Blue plaque erected outside east London Tesco to honour lettuce that outlasted Liz Truss

The blue plaque in Walthamstow to honour the lettuce bought that outlasted Liz Truss (Spice Albert / Twitter)
The blue plaque in Walthamstow to honour the lettuce bought that outlasted Liz Truss (Spice Albert / Twitter)

A blue plaque has been erected outside a Tesco in Walthamstow to commemorate the lettuce that famously outlasted Liz Truss’s stint as prime minister.

The sign was discovered outside the branch in the east London town on Friday and has been widely shared since it initially appeared on Twitter.

It reportedly reads: “A lettuce purchased here in 2022 lasted longer than prime minister Liz Truss (49 days).”

The sign and its exact location could not be verified by the Standard. It has been identified on Facebook as the branch at Forest Road next to the Bell Pub.

Tesco has not commented.

Liz Truss famously lasted only 49 days in office (Spice Albert / Twitter)
Liz Truss famously lasted only 49 days in office (Spice Albert / Twitter)

Ms Truss was ousted as prime minister in October 2022 after her mini-budget saw the pound crash to a 37-year low.

In the days after the calamitous economic forecast, the Daily Star ran a live video feed of a lettuce and predicted that it would last longer than Truss’s premiership.

The lettuce notoriously won out, lasting seven days after it was bought to outlive the tenure of Ms Truss who quit at day 49.

Blue plaques are usually reserved for birth locations of the great and the good.

It is said that the vegetable was bought from that Tesco branch, which is now becoming a local landmark.

At an event earlier this year the protest group Led By Donkeys lowered a banner behind Ms Truss as she spoke - leading her to storm off stage.

Former prime minister Liz Truss, as a banner featuring a picture of a lettuce unfurled behind her on the stage at an event in Suffolk (PA Media)
Former prime minister Liz Truss, as a banner featuring a picture of a lettuce unfurled behind her on the stage at an event in Suffolk (PA Media)

The banner had a picture of a lettuce and the sign read: “I crashed the economy.”

Ms Truss said: “What happened last night was not funny. Far-left activists disrupted the event, which then had to be stopped for security reasons.

“This is done to intimidate people and suppress free speech. I won't stand for it. “Would we see the same reaction if the activists were far-right?”

A Banksy artwork depicting pelicans eating fish, painted on the side of Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow, east London (Banksy/PA) (PA Media)
A Banksy artwork depicting pelicans eating fish, painted on the side of Bonners Fish Bar in Walthamstow, east London (Banksy/PA) (PA Media)

Another landmark was set up in Walthamstow earlier this summer when a Banksy artwork appeared on a fish and chip shop.

It caps a newsy period for Walthamstow with the town’s only cinema recently reopening and residents of the posher Village neighbourhood failing to stop a Gail’s from opening.