"I'll get the PopCon in": Liz Truss' co-launched Popular Conservatism movement mocked by netizens

Liz Truss’ recent tweet announcing the launching date of the PopCon – short for Popular Conservatism – has attracted the ridicule of netizens. The former PM from the Conservative Party is backed up by several former ministers of the Truss Government, including Simon Clark, Priti Patel, and Ranil Jayawardena. Jacob Rees-Mogg, who served the short-lived Truss Ministry as its business secretary, also supports Truss in co-launching the movement in Central London.

James Heale, The Spectator’s political correspondent, shared the news on X on Monday, January 2. He added how the movement was designed “to deliver conservatism in a fortnight’s time,” which became the subject of mockery for many netizens. Most of these mockeries were based on the use of its acronym – PopCon – which bears a striking resemblance with “popcorn.”

According to Daily Mail, the central objective of the new Conservative group will be to reconnect the members of the Conservative Party to Richard Tice’s Reform UK. The group will also urge the current PM, Rishi Sunak, to apply policies that appeal to the Tory voters.

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Netizens mock Liz Truss’ PopCon movement on social media

It has been over a year since Liz Truss’ mini-budget fiasco from 2022 created nationwide financial instability and was blamed for the Pound hitting its lowest. Still, the citizens of the UK remember it all too well.

In light of the reported political blunders from her brief six-week leadership role, the citizens of the UK are allegedly viewing Truss’ upcoming Popular Conservative movement as a desperate attempt to coax the electorate ahead of the upcoming general election.

Several netizens took to X to criticize Truss’ PopCon, with some calling it “hilarious” and claiming it’s like “watching a comedy film.” Others claimed that the movement was “dead in the water” before it even began and that they named it PopCon “for the slogan alone.” Here are some of the X reactions:

Amidst news of PopCon’s launch, there have been some speculations about it replacing the 2023 Conservative Growth Group set up by Truss’ allies in 2023. However, The Independent UK has confirmed this will not be the case.

The former group, although not particularly active, has made progress in pushing for the liberalization of the planning system for getting more houses built. As per Liz Truss’ announcement, Popular Conservatism is set to launch on February 6, 2024, in Central London. The former PM has also urged citizens to register for it, sharing the link for the same in her tweet.