A UK politician the internet loves to mock could become prime minister
Ed Miliband, head of the UK’s Labour Party.
LONDON, UK — Below is a clip of Ed Miliband, leader of the UK’s Labour Party and potential future prime minister, as he prepares to go on camera for a popular British morning talk show.
Those eyes. Those eyebrows. Those canines.
The clip hit the internet on Monday, spurred by political blogger Guido Fawkes.
Miliband would like you to think of him as a leader, a progressive alternative to Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative Party.
Instead, he has staked out a spot as one of the most reliably awkward figures in British public life.
He looks uncannily like the human half of claymation duo “Wallace and Gromit.”
Anyone notice the similarities gaga #Miliband #WallaceAndGromit #BirdsOfAFeather
A photo posted by Miss Johnson (@pr1nc3ss88) on
An attempt last year to convey a “regular bloke” vibe by eating a bacon sandwich in public went spectacularly wrong. “Ed miliband bacon sandwich” is now the top hit on Google after his name.
There are entire Tumblrs and Twitter accounts devoted to the Right Honourable Leader of the Opposition’s most cringe-inducing photos.
Here he is looking awkward with Lily Allen, the pop singer.
Here he is looking awkward with Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls (unwitting founder of Ed Balls Day and another titan of British awkwardness).
And here he is … well, we don’t really know what this is about.
Meme-worthy though Miliband may be, it could also have major implications for the UK elections on May 7.
More from GlobalPost: 5 things to know about the UK elections
Polls show the Labour Party in a virtual dead heat with the Conservatives. But even many of those who can see themselves voting for Labour say they can’t see Miliband standing at the door of Number 10 Downing Street.
In November, 42 percent of those who voted Labour in the 2010 election said they didn’t think he was up to the job, with just 34 percent backing Miliband.
Miliband took over as the opposition party’s leader in 2010 after defeating front-runner David Miliband — awkwardly, his own brother.
David Miliband is himself no stranger to photo ops gone wrong. A poorly timed 2008 shot of him brandishing a banana was rumored to have single-handedly put a planned challenge to then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown on hold.
Above, a 2008 Conservative Party conference featured free bananas next to a cutout of the widely mocked pic of the Labour Party's then-foreign secretary.
As the election approaches, Ed Miliband’s future is anyone’s guess. In the meantime, bring on the #EdEats.
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