Sir Keir Starmer poked fun at Emmanuel Macron by sporting a pair of aviator sunglasses at a comedy show in London.
The Prime Minister appeared onstage at Matt Forde’s Political Party podcast live recording at the Duchess Theatre.
In a clip shared to his TikTok account, Sir Keir puts on the shades and says “Bonjour” in reference to the French president wearing a similar pair at Davos last week.
President Macron was tagged in the Prime Minister’s post which was captioned “Talk to me, Goose”, quoting the hit film Top Gun, which brought aviator-style sunglasses into the mainstream.
The audience at the West End theatre chuckled at the gag, and Sir Keir told Forde that he would now consider wearing a pair to summits.
He went on to joke that he would need his regular pair returned to him, or he wouldn’t be able to see in Parliament.
Audiences watching Davos last week were bemused by Macron’s aviator-clad appearance, which he explained were to cover a burst blood vessel in his eye.
The friendly crowd at the Duchess Theatre will have undoubtedly come as a relief to Sir Keir, who is currently facing his most significant leadership challenge to date in 18 months in office.
On Sunday, it was reported that eight members of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee, including the Prime Minister, voted to block Andy Burnham from running in the Greater Manchester by-election.
Mr Burnham, the mayor of Manchester, is seen as a significant threat to Sir Keir’s leadership, and it is thought he could try to usurp the PM if elected to Parliament.
The threat could be compounded by Labour’s performance in the upcoming local elections in May. Opinion polls suggest Labour is on course for poor results and could fall to third place nationally, behind Reform and the Conservatives.
