Meet Terry Jermy, Labour’s pick to unseat Liz Truss as ex-PM returns to headlines

Labour has picked a candidate to take on Liz Truss in her South West Norfolk seat, as the former Prime Minister makes fresh headlines by claiming a “deep state” sabotaged her leadership.

Terry Jermy, a local businessman, has served as a councillor in the area since 2008, representing Thetford. He will look to overturn the 26,195-vote Conservative majority in the seat. During her time as Prime Minister, Truss’ net approval ratings dipped to -70.

Jermy said: “Not content with crashing the economy, Liz Truss is now hanging out spreading conspiracy theories in America. Liz Truss’ priorities are not the needs of people in South West Norfolk. Meanwhile I’ve been working hard to shape difficult Council budgets and protect vulnerable residents in our area.”

He added on Thursday morning in a post on X: “At the same time as myself and other councillors were sat in the council chamber, struggling to set a budget on ever decreasing funds and increasing demand, Liz Truss was in the USA.”

Jermy urged Labour supporters to back his crowdfunding campaign, helping him campaign across the “vast” constituency, including tens of thousands of leaflets.

Truss recently attended the Conservative Political Action Conference conference in the United States, where she alleged her premiership had been “sabotaged” by the “deep state” and took part in an interview with former US president Donald Trump’s advisor Steve Bannon.

The former Prime Minister has sparked criticism for not challenging Bannon’s description of far-right activist Tommy Robinson as a “hero”.

Keir Starmer raised Truss’s appearance with Bannon at this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions. Starmer said that Truss had “spent last week in America trying to flog her new book.”

He continued: “She claimed that as prime minister she was sabotaged by the deep state. She also remained silent as Tommy Robinson, that right-wing thug, was described as a hero.

“Why is [Rishi Sunak] allowing her to stand as a Tory MP at the next election?”

Commenting after his selection, Jermy said: “I am delighted to have been selected. I have seen first-hand how South West Norfolk has been taken for granted over many years and is now hungry for change.

“We need a full-time, community-focused MP to address the needs and aspirations of residents. As a local businessman, community champion and from my years as a Councillor I understand the area well.

“It’s a clear choice in South West Norfolk between more of the same with Liz Truss, or a change in focus and commitment with myself.

“I look forward to campaigning across the constituency, listening to resident’s concerns and aspirations and share my plans. This election is a chance for change.”

His website adds: “I’ve lived in South West Norfolk my whole life and my family are rooted across the constituency. I’m passionate about our shared community. It is where I call home and it is the reason I first entered politics.

“I was born and brought up in Thetford and, once through the local education system, I intended to become a teacher but then became involved in my local community and was elected to Thetford Town Council in 2008 aged 22. I later joined both Breckland Council and Norfolk County Council.

“Aside from my role as a local Councillor I run my own business – producing a monthly magazine that is distributed to 13,000 homes locally. I work with more than eighty small businesses every month and understand the challenges they face.”