Sir Keir Starmer is the new prime minister of the United Kingdom after a barn-stomping win in the 2024 general election.
And one of his first acts after being voted in was to shake hands with an adult-sized Elmo from Sesame Street.
UK politics is pretty unique when it comes to holding elections, with quirky candidates right at the heart of the world's leading democracy.
After all, who can forget former Prime Minister Theresa May facing off against the legendary Count Binface during her time as an MP? They also took on Nigel Farage in the European elections before Brexit kicked in.
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2024 has been no different, with Binface moving on to take on Rishi Sunak in his constituency seat in Richmond and Northallerton.
Among the Count's pledges was a promise to national service for former prime ministers.
But the moment of the night had to go down to Starmer as he was re-elected as MP for the London constituency of Holborn and St Pancras.
Retaining the seat with ease, securing almost 50 percent of the vote, Starmer then moved on to shaking the hands of his competitors.
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For 2024, this included Bobby Smith from the Give Me Back Elmo party who had previously taken on former PM David Cameron in the 2015 general election.
There is a serious message behind Smith's viral campaigning as Elmo, with him an activist for reforming family law as a fathers' rights activist.
It wasn't the only quirky looking candidate of the night, with Conservative candidate Jacob Rees-Mogg facing off against Barmy Brunch from The Official Monster Raving Loony Party, who took to the stage wearing a balaclava decorated with baked beans. Because why not, eh?
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On Elmo and Starmer, one person posted: "Nah man, the Prime Minister-elect has said 'in this room right here beats the heart of our democracy' and there’s a bloke in an Elmo suit stood two yards from him."
Another wrote: "I'd like to inform US followers who worry their political system is insane that the next prime minister of the United Kingdom had to compete with Elmo."
A third said: "I love UK elections because the incoming prime minister has to give his acceptance speech next to Elmo and someone from the Monster Raving Loony Party."
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And a fourth posted: "Delightful thing about British politics: Keir Starmer will be prime minister in the next six hours, and he's just had to shake hands (grinning, to be fair to him) with a man in a silly hat and someone else dressed as off-brand Elmo."
On Rees-Mogg and Barmy Brunch, one person wrote: "One to preserve for future academic study, that."
Amen.
Topics: Politics, General election, UK News, Weird, Viral, Twitter
Tom Earnshaw