In life, there are some pints that just hit different. The quick pint you drink at the Indian while they finish boxing up your order. The lazy one on the holiday balcony. The 8am airport pint before a Jet2 flight. But none trumps the pint Keir Starmer was pictured with yesterday after being bombed out of Downing Street.
Starmer heads to the pub after handing over keys
The now ex-PM handed over the keys to No10 to Andy Burnham and immediately headed for one of his favourite local boozers, necking a few cold ones and saying farewell to aides. The usual suspects criticised Starmer, but after six years of watching him try and fail to look like an average bloke, he has never been more relatable.
Opinions on Sir Keir's two-year premiership are mixed, but having resigned four weeks ago under relentless pressure from within the Labour Party, he left with a certain level of dignity. As soon as Burnham won in Markerfield to become an MP, he filed his resignation, rather than clinging on like Boris Johnson.
Reactions: from 'fair play' to 'fun sponge'
The journalist behind the story tweeted 'Fair Play', and that was the consensus even among some of his fiercer left-wing critics. Others, however, were less favourable, with right-wing voices piling on. GB News presenter Ben Leo posted: 'Kicked out of government and then off to the pub for a laugh and a giggle. All while the country remains crippled. Glad to see they're having a good time.'
It's ironic to see a swipe at Starmer's post-work bev from a channel that has boosted Nigel Farage, who should be lauded for performatively spending crypto donations on cask ale to appear as an everyman.
A rare relatable moment
One of Starmer's key failings as PM was that the British public never really connected with him. He was too cautious and stiff. But what's more relatable than, after a hellish six months, slipping into your local boozer for a quick pint? In the images, Starmer is speaking into his mobile, phoning home, promising to bring home a takeaway.
If holding a pint of real ale is enough to humanise Farage, should we not let the five-a-side playing season ticket holder have a swift one on a hot day before heading home?
Cheers, Keir
His replacement, Andy Burnham, already seems more at ease, having spent weeks posting social media content where he picks his favourite albums and looks like a normal 6 Music dad. But in this unposed moment, with a beer in hand, it feels churlish to begrudge Starmer what must be one of the best-tasting pints he has ever had. We can criticise his legacy, but just for a day, he finally looked like one of us.
