7 Funniest Mayoral Gaffes

The lighter side

Politicians are prone to gaffs, just ask Ed Milliband’s bacon butty, but what comical capers have England’s mayors got themselves into?  

1. The Mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby, Twitter was hacked by a prankster

   Twitter hacks are nothing new, and thankfully the veteran politician was able to laugh off the incident.

   Tweets sent out from the fake profile claimed the Mayor was in favour of ludicrous policies, from plans to declare war on Derby, to a ban on pizzas which cost more than £15, to creating a Formula One race track in the city centre.

   Fortunately for the Mayor, the Twitter account has since been suspended. Unfortunately for us, this means we cannot show you the pranksters work.
    

   

    

2.  A Twitter account was created for Bristol’s Mayor’s beard

   Staying on the Twitter-theme, another prankster created a Twitter account for Marvin Rees’ beard.

   

   The parody account tweets from the Labour Mayor’s beard’s perspective, although the sarcastic demeanour of the tweets suggest the prankster behind the account may not be Rees’ biggest fan.
    

3. The many twitter accounts of Mansfield Mayor, Kate Allsop

   Parody accounts of politicians is a craze which has endless possibilities as Mansfield’s mayor, Kate Allsop has found out.

   Operating under the guise of the mayor’s cat, the prankster behind @MayorAllsop, took to Twitter to complain about its kitty treat budget being frozen, being shut out in the snow, and to criticise Mayor Allsop’s decision to ban Twitter at council meetings. 
    

   

   The Twitter prankster obviously is not a fan of the incumbent mayor, using the account to tweet satirical political jokes concerning the Allsop’s apparent decision to close soup kitchens.
    

   

   It seems as if the prankster has taken a new angle recently, following the name change to ‘Boring Mayor Allsop.’ Will our new Mayor face similar Twitter pranks?   
    

4. Twitter pranks can go too far

   Sometimes pranksters overstep the line, turning what can be a light-hearted joke into online abuse, as Liverpool’s mayor, Joe Anderson, recently found out. 

   The mayor became the target of enraged Twitter users, angry at his decision to fund the building of a new football stadium for Everton FC. The endless onslaughter has even got the mayor to consider leaving the social media platform. 

   Insults ranged from calling the Mayor a “pie crust snorting wizard” to a “corrupt humpty dumpty looking n**ce.”

   And, of course, someone took it to the next level by creating yet another political parody Twitter account. Unlike the other parody accounts above, this Twitter prankster’s tweets have carry a more malicious tone 
    

   

    

5. Watford’s mayor was caught “campaigning” on her own door stop

   Dorothy Thornhill, the mayor of Watford, made the comical blunder of using an image of her knocking on her own door during her mayoral election campaign.
    

   

   Eagle-eyed constituents and local Labour activists were quick to highlight the absurdity of staging the campaign photo.   
    

6. Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock’s foul-mouthed outburst 

   Politicians are, for the most part, just like you and me, and are prone to errors of judgement in the heat of the moment. 

   Sir Steve Bullock seemed to lose his cool when he lashed out at local protestors, calling them “f****** idiots” after they pressed the mayor on why their jobs and services were being cut. 

    

7. Finally, no list of mayor gaffs would be complete without the always entertaining Boris Johnson

   Known as the joker in the political world, Boris Johnson has provided us with endless comical blunders and gaffs.

   From nonsensical mutterings to getting stuck on a zipwire, Boris has made headlines for all the wrong reasons on multiple occasions. Here’s a compilation of Boris’ best sporting moments (including the infamous rugby tackle on a child):

    

We’re sure that Manchester’s new mayor will do a fine job, let’s hope they can avoid some of these pranks, gaffs, and outright nonesense!