Twitter reacts to Theresa May’s Dancing Queen moment
PM entered Tory party conference jiving to Abba classic
Theresa May astonished Conservative party members by beginning her keynote speech at the party’s conference by dancing to Abba.
The prime minister boogied her way onto the stage to the Swedish pop group’s 1976 hit Dancing Queen - a tongue-in-cheek reference to the PM’s visit to Africa last month, where her attempts to dance with schoolchildren elicited comparisons with a robot.
The novel entrance was caught by news cameras and quickly spread across social media, where it drew a combination of amusement, dismay and outright horror:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If May was hoping her on-stage moves would put an end to the robot jokes, she was sadly mistaken.
Although a few defended May’s willingness to poke fun at herself as sympathetic - and even politically savvy:
For most, it was car crash TV:
And the political gags were just too good to resist:
However, the choice of walk-on music went down predictably well at the Swedish embassy.
Even if some Abba fans felt that the Swedish supergroup’s rich back catalogue includes several tracks more appropriate to the beleaguered PM’s situation.
Continuing the self-deprecating theme, May opened her speech with references to her hitch-ridden appearance at last year’s conference, where she was plagued by a persistent cough and one of the letters on the backdrop behind her fell down mid-speech.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Who will replace Rishi Sunak as the next Tory leader?
In Depth Shortlist will be whittled down to two later today
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
David Cameron resigns as Sunak names shadow cabinet
Speed Read New foreign secretary joins 12 shadow ministers brought in to fill vacancies after electoral decimation
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published