Rishi Sunak’s choice of boots sparks parody of one of his most controversial policies

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak probably wanted people to talk more about his latest work to “stop the boats” on Monday – given it’s one of the five government priorities he set out at the start of the year – but it seems social media was more concerned with what shoes he was wearing.

The Conservative Party leader gave an update on work to tackle “illegal migration” at the Western Jet Foil Processing Centre in Dover, in a speech which saw him claim his plan is “starting to work” and reveal details about housing migrants on boats instead of hotels.

Mr Sunak said: “We cannot allow our generosity of spirit to be used as a weapon against us or against those who are being pushed to risk their lives in the Channel by criminal gangs.

“Our approach is working. For the first time, crossings are down by 20 per cent, but we are not complacent.

“My policy is very simple: it is this country – and your government – who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.”

The stat-heavy speech also saw the PM boast about reducing the number of accepted asylum claims from Albania from one in five to one in 50, and tripling the refusal rate for modern slavery claims after asking for “basic evidence”.

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Because of course, refusing safety from those fleeing persecution is something to celebrate.

“I said I would stop the boats and I meant it,” Mr Sunak concluded.

It’s been one of the Tory leader’s main slogans this year, but it’s since been parodied online with one small change in light of Mr Sunak’s choice of footwear: stop the boots:

And in addition to being mocked for his boots, it’s also being pointed out to Mr Sunak that the fall in small boat crossings recently may not be down to his government’s policies, but rather a case of bad weather.

Awkward.

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