Liz Truss says lettuce joke was ‘puerile’ and media did not understand her ideas

Liz Truss has described as “puerile” the newspaper stunt in which her tenure as prime minister was measured against the shelf life of a lettuce.

Speaking at a broadcasting conference in Dublin, Truss also complained that the media did not properly understand her economic ideas. She said too much political coverage was “froth”, while at the same time praising the overall irreverence of the UK.

Interviewed at the News Xchange event by the RTÉ journalist David McCullagh, Truss was reminded of the Daily Star’s decision to livestream the decline of a lettuce in a blond wig, after an Economist article a fortnight before she was ousted, likening the then-PM’s political longevity to that of the lettuce.

Asked by McCullagh if she could see the funny side of the Star’s decision, Truss, whose comments were reported by the Press Gazette, replied: “I don’t think it’s funny, I just think it’s puerile.”

Truss also disputed the idea that the Economist’s original parallel was a fair one to make, saying: “I mean, what’s the relevance of that? This is what I’m talking about. To me it’s not a very relevant question.”

The Daily Star front page from 21 October 2022. Photograph: Daily Star

More widely, Truss argued, the UK media were focused overly on trivialities, and did not properly understand economics – especially the sort of small-state, low-tax economics she espoused in her disastrous, sub-50-day period in No 10.

“If I’ve got a criticism of the media, there’s too much focus on the people and seeing it as a sort of entertaining story to follow … rather than discussions of the ideas. And I particularly find that true on economics,” she said.

“Did I and my colleagues get everything perfect about communication? No, we didn’t. But I think we’re operating in an environment where the economic ideas that I believe in are not widely understood.”

Truss nonetheless praised the UK media for their irreverent and robust approach, saying: “I think the British media are known around the world for being particularly vociferous … I don’t think they’re particularly deferential to politicians.

“Certainly, when I went to international summits I would get a lot of sympathy from politicians from other countries who were saying: ‘My God, your press – what are those people like!’

“I think the irreverence of the media in Britain is a good thing on the whole. Although I have suffered, personally, from it, I’d rather live in a country where there is a robust debate than what the alternatives look like.”