The shortest-serving prime minister of the UK Liz Truss was serenaded by a loudspeaker as she made her farewell speech this morning outside Number 10 Downing Street.
The indie classic I Predict a Riot by the Kaiser Chiefs could be heard during the speech thanks to the anti-Brexit activist Steve Bray.
The lyrics “It’s not very pretty I tell thee” could be heard as Ms Truss delivered her brief statement to the nation. She spent only 49 days in office.
At little over three minutes long, her speech was cut so short that the song barely made it to the famous chorus.
The incident began trending on Twitter soon afterwards, with users sharing jokes and memes.
Sunak says “mistakes were made” by Liz Truss as the Kaiser Chiefs “I Predict A Riot” plays out from a speaker held by nearby protesters.
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) October 25, 2022
Rishi ain’t getting in quietly! Unelected bureaucrat! Earlier at the Foreign Office playing through to Downing Street. I predict a riot! pic.twitter.com/Qu1XTqnapD
— Steve Bray Activist Against Brexit +Corrupt Tories (@snb19692) October 25, 2022
Steve Bray plays ‘I predict a Riot’ over Liz Truss’s farewell speech and Sunak’s inaugural one.
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) October 25, 2022
Legend.
you can hear someone blasting 'I Predict a Riot' by the Kaiser Chiefs In the background as a terrible prime minister makes a terrible leaving speech pic.twitter.com/gu5w1XDevH
— YouCallThatRadio (@YouCallThatRad1) October 25, 2022
‘I Predict a Riot’ playing in the background. Lovely stuff.
— Jonathan Pie (@JonathanPieNews) October 25, 2022
Only in England would someone be blasting I predict a riot in the background while liz formally resigns 😂
— beccie 🦁🧡🏎 (@becciepeters) October 25, 2022
Liz Truss doing her big goodbye speech while I Predict A Riot plays in the background, lovely stuff.
— Sooz "Halloween" Kempner (@SoozUK) October 25, 2022
Whoever is playing “I predict a riot” at the press conference is really the hero this country needs. #LizTruss #10DowningStreet
— Amie Jessica (@AmieFriend_ly) October 25, 2022
This isn’t Mr Bray’s first protest. During the 2016 EU referendum, he spent most days outside Parliament, holding his ‘Stop Brexit’ sign aloft, as well as playing the Benny Hill chase music for Boris Johnson’s resignation.
In June, he garnered attention when he returned to Parliament a day after police seized his speakers under a controversial protest law.
Mr Bray, known as “Stop Brexit Man”, had his hi-fi speakers confiscated by officers to curb “noisy” protests.
At the time, Mr Bray began to blare music from an amplifier from a new spot near the Treasury after officers warned him to stay away from his previous protest site outside the Commons. He was heard playing the 1975 Bay City Rollers song Bye Bye Baby overlaid with the lyrics “bye bye Boris”.
His latest protest came as Britain welcomed its fifth prime minister in six years, Rishi Sunak.
Ms Truss officially tendered her resignation to King Charles III, which the palace said he was “graciously pleased to accept”, Metro.co.uk reported.
Her 49-day premiership involved the death of Queen Elizabeth II and a disastrous “mini-budget” that led to the resignation of the chancellor, Kwasi Kwartang.
Elsewhere, counts are rising on a petition calling for a general election, which surpassed 300,000 signatures after Ms Truss’s resignation.
Started by the Independent, acting editor David Marley wrote that Ms Truss had no mandate to govern the country after winning the leadership election with 81,000 votes from Tory members.
He added: “Who is leading our country should be decided in a general election, not in the strange bubble of yet another Conservative leadership election.
“It is time for voters to decide who should govern the country and uphold the democratic principles our governing bodies are built on. For this reason, we are calling for a general election now.”
At the time of writing, the petition had over 440,000 signatures, and it requires 500,000 to become one of the top such votes on Change.org.
