Liz Truss did not exactly hold her tongue during her campaign to become the next Conservative leader and prime minister.
Over the course of several hustings, Truss insulted the first minister of Wales, the first minister of Scotland and the leader of the Opposition – all of whom she’ll now have to work with in her capacity as prime minister.
Truss will now have to work with the devolved governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, at a time when the Union is already feeling disjointed.
Of course it is not unusual for politicians to lash out at those representing different parties, but her pointed insults were heavily criticised on Twitter.
Here’s a look at her most scathing insults on the campaign trail:
1. First minister of Wales
Truss described Mark Drakeford, the leader of the Welsh Labour party, as a “low-energy Corbyn” on Wednesday night during a hustings event in Cardiff.
She said: “The fact is there are too many people in this country who are ashamed of our history, who talk our country down, who say the best days are behind us.
“They are completely wrong. I’m afraid one of them is Mark Drakeford.”
She said the Conservatives would be able to “take on the low energy version of Jeremy Corbyn that is Mark Drakeford” by “delivering for people on the ground”.
This includes building the M4 relief road, a motorway south of Newport which was intended to relieve traffic but which Drakeford pulled out of due to the high cost.
Truss vowed: “I will crack down on his [Drakeford] negativity about Wales and about the United Kingdom.”
2. First minister of Scotland
On Monday, while in Exeter, Truss described Nicola Sturgeon rather unfavourable in her plight to get a second independence referendum over the line.
Pressed over how she would tackle the growing separatist sentiment in Scotland, Truss said: “The best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her.”
She added: “I’m sorry, she’s an attention seeker, that’s what she is.”
Sturgeon has been trying to get Westminster’s approval to legally hold a second ballot for Scots on whether it should break away from the rest of the UK, but Boris Johnson has repeatedly rejected it as the last independence referendum was in 2014.
Scotland’s first minister has since promised to make the next general election, in 2024, a “de facto referendum”.
There is little love lost between Sturgeon and the Conservative Party already – she and Johnson have exchanged many insults over the years.
3. Leader of Opposition
Truss also dubbed Sir Keir Starmer a “plastic patriot” during her hustings in Cardiff..
This is not the first time she had insulted the Labour leader – the week before this comment, she had gone one step further, and called him a “patronising plastic patriot”.
Beating Labour in the next general election was one of the top policies both Truss and her former opponent Rishi Sunak championed, although neither unpacked what this would mean.
Truss’ comment came shortly after a Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey for The Telegraph found voters would actually choose Starmer as the next prime minister over both Truss and Sunak back in July.