Under-fire Liz Truss is even being snubbed by Larry the cat now.
The resident Downing Street mouser looked deeply unenthused by his new housemate while posing for pictures with the prime minister and her Danish counterpart outside Number 10 yesterday.
Ms Truss smiled as she introduced the cat to Mette Frederiksen – but Larry looked on moodily in the opposite direction.
As the PM bent down to stroke him, he brushed off her attention and sassily walked down the street.
‘He’s run away’, Ms Truss admitted, while Denmark’s PM also failed to get a stroke in despite bending down to say hello.
It is not the first time Larry has failed to greet Ms Truss, after previously being pictured looking away and sticking his bum out as she walked past.
And with the PM away from home for a few days, he tweeted from his unofficial account: ‘Liz Truss is in Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference.
Liz Truss is in Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference. I think itâs probably for the best if I change the locks.
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) October 1, 2022
‘I think it’s probably for the best if I change the locks.’
Larry’s apparent unease with Ms Truss echoes that of the public, following a disastrous mini-budget last week which has seen the pound plummet, mortgage costs soar and markets in turmoil.
In the wake of the calamitous statement, Ms Truss has seen her polling plunge, with the Tories wildly unpopular and trailing Labour by around 30 points.
Larry, who is 15, arrived on Downing Street in 2011 and has seen four prime ministers come and go.
As he walked off at around 9am, Ms Truss was asked ‘are you bringing back austerity?’, in a reference to the economic plan of his first PM, David Cameron.
Having shaken hands with the Danish leader, Ms Truss then stepped inside to continue the meeting behind closed doors, after posing for more pictures in a state room.
‘Nice place,’ Ms Fredericksen said as she settled into a white armchair, with Larry notable by his absence.
The cat may have passed on one of his official duties to the Danish PM, though she is not thought to have been napping.
The Gov.uk website explains: ‘Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality.
‘His day-to-day responsibilities also include contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house. Larry says this is still “in tactical planning stage”.’
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