Starmer’s campaign day was derailed in West England today as a deliriously furious pub landlord tore into him, ranting against lockdown and mask-wearing:

“You have failed me! I’ve been a Labour voter my entire life. You have failed to be the opposition. You failed to ask whether lockdown was functioning… I am telling you this now – and I hope it goes out – you have failed this country.”

Starmer deals with it quite well, albeit appearing like a parody of the Thick of It’s “have you ever cleaned up your own mother’s piss” scene. 

Nigel Farage, a man who’s no stranger to hostile crowds, reckons this “shows that Starmer’s team are rank amateurs. Clearly no advance reconnaissance was done here. Idiots.”

Boris didn’t have a great morning in West England either. Asked by the BBC whether he could remember the name of his West England mayor, he repeatedly evaded the question.

Tim Bowles for any readers preparing for particularly difficult pub quizzes…

UPDATE: Pretty violent scenes from PA as Starmer’s security try and wrestle the landlord – now named as Rod Humphries – out of the way:

The landlord of The Raven pub in Bath has kicked out Sir Keir Starmer during the Labour leader's walkabout in the city pic.twitter.com/7byQt2bFqW

— PA Media (@PA) April 19, 2021