Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Arielle Domb

Keir Starmer effigy unveiled in Edenbridge which includes Guy Fawkes digital ID

The Edenbridge Bonfire Society have built an effigy of Keir Starmer for its annual celebration, explaining that the prime minster received more votes than the other candidates.

Other contestants included Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Angela Rayner.

The not-for-profit organisation has been "poking fun at infamous celebrities" for over 30 years, with previous effigies including Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.

Members of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society unveil their guy for 2025 – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – at Breezehurst Farm Industrial Park, Edenbridge, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

Laura Lawrence, of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society, said: "The effigy this year for the first time actually has a Guy Fawkes ruff and he's wearing a hat because we feel that Starmer is doing quite well at igniting Parliament by himself at the moment."

A string of sausages drape from the statue’s head, which she said referenced when Starmer accidentally said "sausages" instead of "hostages".

She added that the "Starmer the farmer harmer" badge alludes to his decisions around inheritance tax that "left farmers in uproar".

Members of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society unveil their guy for 2025, which is Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, at Breezehurst Farm Industrial Park, Edenbridge, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

Other features of the effigy include a digital ID card that reads “Guy Fawkes” poking out a belt and a whiteboard with a series of objectives. “SUCK UP TO TRUMP” is written with a tick next to it, while “BUILD 1.5M HOUSES” and “NO TAX INCREASE” are crossed out.

Edenbridge Bonfire Society has been celebrating Bonfire Night for nearly 100 years.

Andrea Deans, artist and co-chair, has been constructing effigies since 2016. She said: "I think the most challenging thing is the scale of it. It hasn't changed much over the past 10 years.

"It's the same concept, the same structure. What changes is the subjects and the elements we can put on."

The statue holds a whiteboard listing a series of objectives (PA)

She said it was "a little bit more controversial every year".

"It's harder to decide what is appropriate, what the backlash is going to be, that bit is quite hard," she added.

This is not the first time a bonfire effigy of Mr Starmer has been built. Last year, Leicestershire police were contacted after it was reported that Whitwick Constitutional Club had burned one at a public event.

A Whitwick Constitutional Club spokesperson told Leicestershire Live: "Bonfire Night traditions have evolved over 400 years. Our effigy of Sir Keir Starmer is a tiny part of that. It’s not calling for violence, it’s supposed to be humorous. We don’t resile from it whatsoever.”

"For hundreds of years effigies have been placed on to the top of bonfires, whether that is Guy Fawkes or, for example, at the historic Lewes Bonfire Festival just in recent years Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Tony Blair, Nigel Farage and [former Post Office boss] Paula Vennells."

The spokesperson said that guests "had a laugh" at the provocative statue.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.