cost of borrowing to soar.

A "honeymoon period" is a rare gift for newly appointed leaders and with the death of Queen Elizabeth II in Truss' fourth day in office, things got off to a tough start.

Truss had won the Conservative Party leadership election to succeed Boris Johnson on the back of a campaign for huge economic intervention to mitigate the rising cost of fuel as a result of the Ukraine conflict and associated sanctions. A swathe of other measures was also announced including the now-revoked abolition of the top rate of tax.

Kwateng's "mini budget" also announced an end to the 2008 recession-era cap on banker's bonuses. The fiscal logic from the Chancellor is based on an aggressive dash for growth by making the UK as competitive as possible in relation to its European counterparts, hoping to claw back tax revenue by "growing the cake" rather than changing the allocation.

The trouble for Truss though, is while these these two policies — abolishing the top rate of tax and scrapping the cap on bankers' bonuses —  accounted for a tiny proportion of the overall budget, the political optics at a time of economic hardship, are dire. The policies have sent a message that the party and government are there to serve the rich.

Among the public, the plummeting of sterling and a rare rebuke from the International Monetary Fund cemented the notion that the Prime Minister had "crashed the economy" and as such, Truss would head into the party conference on the defensive despite being in post for less than a month after a clear victory among the faithful.

Former cabinet heavyweights also lent their voice to the dissenters, conservative MP and former cabinet minister Grant Shapps told the BBC that on the topic of the top rate of tax policy, "I don't think the House [of Commons] is in a place where it's likely to support that," and urged Truss not to show a "tin ear" to the concerns of the public. Another leading party figure, conservative MP and former cabinet minister Michael Gove also advised the government "to reflect" on the policy, indicating it would not receive his support either. Such open opposition ultimately forced the Chancellor into conceding that the policy had become a "distraction" ahead of its abandonment.  

The political blunder of the announcement has completely overshadowed the unprecedented 100 billion pound ($113 billion) intervention to cushion the rise in energy bills, pushing Truss into a position of losing political authority by reversing the plan after just one week in the face of a humiliating defeat in the Commons.

The wider context is that the Conservative Party is also on course for electoral defeat at the next election in 2024 based on its current trajectory. Speaking at a fringe event in Birmingham, polling expert Professor John Curtice forecasted that the opposition Labour Party was on course for a "three figure majority" and current figures were in line with those at the 2001 general election, where Tony Blair secured a 167-seat majority over the Conservatives.

The government's decision to scrap the policy was the correct strategy; it made little sense to defend the politically inept, especially when practically the policy made little difference to the wider economic initiative. The price for this volte-face in the fledgling stages of the Truss premiership is that her electoral fortunes now rely extremely heavily on her reforms "delivering" in the short term.

"Delivery" was the theme of her spartan maiden speech as Prime Minister outside Downing Street and with so much political capital spent already, her party and the country will be demanding results at a pace (likely undeliverable) as a price for their support. Ahead of Truss' conference address on Wednesday, the stakes could not be higher as she seeks to take back control of the political momentum.

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