Tory MP Desmond Swayne compares wearing a mask to being 'like Darth Vader' in bizarre rant

Tory MP Desmond Swayne likened wearing a face mask to going about "like Darth Vader".

In an interview on Channel 4 News, he explained why he's opposed to wearing one.

I think it's frightful. I think it's awful having to cover your face and go about like Darth Vader. I just think it's horrible, many people do.

The internet had some notes on his Star Wars comparison.

First of all, spoiler alert, Darth Vader dies shortly after removing his head gear in Return of the Jedi.

So perhaps it was actually a pretty good idea to wear it?

And second of all, Vader wore his mask for very sensible reasons.

If even the universe's greatest supervillain can manage it...

Elsewhere during the interview, Swayne accused the government of ruling "by diktat" during the pandemic.

What really gets to me about this is that, you know, where was the debate? We are a democracy.  

The government has been governing since the beginning of this crisis by diktat using powers that it was granted in 1984 under the Public Health Act. By golly, didn't George Orwell choose correctly the title for his dystopian novel? 

A Star Wars and a 1984 reference? Groundbreaking.

Swayne's argument, that anti-maskers haven't had their voices heard in parliament, isn't entirely fair.

After all, he had the opportunity to label masks "a monstrous imposition" in the Commons.

And it's his government making the rules.

People aren't sympathetic to Swayne's anti-mask meltdowns.

If NHS workers can manage wearing a mask for 12 hour shifts, he can wear one to the supermarket.

Because sometimes people have to wear slightly uncomfortable articles of clothing.

You get used to it.

The purpose of wearing a mask, ultimately, is to try to keep yourself and others around you safe.

We're just being asked to wear a thin strip of fabric. Darth Vader had to wear an entire bodysuit.