Boris Johnson thought he was helping out when he got stuck in with a mop while visiting the flooded villages of Derbyshire.
But he has been widely mocked for failing miserably to use a mop correctly during the visit to Matlock on Friday, the Mirror reports.
He picked up the mop near a Specsavers optician and got stuck in. And it looked as though mopping was a new skill, as dirty water sloshed around the shop floor.
The hilarious Sky News footage has gone viral which shows Mr Johnson attempting to operate the mop and bizarrely swirling dirty water around.
Stig Abell said: "Politicians who can't do normal things being filmed doing them ineptly is one of the highlights of election season."
One Twitter user likened it to The Thick Of It, while another wag suggested he couldn't do anything right.
Mr Johnson later said he was "in awe of the community's spirit and resilience" after the flooding which blighted South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
In a statement, he said: "On Friday, I visited Matlock in Derbyshire, where the flooding has caused devastation to people's homes and livelihoods.
"In awe of the community's spirit and resilience in the fate of this awful ongoing event.
"It is the same spirit seen in the affected areas across Yorkshire and the Midlands this past week."
He said the stories of volunteers, neighbours and friends "often literally carrying each other through this time that I have found immensely uplifting".
Five flood warnings which indicate an immediate threat to life remain in place in parts of South Yorkshire where the River Don runs.
A yellow weather warning for rain is in place in the area, which continues until Tuesday.
