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Liz Truss lettuce

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 84.47.81.217 (talk) at 17:39, 21 October 2022 (Deleted livestream link: no longer available). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

On 14 October 2022, the British tabloid newspaper Daily Star started a livestream of an iceberg lettuce, comparing its shelf life to the remaining tenure of British Prime Minister Liz Truss. This was done in response to the ongoing political crisis which occurred just weeks into her tenure, leading many commentators to believe that her resignation would be imminent. Truss resigned on 20 October 2022, before the lettuce had wilted, leading the Daily Star to declare the lettuce's "victory" over Truss.[1][2]

The Daily Star livestream on 20 October 2022, featuring the victorious lettuce (right, in wig) several hours after Truss announced her resignation.

Background

Liz Truss became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 6 September 2022, following the July 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, replacing Boris Johnson. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II two days after Truss took office and the ensuing mourning period, on 23 September a mini-budget was published by Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng which included tax cuts without matching spending cuts. The mini-budget triggered a massively negative market reaction, with the exchange rate of the pound collapsing and pension funds coming close to bankruptcy.[3]

After just over a month in office, Kwarteng was removed as Chancellor on 14 October, and Truss reversed most of the economic policies within the mini-budget. British media outlets ranging from the Daily Mail to The Guardian lambasted Truss's performance and the ensuing political chaos, with many observers believing that her resignation would be imminent.[4] In an 11 October column, The Economist magazine wrote that after deducting the ten-day mourning period for the Queen's death, Truss had caused economic and political turmoil after just seven days in power, comparing that time period to "the shelf-life of a lettuce" and dubbing her "The Iceberg Lady".[4][5]

The lettuce

Denis Mann, deputy editor of the British entertainment-focused tabloid newspaper Daily Star, read the column in The Economist and on 14 October mentioned it to chief editor Jon Clark, who saw potential in the idea. Starting that day, the newspaper's video team started broadcasting a livestream of an iceberg lettuce next to a photograph of Truss, asking the audience whether Truss would be able to outlast the lettuce.[6][7] Daily Star hosted the livestream on YouTube with the title "LIVE: Can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce?". The outlet had been known to make light of contemporary political events, such as Brexit, while generally not adopting a particular political stance.[8] The lettuce had been purchased from a Tesco store for £0.60 with an expected shelf-life of approximately ten days,[4] and was physically hosted in the home of Ed Keeble, one of the newspaper's video editors.[7][9] Within the first five hours of the stream, it had received over 50,000 likes,[10] and over 350,000 viewers by the following day.[4] On 18 October 2022, the tabloid further ran a headline titled "Lettuce Liz on Leaf Support", a pun on "life support".[6] As the livestream went on, a pair of googly eyes and a blonde wig were put on the lettuce, followed by fake feet and hands and glasses. Additionally, some crackers and a mug (labelled "Keep Calm and Carry On") were placed around the lettuce.[4][6][1]

 
Truss announcing her resignation on 20 October 2022.

Before the lettuce had wilted, on 20 October, Truss announced her resignation as prime minister, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.[1][11] At that moment, there were 12,000 viewers on the livestream, which soon shot up to 21,000. The British national anthem "God Save the King" began to play, the portrait of Truss on the table was flipped face down and a plastic golden crown was placed on top of the lettuce, with the Daily Star declaring the lettuce's "victory" over Truss.[1][12] The music was later changed to "Celebration" by American band Kool & the Gang,[6] with a Greggs sausage roll and a glass of prosecco also featured.[13] While the lettuce had not rotted entirely, it did show signs of discolouration,[14] with a The Atlantic column commenting that it was still usable in a salad.[15] By the evening of Truss' resignation, the livestream had received over 1.7 million viewers.[7] That evening as well, an image of the lettuce was projected onto the Palace of Westminster, followed up by a Daily Star tweet stating that the lettuce "has made it to parliament".[16]

Reactions

For now, Truss romaines in place.[17]

