Liz Truss’ lectern is DITCHED by Rishi Sunak for first speech as PM – but viewers are all saying the same thing

0
75

RISHI Sunak ditched Liz Truss’ lectern for a new one to deliver his first speech as Prime Minister – and viewers are all saying the same thing.

Mr Sunak, who today became both the youngest and first British Asian Prime Minister, vowed to fix the “mistakes” made by Liz Truss as he swept into No10.

Rishi Sunak ditched Liz Truss’ lectern for a new one to deliver his first speech as Prime Minister

Rishi abandoned Liz Truss’ twisting Jenga-esque lectern for a more standard design

But the 42-year-old appeared to ditch his predecessors twisting Jenga-esque lectern for a more standard design.

And that was not the only change as Twitter users rushed to point out the obvious major difference – it was a considerably shorter design.

One user joked: “I notice they’ve got the short lectern out today.”

While a second chimed: “It’ll have to be a very small lectern.”

And a third added: “Perhaps they have a small lectern”

The Prime Minister stands at 5ft 6 and therefore a suitable height lectern would have been in order for Mr Sunak.

But the podium was however not a new one, with Mr Sunak using one from a previous administration given the speed of which he became PM.

Mr Sunak is not the first to change the design from a predecessor – with every former Prime Minister back to Tony Blair doing the same.

Theresa May opted for a darker-coloured design with a simple stand – created by her joint chief of staff to look “feminine”.

Boris Johnson opted for a similar dark design but with a slanted stand and two levels located at its base.

Tony Blair’s podium was also a dark wood – brandishing ‘pm.gov.uk’ on the front.

Whereas David Cameron chose a light brown, curved design giving it a modern feel.

All apart from Labour’s Gordon Brown – who opted for a wheeled-lectern – had the Government crest slapped on the front.

And their positioning outside of No10 Downing Street for pivotal acceptance and resignation speeches over the years have only been made possible by a man known as “hot lectern guy”.

The helper who sets up the Prime Minister’s podium and mics has gone viral in recent years, with some even hilariously calling for the mystery man to take control of No. 10 himself.

He stole the show when Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July and he was there when Theresa May resigned in 2019.

But he appeared to be missing in action from Liz Truss’ resignation speech last week.

Boris Johnson opted for a dark design but chose a slanted stand and two levels located at its base

Theresa May opted for a darker-coloured design with a simple stand – created by her joint chief of staff to look ‘feminine’

Whereas David Cameron chose a light brown, curved design giving it a modern feel

Labour’s Gordon Brown opted for a wheeled-lectern as Prime Minister