Liz Truss was left lost for words as she was asked whether the public had voted for her tax cut plans.
In an excruciating moment, the prime minister sat in silence for several seconds as she was interviewed by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.
Truss is under huge pressure after the disastrous reaction to Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget, which unveiled £45 billion-worth of tax cuts funded by slapping an extra £70 billion on the national debt.
It led to the value of the pound plummeting, interest rates going up and the Bank of England having to spend £65 billion bailing out the pensions industry.
Referring to the fact that the plans were not in the last Conservative election manifesto, Kuenssberg asked the PM: “How many people voted for your plan?”
After a lengthy pause, the PM eventually replied: “What do you mean by that, sorry?”
After the presenter explained the purpose of the question, Truss insisted the mini-budget was not at odds with the platform the Tories stood on at the last election.
She said: “People who voted for the Conservatives in 2019 voted for a different future, they voted for investment into their towns and cities, they voted for higher wages, they voted for economic growth and that is what our plan will deliver.”
However, her answer was completely overshadowed on social media by the awkward silence which had preceded it.