‘Bailiffs for Boris’: PM’s death throes produce bumper crop of memes

Nothing energises the meme-makers of British Twitter more than the spectacle of a political crisis, and the protracted death throes of Boris Johnson’s premiership have produced a bumper crop.

With the overnight news that Johnson was seemingly hunkered down in No 10 for the long haul, the task of removing him from office was pitched as one of trickier Taskmaster challenges that Alex Horne has set.

There was also a suggestion that those remaining in Johnson’s government could take the same approach they had proposed to replace striking railway workers – and go for temporary agency ministers as a replacement.

But there was an overall sense that, ultimately, Johnson was facing a losing battle.

Some observers cast a contrast with the exit of the two previous Conservative prime ministers to be ousted by their party.

Some thought about who ultimately was to blame.

There was an inevitability that Father Ted would pop up as people speculated on what a Boris Johnson resignation speech might look like.

Comedian Nish Kumar joined in with a screenshot he had for just the occasion.

And, for once, the feline comparisons at No 10 were not about Larry the Downing Street cat, but the prime minister himself.

If the Conservatives were looking for a caretaker figure to swoop in at the last moment to steady a rocking ship and save them from relegation to opposition, then there was only one man with the reputation for the job: Sam Allardyce.

Despite his best efforts, with the news that Johnson was to make a statement to the nation, it was finally time for the end credits to roll.

And as ever, we all thought wistfully back to that prophetic tweet by David Cameron seven years ago.