Rishi Sunak swaps Liz Truss' 'Jenga tower' lectern for plainer podium

Split image. Left image: Liz Truss stood at a lectern. Middle image: Rishi Sunak stood at a lectern. Right image: Boris Johnson stood at a lectern.
The last six British prime ministers have used different lecterns. Credit: PA

Rishi Sunak's appointment as prime minister has led to some eagle-eyed viewers spotting an intriguing difference between each new resident of Downing Street.

When Mr Sunak gave his first address to the nation as PM he delivered it from behind a lectern outside No.10- as has become tradition for the delivery of major speeches in contemporary British politics.

However, some keen observers noticed Mr Sunak's lectern appeared quite different to the one used by his predecessor, Liz Truss, just hours earlier.

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The lectern used by Ms Truss featured a curved design, which some social media users compared to a 'Jenga' tower.

Whereas the one used by her successor was constructed of a varnished lighter coloured wood, and also appeared to be slightly smaller.

Twitter users, including ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston, picked up on the difference, questioning whether prime ministers are given a choice of what lectern they can use.

One Twitter user posted a set of pictures which compared the lecterns, used by Ms Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron and Gordon Brown when they held office.

Each PM used a lectern unique to their tenure with each varying in size, colour and design.

But while each changing of the guard does appear to usher in a new era of lectern, it is unclear whether getting to choose your own, personalised podium is one of the perks of being handed the keys to Downing Street.

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