CPAC UK: Truss speaks to half empty room

This week, the UK is hosting its very first Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). And if the early signs are anything to go by, there’s every chance it could also be the last:

Liz Truss opens CPAC GB. In fairness it’s quite early. pic.twitter.com/sTaGyQNLxL

— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) July 16, 2026

Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)

CPAC has been a mainstay of the American right for decades. In recent years, it’s begun to expand beyond the Americas too, with the UK its latest target market.

Reporting on the UK CPAC in June, we referred to it as a “Yank hand-me-down event“. We also noted:

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is a US event at which American Conservatives gather to revel in their own evil. Or it was, anyway. The most recent event was significantly diminished from the conference’s heyday.

The problem America’s right-wing speakers have is that their guys are in power right now. These reactionary speakers do a lot better when they’re reacting to a hostile establishment; not when they’re carrying water for the most corrupt and incompetent government of their lifetimes.

We speculated that the British CPAC could outperform the Yank one, because our homegrown right wingers are out of power right now. Looking at the Liz Truss clip, however, we admit we were wrong – dead f*cking wrong.

It looks like she’s delivering a timeshare presentation to a mid-sized budget hotel.

Or perhaps a booze-free Margaret Thatcher memorial.

Bleak

If you’re interested, this is what Truss said in the clip above:

Cultural and spiritual nihilism.

Always an uplifting start.

She continued:

Open borders and rising unrest.

This week, we will have yet another Prime Minister installed in Downing Street. Andy Burnham. The seventh within ten years.

This is a bizarre thing for Truss to say given that she was the shortest-lived PM among this cavalcade of clowns.

Truss later asked the audience:

What do you all think of Andy Burnham?

The response sounded like what you’d hear in a big Greggs that had just announced the sausage rolls were all gone.

Truss finished:

I’ve been there. I know that nothing will change.

Inspiring stuff.

Truss wasn’t the only one speaking either:

He’s been drinking?

— DENISE ONEILL 💙TheNHS (@DENISEONEILL6) July 16, 2026

Half expecting a really long walking stick to creep on from the side of the stage, hook IDS round the neck and yank him away from the podium.

— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) July 16, 2026

Suspect Jack Posobiec is accustomed to bigger crowds than he found before him at CPAC GB pic.twitter.com/L4ziSQGZ3Z

— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) July 16, 2026

Shock jock turner YouTuber Mike Graham is currently arguing the UK government is terrified over the sheer size of his audience. pic.twitter.com/fjmMTOObwE

— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) July 16, 2026

To be fair, this moment was pretty funny:

CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp currently slagging off the Tory party, arguing they shouldn’t be allowed to be called conservatives any more.

Liz Truss is, as far as we know, still a member of the Conservative Party

— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) July 16, 2026

Yank slop

The UK now has a steady stream of politicians trying to push Yank-slop politics on us. Recent examples include:

We also just saw this:

Hard-right MP Rupert Lowe has sparked fury after dismissing the Dunblane massacre as 'one murder' during a pro-gun rant on the US-based Joe Rogan podcast 📽️ pic.twitter.com/3sdjgDdMDK

— The National (@ScotNational) July 9, 2026

And this:

The Hateful Eight. pic.twitter.com/bvK3BP0jfd

— t/a Underscores Rn’t Us (@AndyPlumb4) July 15, 2026

There’s an obvious reason why British right wingers are pushing American right-wing politics, and it’s MONEY – the same reason why they do anything. Money can’t buy interest, however, and clearly there’s no audience for this guff; not unless they also start paying people to watch.

Featured image via the Canary

Tags: Conservative Party