‘Thank you for using a blue screen’: Twitter erupts with memes poking fun at Liz Truss with photoshopped backgrounds showing disasters as she delivers leadership speech
- Memes depicting Liz Truss standing in a burning building and on a sinking ship have started circulating online
- It comes after she held her conference in Birmingham against a plain blue backdrop on Wednesday
- Blue backdrops are easy for even amateur photoshop users to edit, making her an easy target online
Memes depicting Liz Truss standing in a burning building, on a sinking ship and out the front of a food bank have started circulating online after she held her first conference speech as Tory leader against a plain blue backdrop.
The embattled Prime Minister shrugged off protests and infighting as she vowed to battle the ‘anti-growth coalition’ and create a ‘new era’ for Britain with a true-blue Tory vision in her conference speech today.
While Ms Truss had hoped the speech would ease some of the pressure she’s facing both within her own party and in the public eye, she’s found herself being ruthlessly mocked online, with one critic saying: ‘Someone in the party really hates her.’
‘Political tip… Don’t stand in front of a bluescreen if you’re in the middle of crashing the country,’ Labour Party Graphic Designers wrote on Twitter alongside a compilation video.
In the video, the group edited over the top of the blue backdrop behind Ms Truss with videos and images designed to poke fun at her.
Others hopped on the trend within minutes and were sharing their own edited versions of the background.
One person created a cartoon backdrop of the interior of a house on fire, with Ms Truss grimacing in the centre
Liz Truss said in her keynote Tory conference speech: ‘I know that we can do better and we must do better.’
Another meme saw the new PM with a pained expression on her face as houses caught alight in the distance
In one meme, it appeared as though the backdrop had been changed into a visual interpretation of hell, with monsters and fire
One person created a cartoon backdrop of the interior of a house on fire, with Ms Truss grimacing in the centre.
Another meme saw the new PM with a pained expression on her face as houses caught alight in the distance.
Others, meanwhile, simply included graphs and statistics of blunders that have been made since Ms Truss took office last month.
Ms Truss was turned into red tellytubby, Po, in another ‘child friendly’ meme.
‘On behalf of amateur photoshoppers everywhere, I would like to thank the Conservative Party for going with a solid blue background,’ one Twitter user said.
Another wrote: ‘Thank you, thank you for using a completely blue screen.’
‘On behalf of amateur photoshoppers everywhere, I would like to thank the Conservative Party for going with a solid blue background,’ one Twitter user said
Another meme saw the new PM with a pained expression on her face as houses caught alight in the distance
While most of the footage shows Ms Truss grinning through the delivery of her conference, environmental campaigners were heckling her through the speech.
Greenpeace protesters holding a flag which read ‘who voted for this?’ were ejected from the hall after disrupting the speech, with Ms Truss ordering security officers to ‘get them removed’.
Environmental campaigners were identified by Ms Truss as ‘enemies of enterprise’ as part of an ‘anti-growth coalition’ including opposition parties, trade unions and ‘Brexit-deniers’.
The Prime Minister has had a tough month in the job marred by a U-turn on tax policy and dissent within her Cabinet, but has promised to steer the country through the ‘tempest’ and ‘get Britain moving’ again.
Others, meanwhile, simply included graphs and statistics of blunders that have been made since Ms Truss took office last month
Despite the decision to ditch plans to scrap the 45p top rate of tax, Ms Truss insisted ‘we must stay the course’ in pursuit of her three priorities: ‘Growth, growth and growth.’
She told the crowd: ‘This mission will be difficult but necessary. We have no alternative if we want to get our economy growing again.
‘I am ready to make hard choices. You can trust me to do what it takes.’
Ms Truss argued growth will put ‘more money in people’s pockets’ and help businesses create more jobs, allowing constituents to feel ‘secure and plan for their future’.
In a sign of support for Kwasi Kwarteng following the humiliation of the 45p U-turn, Ms Truss said she was ‘in lockstep’ with her ‘dynamic’ Chancellor.
