The account, named uoy_reform_gammon, has extended the challenge to see whether Reform Society (ReformSoc) will be banned before Ray Cyst, a chunk of uncooked gammon, “meets his end”.
The satirical account posts with daily updates on the gammon’s condition and has amassed over 100 followers so far.
The account is inspired by the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Star, which started a live stream in October 2022 to see if an iceberg lettuce would outlast Liz Truss, the then-Prime Minister of the UK.
The livestream blew up on social media, especially after the lettuce ultimately won when Truss resigned six days later.
York Vision spoke to the creator of the anonymous gammon account, who said: “Ray is a lighthearted representation of the very serious concerns a large part of the student body [has] about the recent decision to allow a Reform UK society on campus.”
“We are concerned both by the formation of the society itself, given what the party stands for..”
“The homage to Liz Truss’ lettuce asks that York SU addresses students’ concerns quickly, and politely suggests that while the Union may argue that any society that follows their code of conduct has a right to exist – the values of Reform mean that we [speaking on behalf of the account] don’t anticipate them sticking too closely to expectations of inclusivity and respect for long.”
The new Reform UK Society Instagram account was created less than a week ago, and has around 60 followers – fewer than the satirical account.
Whilst the gammon account is satirical, the creation of ReformSoc has incited criticism from several York SU-ratified societies, in the form of an Open Letter that was posted on Instagram.
York SU Activities Officer Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb said: “We […] took into great consideration the group’s own awareness of potentially negative reactions from students, and their assurance that they shall seek to act in the ‘most responsible and caring way possible’.”
“Reassured that this group would only add to the political diversity of our campus, the committee voted for Reform society to be ratified, and we look forward to supporting them as they begin activity on campus.”
We have reached out to Reform UK Society for comment but they have yet to respond.