Rachel Reeves faced a set of particularly unflattering front pages this morning – but none were more worrying for the chancellor than the Daily Star’s.
The newspaper suggested it was on the cusp of reviving its gag from 2022, when it left a lettuce out of the fridge and asked who would last longer: the salad item or Liz Truss’ time in No.10.
The lettuce won, as Truss was kicked out after just 44 days in office over her disastrous mini-Budget and £45bn of tax cuts which sent the markets into a frenzy.
The former PM has been haunted by lettuce comparisons ever since.
Even Reeves mocked the Tories over it, saying in November 2023: “The only leadership contest that Rishi Sunak faced he lost to Liz Truss, who in turn lost to a lettuce.”
But more than two years later, and the Star is threatening to repeat the stunt for the current chancellor.
Its front page today reads: “Should we be popping out for another lettuce?”
The headline was accompanied by a photoshopped picture of a lettuce with Reeves’ eyes and her signature bob.
While the chancellor has already held her job down for longer than Truss did, having been in the role since July, she was responsible for Labour’s first Budget in autumn.
The fiscal event has not delivered on the economic growth the party promised was its number one priority.
Instead, the Budget has rocked the markets’ confidence due to Reeves’ tax hikes, with government borrowing costs reaching a 27-year high and inflation creeping back up.
As the chancellor prepares to implement further spending cuts, her boss PM Keir Starmer refused twice to tell reporters whether or not Reeves would still be in her job at the next election.
His spokesperson later confirmed she would be, but questions over her future remain.
So the Daily Star’s front page, understandably, caused quite the stir online.
Some were taken aback by the editing skills....
While others took this is a wider sign about Reeves’ future...
Although, luckily for Reeves, some questioned the comparison altogether, considering how long she’s been in the post....