
With everything that is currently going on British politics the last thing that you would expect the official 10 Downing Street Twitter account to be chirping about are straws.
In a tweet clearly aimed at raising awareness of plastic waste caused by using straws, followed by the announcement that all plastic straws, drink stirrers and cotton buds will be banned by April 2020, the account posted a poll asking people to guess how straws are used in the UK each year.
How many plastic straws are currently used each year in the UK?— UK Prime Minister (@UK Prime Minister) 1558531925
Although it was a serious question with a very worthwhile message behind it, Twitter began tearing it to shreds with the joke about Theresa May 'clutching at straws' being mentioned more than once.
@10DowningStreet Me, desperately trying to change topic when it looks like HR might fire me: https://t.co/hixMI7e6LE— James Felton (@James Felton) 1558533030
No idea- but she's clutching one https://t.co/jkKLLIrtWK— Steve Hawkes (@Steve Hawkes) 1558533770
Nowhere near as many as Theresa May is clutching at https://t.co/KnVH84WVB3— Ollie Thorpe (@Ollie Thorpe) 1558533750
We could reduce this by throwing milkshakes instead of drinking them. https://t.co/ZizZxtxamn— David Whitley (@David Whitley) 1558532431
@10DowningStreet Theresa May is on her LAST STRAW isn't she ? #PMQs— The Dreaded Fox (@The Dreaded Fox) 1558532537
@10DowningStreet Can we do a similar poll to #RevokeArticle50 ?— Craig Cockburn 🏴🇪🇺 (@Craig Cockburn 🏴🇪🇺) 1558532687
@10DowningStreet I don’t know but I’m sure Theresa May is clutching everyone of them tonight— dominic dyer (@dominic dyer) 1558534078
Not what the think-tank meant by 'put out a straw poll' lads. https://t.co/fH13pFF3sY— Nick Murphy (@Nick Murphy) 1558534187
She needs to know, as she's getting tired of clutching at them. https://t.co/pXqMZUcMei— Yummy Sandwiches (@Yummy Sandwiches) 1558532191
This is just lazy. Do your own research, Theresa. https://t.co/UtUuVcFatF— Dan Vevers (@Dan Vevers) 1558534246
Yeah... Err... Haven't you got bigger things to worry about right now? https://t.co/UyRxVcpLIA— Matt Kilcoyne (@Matt Kilcoyne) 1558534512
I think this is quite literally a straw poll. https://t.co/jSVhU3w4AB— Alex Morales (@Alex Morales) 1558532785
If you are interested in finding out the actual answer to this question it is 4.7 billion however, this is unlikely to be the straw that breaks the prime minister's back.
The answer is 4.7 billion! We're stopping this by banning the sale of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in E… https://t.co/2XZR3CrE7o— UK Prime Minister (@UK Prime Minister) 1558535560