Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has gone viral on TikTok after an attempt at a video transition has been made into a meme.
The moment came after an initial video by the Conservative Party was shared online, which saw the PM announce that the government would be giving the Blyth area £20million to make improvements to the high street and crime levels.
The update comes following the controversial news that the HS2 rail line will terminate in Birmingham, and appears to be a gesture to reassure voters in the north that they aren’t been disregarded during his administration.
“If you live in or around Blyth, you’re going to want to hear this,” Sunak begins. “We’re giving your town £20million to improve things like the high street, safety and community heritage.”
As reported by The London Economic, the money saved from the HS2 project was supposedly earmarked for transport improvements in the north, but is now getting distributed across the country. Recipients include places like Devon, which is getting two new train stations thanks to the massively scaled-back high-speed network.
While the clip is being viewed by some as a way to win over voters in the north of the UK, one part of it has gathered a lot of momentum on social media, and saw the PM’s attempt at a video transition turned into a meme.
One TikTok user edited it so it appeared like he was hit in the face by Sunak, and in a daze on the floor as the EastEnders theme played over the top.
@samd_official I will get revenge
#capcut #rishisunak #blythe #fyp #eastenders
Another gave the clip a musical make-over and re-envisioned it as a DJ mix of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ – featuring a montage of clips of former Tory PMs Liz Truss and Theresa May.
@tom__865 If you live in or around Blyth, you’re going to want to hear this. #PrimeMinister #RishiSunak drops the #beat with this latest #policy announcement. #Conservatives #UKpolitics #Tory #TheresaMay #LizTruss #NewOrder #BlueMonday #CPC #fyp #duetwithme #duet
Similarly, a third person used the transition to share that the PM isn’t popular in Iceland, while another decided to call out the Conservative party for their recent anti-trans views, stating “So… it’s fine when you transition?”.
The latter comes in light of the recent comments made at the Conservative Party conference, where Sunak said in his speech: “We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. A man is a man, a woman is a woman, that’s just common sense.”
Previously, the UK government had also outlined a proposition, which would prevent transgender people from having access to single-sex hospitals.
Rishi Sunak’s attempt at a video transition has made him viral on TikTok as people globally duet with him – here’s one from Iceland pic.twitter.com/5F3B3zSv39
— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) October 12, 2023
This is also a great contribution pic.twitter.com/G8h6lhFlEY
— jonny lee miller's eyeliner pencil (@joesheenjosheen) October 12, 2023
Last week, the anti-trans comments sparked backlash from across the entertainment world – with many coming forward to criticise the Tory leadership.
“To all trans/non binary and gender non conforming people in the UK right now,” Sam Smith wrote on their Instagram Stories. “You are not alone. Your humanity and your life matters. Sending every one of you so much love x.’
“Rishi Sunak is a fool,” added Yungblud. “These idiots in power are nothing more than outdated bully’s praying on an already targeted community to obtain votes. we will fight against them. we will outgrow them.”
Charli XCX also took to X to say she was “absolutely disgusted by the continued violence towards the trans community by this current Uk government”.
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