Gene Hunt for Prime Minister?

This must be the weirdest election poster ever! Britain’s ruling Labour party is launching its election campaign this week with a poster that depicts the opposition leader, David Cameron, playing the part of Gene Hunt - the star of 80s detective series, Ashes To Ashes.

Cameron is seen sitting on the bonnet of a red Audi Quattro, the iconic car that Hunt drives in the TV series. The slogan says: “Don’t let him take Britain back to the 80s”.

This poster is wrong in so many ways I hardly know where to start. For one thing, a lot of us have very fond memories of the ‘80s; compared to the grim recession-hit Britain of 2010, the prospect of bringing back the style, the music and the sheer fun of the ‘80s doesn’t seem all that bad. For another thing, Gene Hunt is one of the most popular characters on TV. He’s tough, funny and (so I’m told) sexy (?) - at any rate, compared with the dull and gloomy image presented by the Labour leader, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, being portrayed as “just like Gene Hunt” is an astonishingly positive image.

Which idiot at the Labour Party gave the go ahead to this poster? Truly amazingly stupid...