The hall in Birmingham was full today despite fears that many activists would have left early to avoid rail strikes
Ms Truss walked on stage to 1990s hit Moving on Up by M People – much to the fury of the band
The hall rose to its feet after Ms Truss’s relatively short 40-minute speech today
She said: ‘Cutting taxes is the right thing to do morally and economically. Morally, because the state does not spend its own money. It spends the people’s. Economically, because if people keep more of their own money, they are inspired to do more of what they do best.’
But in an attempt to calm markets which had been spooked by Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget, Ms Truss promised to ‘keep an iron grip on the nation’s finances’.
‘I believe in sound money and the lean state,’ she said.
‘I remember my shock opening my first pay cheque to see how much money the taxman had taken out. I know this feeling is replicated across the country.
‘That is why we must always be careful with taxpayers’ money.’
Rising interest rates risk causing misery for homeowners, but Ms Truss stressed the independence of the Bank of England on that matter.
Having walked on to stage to Moving on Up by M People and watched by husband Hugh, Ms Truss was only a few minutes into her speech when protests erupted in the hall
Ms Truss strode on to the set smiling despite ensuring a difficult week at the conference in Birmingham
YouGov research found the PM has a net rating of minus 59 – even worse than the -53 for Mr Johnson before his resignation
M People frontman criticises Liz Truss for using ‘Movin on Up’ as her walk-out song at Birmingham conference
M People founder Michael Pickering has taken to Twitter to criticise Liz Truss for walking out on stage at the Birmingham conference to his group’s song, Movin On Up.
Ms Truss used the 1993 hit to walk out to a standing ovation despite Pickering being a vocal critic of the Tory party.
Pickering said on Twitter after the fact: ‘We can’t stop Truss walking out to our song, very weird! So sad it got used by this shower of a government… I don’t want my song being a soundtrack to lies.’
But some critics say the song was an odd choice for Ms Truss, given the lyrics discuss someone whose ‘time is up’.
Pickering later said he ‘sincerely hopes she listens to the lyrics’, which include the lines: ‘You’ve done me wrong, your time is up. You took a sip from the devil’s cup. You broke my heart, there’s no way back. Move right out of here, baby, go on pack your bags.’
But she said ‘the Chancellor and the Governor will keep closely co-ordinating our monetary and fiscal policy’.
In a message to the public, she said ‘we have your back’ and she was working ‘flat out to ensure people can get through this crisis’.
The death of the Queen and the succession of the King heralded a ‘new era’, Ms Truss said, but warned: ‘These are stormy days.’
‘We’re dealing with the global economic crisis caused by Covid and by (Vladimir) Putin’s appalling war in Ukraine.
‘In these tough times, we need to step up. I’m determined to get Britain moving, to get us through the tempest and put us on a stronger footing as a nation.’
But in a sign of the difficulties she faces, shortly ahead of her speech YouGov released polling suggesting Ms Truss is already more unpopular than her predecessor Boris Johnson or former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn ever were.
Just 14% of the public now say they have a favourable impression of the Prime Minister compared with 26% who said so between September 21-22.
Nearly three-quarters – 73% – now see the Prime Minister in an unfavourable light, including more than half – 55% – who see her very unfavourably.
In response to the speech, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: ‘The Tory economic crisis we are facing was made in Downing Street, paid for by working people facing higher mortgages and soaring costs.
‘Liz Truss has been a Government minister for the last 10 years. She has been at the heart of building a Conservative economy that has led to the flat wages and low growth she highlighted today.’
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: ‘The Conservatives have lost control of the economy, causing eye-watering mortgage payments, soaring inflation and an ever-deepening cost-of-living emergency.’
The protest by Greenpeace activists only briefly disrupted the speech, with Ms Truss joking that the ‘anti-growth coalition’ had turned up to watch
The premier was given a standing ovation by ministers and activists after her first speech as Tory leader today
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