The beleagured PM – under pressure in the polls and facing a growing mutiny within his own party – provided some light relief during a live comedy show in London
Sir Keir Starmer mocked Emmanuel Macron at a comedy show by donning a pair of aviator-style sunglasses and greeting the crowd: “Bonjour”. The Prime Minister, 63, drew huge laughs and applause from the live audience at the Duchess Theatre in London.
In a clip shared to his TikTok page, Sir Keir tagged the French President in the post, which he captioned “Talk to me, Goose” – a reference to hit 80s film Top Gun starring Tom Cruise, which popularised the trendy eyewear.
Mr Macron hit the headlines last week after donning the fashionable accessory during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It was reported he was covering a burst blood vessel in his eye during the global summit.
Sir Keir told host Matt Forde during The Political Party Live that he would consider wearing them to summits. He then joked that he needed his regular glasses back or he would not be able to see in Parliament, which the West End audience found hilarious.
But social media users were divided, with one wag dubbing him “Keir the comic” and another “Sir Keir Banter.” Another said: “Ok I’ll admit that’s the first funny thing he’s actually ever done.” A fourth added: “That was good, though, gotta give it to him.”
Others were less keen, with former Tory front bench MP Kevin Foster asking “are those the glasses Lord Ali paid for?”, in reference to Sir Keir’s largest personal donor Lord Waheed Alli, who was given a Downing Street pass.
Another said: “I’m sorry this is no offence, but I just found out Keir Starmer is 63 years of age.” Someone else added: “This is man who is out of ideas and is now playing the fool.”
It comes as Sir Keir is set to jet off to China, where he is warned any comedy antics might not be tolerated as spies will be watching his every move.
He will be the first British Prime Minister to meet Xi Jinping in Beijing since Theresa May’s trip exactly eight years ago. During Mrs May’s 2018 visit, she was warned to get dressed in bed to avoid hidden cameras capturing compromising footage.
And the Government are aware of the security risk posed by the trip and have issued “burner” phones and laptops to ministers and officials in the expectation they could be hacked.
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