M People not happy Liz Truss used hit 'Moving On Up' at Conservative Party Conference

Watch: Liz Truss arrives on stage to Moving On Up by M People

M People did not give permission to Liz Truss to use their hit at the Conservative Party Conference.

The Prime Minister walked on stage to 1993 single Moving On Up, sung by Heather Small, and the band have been quick to distance themselves from the Tories.

M People founding member Mike Pickering tweeted: "So apparently we can't stop Truss walking out to our song, very weird! So sad it got used by this shower of a government. BTW Truss - Labour used it with permission in 90's. I don't want my song being a soundtrack to lies."

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Lead singer Heather Small is yet to comment, but her son James Small-Edwards, who is a Labour councillor tweeted: "An apt choice! This tired and out of touch Tory Government is indeed moving on out."

Pickering told the PA news agency: “They (the band) are livid.

“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.”

M People quickly began trending on Twitter as people questioned whether the Conservatives had asked permission from the band to use the track.

Others pointed out the full lyrics to the song, which may be interpreted to reflect how many voters are feeling about the current state of government.

The song begins: "You've done me wrong, your time is up; You took a sip from the devil's cup.

"You broke my heart, there's no way back; Move right out of here, baby, go on pack your bags."

Small, 57, spoke out about the Conservative government in January 2022 following their announcement that they planned to decamp immigrants coming to Britain to Rwanda.

The singer objected to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson quoting M People's hit Search For A Hero when he spoke about his battle against COVID-19.

Small told NME: "If you look at the strict immigration rules they want to put in place, I think to myself: there you are quoting the daughter of an immigrant.

“We bring something positive, we bring something different, and we bring a lot of hard work that should be acknowledged.”

The singer's parents are originally from the Caribbean.

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While M People own the copyright to their own song, in order to play the track the Conservative party would only require a licence to play music in a public venue, not the permission of the band.