Liz Truss has been brutally mocked by her political opponents after Britain’s shortest serving prime minister humiliatingly lost her safe seat.
Ms Truss, who led the country for just 49 days, lost Norfolk South West to Labour by just 630 votes – marking the largest swing from the Tories to Labour ever recorded.
But instead of garnering sympathy, many were quick to make jibes about her demise with some cruelly referencing how a lettuce had outlasted her tenure in No 10.
Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who was re-elected in Westmorland and Lonsdale, joked that she had been sent as a spy by his party to sabotage the Tories.
‘We have recalled Agent Truss from the field, her work is complete,’ he quipped.Â
Liz Truss pictured this morning as she lost her seat at the King’s Lynn election count for South West NorfolkÂ
Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, who was re-elected in Westmorland and Lonsdale today joked that ‘Agent Truss” work is finally done
Prominent TV chef Nigella Lawson , and daughter of Margaret Thatcher’s chancellor Nigel Lawson, simply shared an emoji of a lettuce surrounded by two people cartwheeling
Others made jokes referring to Ms Truss’ memorable speech about cheese and pork markets while she was secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsÂ
Social media poked fun at Ms Truss’ loss referring to the fact an lettuce outlasted her brief stint in No 10
It led to many amused responses from voters, with one writing ‘please give her a bonus. She went above and beyond’ with another joking ‘unfit lettuces should be left in the field’.
Prominent TV chef Nigella Lawson, and daughter of Margaret Thatcher’s chancellor Nigel Lawson, simply shared an emoji of a lettuce surrounded by two people cartwheeling.Â
‘Liz Truss has lost her seat,’ one quipped. ‘Lettuce all take a few moments to reflect on that.’
‘At least Liz Truss has more time for cheese and pork markets,’ another joked, in reference to Ms Truss’ memorable speech made in 2014 when she was secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Ms Truss, who led the country from September 6 to October 25 2022 following Boris Johnson‘s resignation, was the latest Tory heavyweight to suffer at the hands of the electorate on a disastrous night – and morning – for the party.
Her popularity nosedived after her devastating mini-budget with Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng which led to the plunge of the pound and had widespread economic impacts.
Thousands of people saw steep mortgage rises following the budget, which contained millions of pounds worth of unfunded tax cuts.
Her disappearance from the Commons underlines the scale of Rishi Sunak‘s loss, which is the worst ever electoral performance for the Conservatives.Â
Terry Jermy shakes hands with MsTruss after win at King’s Lynn election count for South West Norfolk
Truss declined to say if she would remain involved in politics as she left the count this morning
Today Terry Jermy overturned a 26,195 majority won by Ms Truss in 2019 after Reform and an independent campaign by the ‘Turnip Taliban‘ – a group of local disgruntled ex-Tories – whittled down her support.
Speaking to the BBC after her defeat she said: ‘I think the issue we faced as Conservatives is we haven’t delivered sufficiently on the policies people want.
‘And that means keeping taxes low, but also particularly on reducing immigration. And I think that’s been a crucial issue here in South West Norfolk, that was the number one issue that people raised on the doorstep with me.’
Asked whether she accepted some responsibility for that, Ms Truss said: ‘I agree. I was part of that. That’s absolutely true.
‘But during our 14 years in power, unfortunately we did not do enough to take on the legacy we’d been left, in particular things like the Human Rights Act that made it very difficult for us to deport illegal immigrants. And that is one of the reasons I think we’ve ended up in the situation we are now.’
She declined to say if she would remain involved in politics.
Ms Truss was just one of dozens of senior Conservative figures who have lost their seats.Â
Jacob Rees-Mogg lost his Somerset North East & Hanham seat to Labour’s Dan Norris by more than 5,000 votes. In his speech he congratulated Sir Keir Starmer on ‘what seems to be a historic victory’.
Glum-looking Defence Secretary Grant Shapps suffered a ‘Portillo Moment’ as he was defeated by Labour in Welwyn Hatfield by around 3,000 votes.Â
Ms Truss stood alongside other candidates for South West Norfolk this morningÂ
Ms Truss was comforted by a constituent as she left the count in King’s Lynn this morningÂ
Former prime minister Ms Truss is interviewed by the BBC after losing her Norfolk South West seat to the Labour Party
Senior Tory figures – including a record number of Cabinet ministers – lost their seats in an election bloodbath Â
A ‘Portillo’ moment is a reference to Conservative cabinet minister Michael Portillo who lost what had been regarded as a safe Tory seat in Labour’s 1997 landslide.
And Penny Mordaunt lost her Commons seat today in one of the biggest upsets of a General Election that is turning into a top Tory bloodbath, after the 51-year-old had been tipped as a potential Tory leader.Â
Among those who stood against Ms Truss and Mr Jermy were Toby McKenzie for Reform UK and Josie Ratcliffe for the Liberal Democrats.Â
Tory dissident and ex-army officer James Bagge, who also stood against Ms Truss, sparked interest after it was revealed he belongs to a group of disgruntled Conservatives called the Turnip Taliban.Â
Mr Bagge previously told the media the quip is a reference to the infamous lettuce which outlasted Ms Truss in No. 10.Â
He told journalists: ‘It is not a label of choice. But a turnip has deeper roots than a lettuce.’Â
The candidates for South West Norfolk were left waiting on stage for several minutes for the announcement of the result as they waited for Ms Truss to appear.
Some of those watching began a slow hand clap before she finally joined them, without wearing a Conservative rosette.
