Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss and Senator Mike Lee were briefly interrupted by a lone protester as they met at a forum to discuss constitutional differences between the U.S. and the U.K.
Occurring on Feb. 20, the Herbert Institute for Public Policy hosted Lee and Truss to gather in the Clarke Building and discuss the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., which centered much around the differences and similarities between the two nations’ laws.
“I like to think of the United States as Britian’s greatest invention,” Truss joked. “We had Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, and I think some of those concepts led to the American Constitution. Which of course you’ve perfected.”
The conversation between Lee and Truss centered around these corner principles of each nation’s constitutional system. Later, Truss would state the problems she saw within her own nation’s system, what she called the danger of “Quangos.”
“The concept of Quango are quasi, non-government organization[s]. What it means [is that] it’s funded by the taxpayer, but it’s not accountable to politicians,” Truss began. “We now have 500 of these bodies in the [U.K.] … and what happens as an elected M.P. … I couldn’t do anything about it. [They] make independent decisions, and they’re not accountable to politicians.”
About midway through the conversation between Mike Lee and Liz Truss, a lone protester stood and began shouting toward Senator Lee regarding the current war in Gaza.
“Mike Lee, it’s time to cut ties with Israel!” the protester began to shout. The Review could not identify them before they were escorted out. “You are committing a genocide, Mike Lee! Massacre Mike, you can’t hide!”
The crowd began to clap to drown out the individual’s shouts; the rest of the event was undisturbed.
Truss continued on, covering topics including Parliamentary sovereignty, problems with the judiciary, and “extreme liberal views.”
“I don’t think ministers often don’t want to admit they can’t do things…. I don’t want to admit that the power is being taken out of my hands,” Truss stated about how MPs are acting toward issues in the U.K. “It’s why I am writing a book. It’s why I am making speeches about these issues.”
Truss related this back to what she perceives are the issues going on in the West: “What my book is about is essentially I am saying that we need conservatives to be running the West. Look what’s happened when the left has been running the West. We have people protesting in favor of terrorism, including one we have seen here today…. The very basis of our values [are being questioned].”
The event wrapped up with a major announcement that former Ambassador and GOP candidate Nikki Haley will be hosting a campaign event here at UVU on Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m. For more information on Herbert Institute events, visit their website.
