London
Election Day in Great Britain – that also means: Show your dogs. Under the keyword #DogsAtPollingStations (#DogsAtPollingStations) the social media – as in previous years – pictures of dogs were placed in front of polling stations. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also present. In a video he published on X, the dog Luna played the leading role.
Khan is a member of the Labour Party. According to all the surveys, the Social Democrats are heading for an election victory. In this case, Labour leader Keir Starmer would replace the incumbent Conservative Rishi Sunak as prime minister.
People in Britain are particularly fond of animals. Politicians are no exception, Sunak also has a dog called Nova. His predecessor Boris Johnson often turns up with his dog Dilyn. The Leader of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, owns several animals, including a parrot called Boris (named after Johnson, of course) and the tortoise Maggie (after former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who had a “hard shell”).
The background to the internet trend is that in the UK, political messages are not allowed to be sent near polling stations on election day. Taking a photo of your dog at the polling station is therefore seen as a cleverly packaged signal to voters to go to the ballot box and put their cross in the right place.
Prime Minister-designate Starmer doesn’t yet have a dog – although his two teenage children would promote one, the 61-year-old recently told ITV. The family has a cat called Jojo.
The secret ruler of Downing Street has been Larry the cat for 13.5 years. The animal even has an official title: “Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office”.
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