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Thousands gathered to burn an effigy of Liz Truss on bonfire night to mark the failed 1605 plot to blow up Parliament. Britons carried torches in the rain in Lewes, East Sussex, to watch the controversial but popular event which saw an effigy of the former Tory leader go up in flames. Last year, up to 30,000 people attended the event, which had a Covid theme. Effigies of Dominic Cummings, former health secretary Matt Hancock and a masked Guy Fawkes were engulfed in flames. The 11-metre-tall effigy held a cardboard box containing a resignation card and a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records for her record as the shortest-serving prime minister. It also contained a copy of her mini-Budget, a red Make Britain Great Again cap, an ‘I am a fighter, not a quitter’ t-shirt and a check for £115.00 towards the perpetual funding provided to former prime ministers . The box itself had a large upside down U with the words “This Way Up” the wrong way up and the words “Oh Dear Oh Dear Oh Dear Packaging Ltd” referring to King Charles’ words to Truss as he arrived to meet him . The lettuce on her shoulder, which is crying with laughter, refers to a live feed of a lettuce run by the Daily Star, which suggested the vegetable will last longer than Mrs Truss is in office. Thousands gathered to watch the fire (PA) The vegetable, known as Liz Lettuce, outlasted the UK’s third female prime minister and sparked global embarrassment for Ms Truss as more than 20,000 people watched the newspaper’s live broadcast, which played party music and flashed disco lights after the announcement of her resignation. The Edenbridge press has become the focus of the fire season with previous public figures being ridiculed including John Bercow, Boris Johnson, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, Katie Hopkins, Russell Brand, Jonathan Ross, both of the Blairs, Katie Price , Wayne. Rooney, Lance Armstrong, Anne Robinson and Saddam Hussein. Edenbridge Bonfire Society celebrity Liz Truss bonfires in Edenbridge (PA) The society, a not-for-profit organization which aims to raise more than £5,000 for local charities, has been around for more than 90 years and even features in Pathe News clips dating back to the 1950s. Winston Churchill is one of many famous figures who opened Kent City’s bonfire night celebrations. Liz Truss’s brief premiership was marked by upheaval, market chaos and mayhem. Her mini-budget alongside chancellor and long-time friend Kwasi Kwarteng saw the pound fall to its lowest level against the dollar in history, while mortgage rates rose for homeowners across the country. She ended up sacking her Mr Kwarteng before appointing Jeremy Hunt, who reversed most of the budget. Liz’s lettuce hanging on the fire starts (PA) She later apologized for “mistakes” made in the Budget before more drama landed on her doorstep when her home secretary Suella Braverman resigned after sending sensitive documents to her personal email. Hanging by a thread, Ms Truss faced more misery after claims Tory whips had physically manipulated and intimidated supporters into backing the prime minister’s government. These claims were later confirmed to be unfounded.
