Theresa May used the beginning of her conference speech to make light of the laughter her dancing antics caused when she visited South Africa and Kenya in August. She entered the stage for her keynote speech at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham while swaying along to Abba’s Dancing Queen.
The moves, which drew laughter from the audience in the hall, and more than a little mockery on social media, were combined with some opening references to the disastrous time she had delivering her conference speech last year. She apologised in advance if she coughed throughout this speech, saying she had been up all night superglueing the backdrop together – a reference to a sign that fell down behind her at conference last year.
May’s dance moves were described on Twitter as “classy” by the Tory deputy chairman, James Cleverly, and as “totally brill” by the MP Michael Fabricant. Diane Abbott, who was mentioned in May’s speech as the prime minister addressed the issue of the level of abuse that MPs and their families received, was not so impressed. “Whoever thought that was a good idea should be sacked. I am looking at you Robbie Gibb,” in a reference to the Downing Street director of communications.
In a week when May has received some tough messages from the EU over Brexit, her dancing at least seemed to win over one EU dignitary, as the Swedish ambassador to the UK offered her a bravo for her efforts.
As Swedish Ambassador I can only say Bravo to @theresa_may for starting her conference speech with ABBA’s Dancing Queen. #CPC18
— Torbjörn Sohlström (@sohlstromt) October 3, 2018
Observers on social media noted that May’s moves were a little robotic, which may not have been the intended impression.
Comms person: "People liked the dancing and hate that you're a f***ing robot. Remember that."
— Andrew Livingston (@andylivingston) October 3, 2018
* May walks out doing robot dance *
* Comms person buries head in hands. *
Footage of Theresa May dancing onto stage at #CPC18 pic.twitter.com/KiPlOpUo4s
— #spoopy Jon 👻🎃🧙♀️🧛♂️ (@jonp__) October 3, 2018
There were also concerns about the long-term effects for people listening to the Abba classic.
I hope they put a "some viewers may find these scenes disturbing" warning on the news before showing the ignominious death of Dancing Queen #TheresaMay #CPC18 #PoliticsLive
— Tony Sharpe (@tonetalk) October 3, 2018
The Labour MP Angela Rayner described the dance with the hashtag #cringe. And the SNP MP Joanna Cherry said it was “an affront to my favourite song”.
I use to love Dancing Queen by Abba #Cringe 😩 https://t.co/MGeBGhf0Gi
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) October 3, 2018
May referenced her dancing again later in the speech, jokingly suggesting that some of the young people she met on her visit to South Africa might have been inspired to become “professional dancers” among other things.
And it is not the first time she has been associated with the Swedish group’s classic – Dancing Queen was one of the songs May chose when she appeared on Desert Island Discs in 2014.
Fun fact: Dancing Queen was one of the eight tracks chosen by Theresa May when she appeared on Desert Island Discs in 2014.
— BBC Radio 4 (@BBCRadio4) October 3, 2018
🎧Listen here: https://t.co/iC3ZPVbwUk
Still, with Boris Johnson’s leadership ambitions in mind, Dancing Queen was probably a better choice of song for May than some other Abba hits – she carefully avoided giving the impression that she was facing her Waterloo, or sending out an SOS.
