HOUSE OF COMMONS, WESTMINSTER – In a rare display of raw emotion during Prime Minister’s Question Time, Rishi Sunak unleashed a storm of fury in response to an impolite accusation from the leader of the opposition, Sir Keir Starmer.
When Starmer labelled Sunak a ‘privileged millionaire prep school boy,’ who ‘enjoys a comfortable position among the liberal elite’ whilst ‘pursuing policies that harm the working class people of Britain,’ the Prime Minister’s usually unflappable demeanour cracked like a cowpat on a hot summer’s day.
Grimacing and contorting his face like the winner of a northern gurning competition, Sunak fired back with an accusation of his own. He lambasted Starmer as a ‘privileged millionaire grammar school boy’ who ‘enjoys a comfortable position among the liberal elite’ whilst ‘pursuing policies that harm the working class people of Britain.’ The House of Commons erupted with the usual cacophony of boorish here-here’s and shame shame’s.
Aquatic dramatics
Polling conducted after the showdown revealed a surprising twist in public opinion. Working-class people across the country seemed to believe that both Sunak and Starmer were ‘technically correct’ and commented on the uncanny symmetry of their accusations. Both Sunak and Starmer appeared to inhabit a parallel universe of privilege, each accusing the other of elitism while seemingly blissfully unaware of the irony. Their spat, it was said, resembled two men facing each other, taking it in turns to whack the other around the face with the same wet fish.
As is usually the case after their weekly commons clashes, everyday folk were left questioning whether the political elite truly understand the challenges faced by the working class or if they are simply engaged in a never-ending political fiction.
Based on the melodramatics of both men, and the exaggerated facial acting of the Prime Minister, it is easy to believe the latter to be true. Despite their standing on opposite sides of the chamber, to all those watching across the country, it appeared that both men were reading from the same script.