​Larry the Downing Street cat has launched a last minute Tory leadership bid

It may be too late to get his name on the ballot paper, but this hasn't stopped one cat from trying his luck at becoming the next leader of the Tory party.

Larry the Downing Street cat has officially launched his leadership bid with a shiny website and a billboard campaign.

It may be funny, but Larry - or rather agency Don't Panic London which is running the campaign - has a serious message about just how democratic the leadership election is... or isn't.

On the website, Larry says: "Choice is a wonderful thing.... the choice between chasing a feather or a string. But when it comes to the nation's next leader, why do 160,000 Tories get to choose for 67 million people? (And 34 million pets!) That's why I'm throwing my collar in the ring, to give Britain a proper choice."

Joe Wade, Founding Partner at Don’t Panic adds: “We find it baffling that the fate of the country lies in the hands of just 160,000 people, and honestly right now, a cat seems like a better choice for Prime Minister than either of the two others in the running. And who knows? Maybe Larry can pip them to the post. It’s 2022 and stranger things have happened!”

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Indeed, just 0.3 per cent of Brits are members of the Tory party. While it may be fair for them to choose the leader of their party, the decision that de facto chooses the next PM is a little more controversial.

In his manifesto, Larry pledges a number of policies from treats to "no more Downing Street parties without Larry", which sound better than some of the stuff Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, the two remaining candidates in the race, are suggesting.

Here are some of his promo posters:

He's got our vote.

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