The legendary vegetable has been formally recognised as a part of British cultural history.
October 20 marked three years since Liz Truss resigned after just 49 days in office. While most national outlets ignored the anniversary, the Daily Star, the tabloid behind the infamous lettuce meme, made sure it didn’t go unnoticed.
The newspaper became globally synonymous with Truss in 2022 after it livestreamed a 60p Tesco iceberg lettuce placed beside a framed photo of the embattled PM, asking: “Can Liz Truss outlast a lettuce?” When Truss resigned on October 20 that year, the Star triumphantly declared the lettuce the victor.
Now, that legendary vegetable has been formally recognised as a part of British cultural history. The Daily Star celebrated the news that “Lettuce Liz” is being preserved for posterity by the British Film Institute (BFI) as part of its national archive.
The tabloid’s front page marked the occasion with the crowned lettuce under the headline: ‘The Only Way is Lettuce.’
“Our video of the 60p Tesco lettuce that out-lasted Prime Minister Liz Truss has been immortalised in the BFI National Archive,” the newspaper announced.
The livestream went viral in 2022, racking up 2.9 million views on X, 2.3 million on YouTube, and shared hundreds of thousands of times. It generated a wave of memes and became a symbol of the chaotic political moment that was Truss’s brief premiership.
In recognition of its impact, the BFI has selected the lettuce footage as one of 400 key pieces of British online moving-image content for preservation, as part of the BFI National Archive’s 90th anniversary celebrations. The chosen content, the BFI said, includes pieces that have “entertained, inspired or struck a chord” with audiences over the past 30 years, reflecting the digital-era story of Britain.
“When people talk about the Daily Star, they talk about the lettuce, and that is still the case, it hasn’t left public consciousness,” said Ben Rankin, Daily Star editor-in-chief.
“So three years to the day since Liz Truss resigned, it is testament to the impact a 60p Tesco lettuce had… At the Daily Star, we have always had a unique way of covering big stories. We tell the news with a wink and we are always on the lookout for the next viral lettuce.”
Ellie Groom, BFI National Archive curator, said: “The Daily Star’s video livestream was a seminal moment in British political history and in the story of online moving image.
“It was a brilliantly conceived satirical stunt that went viral and beyond, and over the course of a few short days as pressure mounted on Liz Truss to resign, it had a real influence.”
As for Truss’s legacy, it’s hard to separate it from the economic fallout of her premiership. Her disastrous mini budget, featuring unfunded tax cuts and large-scale borrowing, triggered market panic and sent mortgage rates soaring. While many of her policies were swiftly reversed, the aftershocks continue to be felt by ordinary Britons today.
Mortgage rates had already been rising in response to interest rate hikes starting in late 2021, but the mini-budget pushed them higher still, with the average five-year fixed-rate deal peaking at 6.51 percent on October 20, 2022.
So, for anyone who had to lock in a mortgage after that point, it’s fair to say, “darn that lettuce” may still sum up their sentiment.
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