# Liz Truss tries to lead the UK {and resigns as of 2022-10-20} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 5, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992 "2022-09-05T14:06:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/421 "2022-10-20T19:31:19Z")
I suspect that contrary to usual practice, the US customary Johnson (Lyndon) is larger than the Imperial Johnson (Boris). One does wonder what the corresponding SI unit is. Probably the Merkel? Not so imposing yet still quite potent. And being an inherently smaller unit of measure, the bragging numbers are larger. SI for the win again! ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/422 "2022-10-20T19:34:16Z")
Has there been a fiasco comparable to Truss in the entire history of democratic politics ? There have been plenty of short lived governments in Italy and Japan among others but I don’t know if any of them created the kind of self-inflicted disaster that Truss did so quickly. At the start , her chances of staying for two years till the election were high. The Tory majority is large and the Tories were going to be extremely reluctant to remove yet another leader. To destroy that position in just seven weeks requires a truly perverse genius for self-destruction. I am a bit confused about the new rules. So the party members won’t get the final choice this time? How did they change the rules so quickly? Anyway it probably means that Sunak will become PM. He has obviously been vindicated by the Truss disaster and the Tories will want a competent economic manager to give them a chance in two years or more realistically limit the damage. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/423 "2022-10-20T19:43:02Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > How many Scaramuccis to a Truss? According to _the_ expert in the measurement: [Anthony Scaramucci mocks UK's humiliated PM Liz Truss on her resignation after 44 days with tweet | Daily Mail Online](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11337103/Anthony-Scaramucci-mocks-UKs-humiliated-PM-Liz-Truss-resignation-44-days-tweet.html) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/424 "2022-10-20T19:47:13Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Apparently it even has an American English pronunciation, but I’ve never heard anyone use it with any pronunciation. Because it sounds like “noose”, a word we often tend to avoid. Or you have a weird accent and are saying “news”. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rY0WxgSXdEE/hqdefault.jpg "Queen - Another One Bites the Dust (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/425 "2022-10-20T19:53:37Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Whether or not the obvious physical difference between him and Truss affected their (skewing elderly, suburban) judgement, I wouldn’t presume to say. I will, of course it did. The Tory leadership has always been willing to overlook such “regrettable disabilities” if the person was someone they otherwise thought would be useful, while the party faithful are a lot more…conservative. That said, I think its a matter of time until the latter stops seeing this as a DQ issue. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/426 "2022-10-20T19:54:11Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Well, Braverman had a disastrous time yesterday, made a total fool of herself in the commons referring to the “tofu eating wokerati”… If you haven’t already seen it…As this thread winds to a close, here’s a moment of cheer - grab it before it changes. Those of you who read articles in The Guardian Online will surely know that (a) they’re free; and (b) they appeal for your support. Check out their current appeal - here’s a handy article for you: > **[Liz Truss to quit as prime minister](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/20/liz-truss-to-make-statement-in-downing-street-about-her-future)** > > Statement expected shortly after departures of top ministers and evaporation of political authority If the appeal for support has changed by the time you read this, it begins “A message for the tofu-eating wokerati…” j ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/427 "2022-10-20T20:06:42Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > The [lettuce](https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/our-lettuce-outlasted-liz-truss-british-paper-declares-as-pm-quits/ar-AA13brGT) won. It’s a fair crop. Thank you for my daily dose of laugh out loud. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/428 "2022-10-20T20:08:48Z")
Braverman knows my soul. I read the Guardian and have a weekly delivery of locally made tofu. I’m also a dirty Europhile and citizen of nowhere. It’s all true. I finally feel truly understood. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/429 "2022-10-20T20:12:39Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > Before today, I only knew it as the little-used first person plural pronoun in French. > > Wait? What? > > [aside] > ‘We’ is a little used pronoun in French? Yes, apparently _nous_ is considered very formal and is almost never used in ordinary communication. Instead the use the third-person singular pronoun _on_. So essentially they say _one_ instead of _we_. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/430 "2022-10-20T20:18:15Z")
So, just what does it take before the Tories lose out to some other party? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/431 "2022-10-20T20:19:08Z")
But the nous refered to in the first quotation is this, is it not? > **[Definition of NOUS](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nous)** > > mind, reason: such as; an intelligent purposive principle of the world; the divine reason regarded in Neoplatonism as the first emanation of God… See the full definition It is classical Greek, not French! Or I am being whooshed? Whooshing myself, even? 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/432 "2022-10-20T20:22:00Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > A “Scaramucci” is an American unit of political time and is not used in Europe. The term “Truss” is metric, and is preferred in most of the world outside the US. Except in Canada, where the Mooch is used everywhere except for road speeds, because no matter how fast you are driving you can never scare a moose. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/433 "2022-10-20T20:29:14Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > is classical Greek, not French! > Or I am being whooshed? Whooshing myself, even? My post links to this definition already. My point was that before today, the only _nous_ I knew of was the French _nous_. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/434 "2022-10-20T20:32:07Z")
Ah, OK. Well, if this is not whooshing myself, it comes close. Fine. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/435 "2022-10-20T22:23:00Z")
_If_ Boris Johnson comes back as PM, that ruins my joke that the queen stayed alive just long enough to see him out of office. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/436 "2022-10-20T22:35:35Z")
Perhaps she’ll come back, as well. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/437 "2022-10-20T22:48:17Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So is that a new record for shortest term in office? In a mere six weeks she presided over the death of the longest-reigning British monarch of all time, and she nearly did in England along with her. Quite the premiership. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/438 "2022-10-20T22:48:59Z")
> ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/439 "2022-10-20T23:18:36Z")
> [@Lantern2](#): > > I am a bit confused about the new rules. So the party members won’t get the final choice this time? They might… but only if there are two candidates who get nominations from at least 100 MP’s each. If only one candidate gets the required 100 nominations from MP’s, then that person is the PM, and the party members get no vote. And if the party gets to vote on 2 choices, it must be wrapped up by Friday Oct 28. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2022, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992/440 "2022-10-20T23:25:44Z")
How many MPs are voting? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liz-truss-tries-to-lead-the-uk-and-resigns-as-of-2022-10-20/970992.md?page=23)