Tony Robinson, the 79-year-old actor best known for playing the bumbling Baldrick in Blackadder, has become the unlikely target of widespread ridicule on X after posting an energetic video urging voters to back Labour on one of the most consequential election days since the party’s 2024 general election victory.
The clip, which circulated rapidly on Thursday morning, shows Robinson dancing and jogging down a street in a green shirt, arms flailing, with bold red text overlaid on the screen reading “Vote TODAY Vote Change Vote Labour.” The TikTok-style video sees him pointing at the camera, grinning and spinning toward a polling station sign — an appeal timed to coincide with today’s sweeping local elections across England, Scotland and Wales.
The response online was swift and largely merciless. Users on X mocked the veteran actor as an “insufferable pillock” whose Labour cheerleading amounted to a “cunning plan” — a pointed reference to his most famous character’s perpetually disastrous schemes. Posts celebrating what some called “Happy Labour wipeout day” flooded replies, with many drawing attention to Robinson’s long history of vocal Labour endorsements and contrasting it with the party’s increasingly difficult political position heading into today’s votes.
The elections represent the first major electoral test for Keir Starmer’s government since it swept to power last year. The scale of today’s contests is significant: more than 5,000 council seats are up for grabs across 136 local authorities in England, including all 32 London boroughs, alongside mayoral contests in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford. Scotland is electing all 129 members of its parliament, while Wales is voting for an expanded 96-seat Senedd under a new, more proportional electoral system — its most significant constitutional change in years.
Pre-election polling has pointed to potentially heavy losses for Labour, particularly in northern Red Wall areas where Reform UK has been making significant inroads. In Wales, a tight contest is projected between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK for the largest party, with Labour bracing for considerable setbacks. In Scotland, the SNP remains ahead but Reform UK has emerged as a notable challenger.
Polling stations are open until 10pm. Most English results are expected overnight, with Scottish and Welsh declarations beginning on Friday.
