British Stew

Elmo takes the stage:

The satirical character came sixth out of 13 candidates, but nevertheless hailed the 308 votes he received. #BindependenceDay has come,” he wrote in an X post. Binface wasn’t the only person rubbing salt in Sunak’s wound—YouTube prankster Niko Omilana stood behind the outgoing prime minister and unfurled a sign with the letter “L” on it as Sunak spoke. “[F]arewell rishi, hold this L,” he posted after the stunt. Omilana received 160 votes. In contrast to Sunak’s dismal evening, Labour leader Keir Starmer was having a grand old time as he won his seat—one of the at least 412 seats his party took in their landslide victory. As Starmer won his London district, Holborn and St. Pancras, with 48.9 percent of the vote, he was congratulated by a man dressed as Elmo. Bobby Smith, an independent candidate who’s dressed as the Sesame Street character for a decade while campaigning to reform British family law, got just 19 votes. The visual was nevertheless pretty funny. Starmer, realizing he was about to score a historic victory for Labour in the national election, paid a magnanimous tribute to the other candidates who’d run in his district. “In this room, right here, beats the heart of our democracy,” he said, as Elmo stood next to him.

Elmo likes candidates who tickle him...