Liz Truss walks off stage after 'I crashed the economy' lettuce banner
The former Prime Minister was trying to promote her book
Last updated 14th Aug 2024
Former South-West Norfolk MP Liz Truss stormed off the stage during an event held to promote her book after it was interrupted by pranksters who unfurled a banner depicting a lettuce and the words “I crashed the economy”.
The stunt, organised by the group Led By Donkeys, took place at Beccles Public Hall and has since been widely shared online after cameras captured the moment.
It happened during a discussion on stage between Ms Truss and a host, with the banner gradually emerging from the ceiling above her, apparently controlled remotely.
The ex-prime minister was clearly not amused and responded by saying “That’s not funny” before exiting the limelight.
Sharing the video on social media, Led By Donkeys said in a post: “We just dropped in on Liz Truss’s pro-Trump speaking tour with a remote-controlled lettuce banner. She didn’t find it funny.”
The lettuce was a reference to Ms Truss’ brief time in office, when the Daily Star newspaper held a stunt to see if her time in Downing Street would be outlasted by a decaying iceberg lettuce.
The moment the banner was unfolded occurred as Ms Truss gave her support to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, saying that “he will win”.
She continued, unaware of the banner descending behind her, saying: “It’s what I was saying about incumbents.
“I think the average American is not doing well, and people do vote on … I think it was Bill Clinton’s adviser who said ‘it’s the economy stupid’.
“So I think that he Trump will, he will um probably win.”
"One of the best approaches to the far right is to laugh at them"
After the banner is pointed out to them, the host can be heard saying “I have no idea where that has come from.”
The former MP for South West Norfolk swiftly exited the stage as laughter could be heard from the crowd.
Ben Stewart, co-founder of Led By Donkeys, who attended the event on Tuesday, told the PA news agency: "This is all about Liz Truss aligning herself with Trump and the far right in America."
He said: "She's avidly supporting Trump, and actually she's lending the weight of the office of British Prime Minister which she held, albeit for a short period of time, to the pro-Trump campaign.
"We thought, she's aligning herself with the far right in America, and sometimes, not always, but sometimes, one of the best approaches to the far right is to laugh at them.
"And so we decided to install this strategically positioned remote control lettuce banner and press the button towards the end of last night's event."
"Remain civil"
Beccles Public Hall had urged people to “remain civil” prior to the talk, held to promote Ms Truss’ book, 10 Days to Save the West, which is mainly a personal account of her time as PM.
An advert posted to social media said: “We recognise that people have differing opinions on politics. And we have not disabled the comments section on this post. We would however encourage any dialogue to remain civil.”
Her tenure as leader will be remembered for being the shortest stint of any prime minister after she resigned after just 45 days.
It followed a disastrous budget which had major ramifications for the economy after the promise of £45bn of tax cuts frightened the markets.