Liz Truss speech: what M People said about Moving on Up being used at Tory conference - and song’s lyrics

Liz Truss walked on stage to deliver her speech at the Conservative Party conference to M People’s 90s anthem Moving on Up - and the band’s is “livid” about it.

The song which reached number two in the charts back in 1993 contains the opening lyrics of “You’ve done me wrong, your time is up” as well as a line later in the song which says “go on and pack your bags”.

But what’s been said about the song being used at the conference, and who are M People? This is what you need to know.

When was the song used at the conference?

Ms Truss walked on to the stage at the Conservative Party conference to their 1990s hit Moving On Up, which features vocalist Heather Small, ahead of delivering her keynote speech.

She was all smiles as she arrived at the podium to the sound of the track’s famous chorus “Movin’ on up, nothin’ can stop me. Movin’ on up, you’re movin’ on out. Time to break free, nothing can stop me.”

However, it might have been slightly awkward if the rest of the song had played given some of the lyrics.

Who are M People?

M People is a dance band and formed in 1990. Its members are Mike Pickering, Heather Small, Paul Heard and Shovell.

The group had a number of hits including One Night in Heaven, How Can I Love You More as well as Moving On Up.

How did M People react?

Founder of the Manchester-based band Mike Pickering is not happy. In fact the group had even called their lawyers in a bid to stop it.

Pickering told the PA news agency: “They (the band) are livid. Heather’s boy James is a Labour councillor. Hopefully most people will know that they have pirated it off us.

“She won’t be around to use it again for very long. I would imagine.”

He added: “I am absolutely gutted by it because they are killing the live touring of bands and artists… I am Mancunian and getting from Manchester to London these days is harder than getting on to continental Europe.”

Pickering said the band had contacted their lawyers but been advised there was little that could be done.

He said: “The rest of the band have rung me: ‘For God sake, how can we stop it?’

“And we just rang the lawyers and they went, ‘You can’t actually stop it. We can send a letter to cease and desist but you can’t do it’.

“They can play what they like, which seems a bit weird to me.”

The opening lyrics of the song read: “You’ve done me wrong, your time is up”, with the last line of the first verse saying: “Move right out of here, baby, go on pack your bags”.

The song also contains the lines: “Just who do you think you are? Stop actin’ like some kind of star.”

Pickering added that Ms Truss should pay attention to the lyrics of the song.

He told PA: “I was just looking at the lyrics. It’s amazing. I hope she takes note. It’s about, ‘Go and pack your bags and get out’.”

The son of the group’s lead singer Heather Small, James Small-Edwards, was elected as a Labour councillor for Bayswater, west London, in May.

Following Ms Truss’s entrance, he tweeted: “An apt choice! This tired and out of touch Tory Government is indeed moving on out.”

Small has also previously shown her support for refugee charity Care 4 Calais’s #StopRwanda campaign.

Why did the Tories pick that song?

Asked why he thought the song had been used, Pickering replied: “No-one said to them ‘Tony Blair and New Labour used that song all the time’ or ‘Heather’s son is a Labour councillor’ or ‘Mike is really vociferous on Twitter and social media about being an anti-Tory’.

“I don’t know why they have used it. They are so useless at everything. Who knows?”

Ms Truss personally selected Moving On Up for her walk-on music, according to her press secretary.

He said: “There was a range of options and she chose that one.”

The press secretary was unable to say whether the party had asked for permission, adding: “I don’t have detailed knowledge of how the licencing of this stuff works.”

When asked about Pickering’s criticism, the press secretary said: “I don’t know who he is.”

What are some other notable song choices used by politicans?

Boris Johnson previously used Friendly Fires’ track Blue Cassette as he walked out for the party conference last year.

The indie band later hit out at the then-prime minister, saying their “permission was not sought” to use the song and that they had asked their management to ensure it was not to be used again by the party.

While in 2004 Labour played the Fatboy Slim track Right Here, Right Now at its conference in Brighton - much to the musician’s chagrin.

Fatboy Slim, whose real name is Norman Cook, had opposed the Iraq war, at the time the song was used he was quoted as saying: “I want people to know I had no choice.

“Apparently as long as they pay the performing royalties, we have no say in it.”

However, in 2018 Theresa May used her walk-on music choice to make light of criticism of her dancing. Prior to the conference she had been mocked for her moves during visits to South Africa and Kenya.

So when she made her way to the stage for the party’s conference in Birmingham it was to Abba’s Dancing Queen which she swayed along to.

While Labour’s choice of D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better for its 1997 election campaign. The song became an anthem for the campaign.

Speaking about how Labour had asked to use the song, singer-songwriter Peter Cunnah told the Guardian: “After 18 years of Tory government, the song captured the winds of change and got back into the top 20.”