Prior to Truss' resignation

The comparison of Truss to the lettuce was received with humour by global media, with the Washington Post writing that Truss had become "the butt of quintessentially British jokes".[17] The lettuce also became subject to betting, with bookmakers placing Truss's chances of survival past the lettuce as low – as of 17 October, a £9 bet at Ladbrokes of the lettuce lasting longer would yield a £13 payout.[3]

Post-resignation

After Truss's resignation, Daily Star released a headline titled "Lettuce wins as Liz Leafs".[18] Bookmaker Paddy Power offered odds of 500-to-1 that the lettuce would become the next prime minister.[19] The Daily Star featured the lettuce on Cameo, allowing users to receive a personalized message "by the lettuce" for £13, with part of the proceeds going to charity.[20][21] Labour MP Chris Bryant remarked during an appearance at Sky News that "the lettuce might as well be running the country",[22] a statement echoed by The Atlantic journalist Helen Lewis.[15] Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet congratulating the lettuce after Truss resigned.[23]

Clark remarked in an interview that the staff at Daily Star "have no plans to eat Lizzy Lettuce".[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Our lettuce outlasted Liz Truss, British paper declares, as PM quits". Reuters. 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Liz Truss resigns as UK prime minister with new Tory leader to be in place by 28 October as calls for general election grow – live". The Guardian. 2022-10-20. Archived from the original on 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  3. ^ a b Hetzner, Christiaan (17 October 2022). "U.K. bookies are betting a head of lettuce can outlive Liz Truss' premiership". Fortune. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Why is Britain comparing its prime minister to a lettuce?". Washington Post. 15 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Liz Truss has made Britain a riskier bet for bond investors". The Economist. 11 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Victor, Daniel (19 October 2022). "The Lettuce Outlasts Liz Truss". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Maher, Bron (20 October 2022). "Daily Star lettuce: Editor says 'we're 'not anti-Tory, we're anti-idiot'". Press Gazette. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  8. ^ Chakelian, Anoosh (20 October 2022). "The unlikely revival of the Daily Star". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  9. ^ McInerney, Liam (21 October 2022). "Meet Daily Star lettuce keeper who took down Truss with goggly eyes and a wig". Daily Star. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce, UK tabloid asks in Twitter post". Reuters. 14 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  11. ^ Stephens, Max (20 October 2022). "Liz Truss becomes shortest-serving UK Prime Minister ever". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Iceberg lettuce in blond wig outlasts Liz Truss". The Guardian. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  13. ^ Davies, Ethan (20 October 2022). "The wet lettuce that lasted longer than Liz Truss as Prime Minister". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  14. ^ "UK Prime Minister Liz Truss is in a competition to outlast a head of lettuce". SBS News. 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  15. ^ a b Lewis, Helen (20 October 2022). "Liz Truss Fought the Lettuce, and the Lettuce Won". The Atlantic. Retrieved 21 October 2022. Frankly, I would rather take my chances with the lettuce.
  16. ^ "Six moments from the PM's six chaotic weeks". BBC News. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  17. ^ a b Crisp, James; Rothwell, James; Badcock, James (20 October 2022). "How Liz Truss lettuce news became a global joke". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  18. ^ "'Lettuce all pray for Liz Truss' - PM loses to vegetable in Daily Star stunt". Sky News. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  19. ^ Shaw, Neil (20 October 2022). "Rishi Sunak will run to be the next Prime Minister, allies say". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  20. ^ Cailler, Adam (18 October 2022). "Daily Star's viral Liz Truss Lettuce becomes latest 'celebrity' to join Cameo". Daily Star. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  21. ^ Collins, Katie (20 October 2022). "Liz Truss Outlasted by a Lettuce: The UK Loses Another Prime Minister". CNET. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  22. ^ Mason, Alistair (20 October 2022). "Lettuce declares victory over Liz Truss as PM steps down". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Russia says outgoing PM Truss was a 'catastrophically illiterate' disgrace". Reuters. 20 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
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