For a week, the nation has been gripped by an unlikely battle between the Prime Minister and a salad vegetable. And as Liz Truss stood at the Downing Street lectern this afternoon, the result became clear: the lettuce had won.
The nation had been eagerly following the state of the lettuce, bought from Tesco for 60p, after it was set up in opposition to the PM by the Daily Star. The newspaper provided a live feed of the vegetable and asked: “Will Liz Truss outlast this lettuce?”
It came after an article in Economist said that her grip on power amounted to "roughly the shelf-life of a lettuce" - about seven days. And so it proved to be as, a week after lettuce-watch began, Ms Truss announced she was stepping down.
The Star duly celebrated. Its headline read: "LETTUCE WINS! Daily Star's 60p Tesco lettuce celebrates victory as Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns".
The newspaper went on to describe the PM's resignation as "a glorious victory for the Daily Star's lettuce". On the live feed, viewers watched as party lights flashed and the national anthem was played.
Celebratory music kicked in and sparkling wine was opened to mark the victory. The newspaper also promised that the lettuce would "make a speech to the nation at a time TBC".
The lettuce had become something of a celebrity across the world, featuring in articles in the New York Times and the Washington Post among others. It also received a boost to its political ambitions when Labour MP Chris Bryant said that "the lettuce might as well be running the country" on Sky News this morning.
Ms Truss made her announcement after another chaotic 24 hours which saw her finally lose the confidence of Tory MPs. She is set to become the shortest serving Prime Minister in history when she officially steps down once a new Tory leader has been found.
