A PARODY song lampooning Keir Starmer’s Labour Government for its cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment has hit number one in the UK charts.
The song Freezing This Christmas – by the artist “Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers” – hit the top of the Official Big Top 40 chart on December 15.
The song uses the tune of the 1974 Mud classic Lonely This Christmas, which also topped the charts at number one when it was first released.
The parody version goes: “It'll be freezing this Christmas, without fuel at home, it'll be freezing this Christmas, while Keir Starmer is warm. It'll be cold, so cold, without fuel at home, this Christmas.”
The song then uses a clip of Starmer saying: “She told me that she doesn't get out of bed till midday because she doesn't want to turn the heating on.”
The lyrics were written by Chris Middleton and sung by the Brighton-based Rat Pack tribute act Dean Ager.
Last week, Middleton told GB News that he would be giving any money which he made from the song to charities which work with elderly people.
“My goal wasn't to get to number one, at all,” he told the channel. “My goal was just to put the song out there and see what happens and it's kind of taken on a bit of a life of its own.
“Now, it's out of my hands. In a lot of ways, the people have decided.
“The people are angry. They want to see it go to number one, I think, as a way to send a message to the Government.”
He added: “Any money that I get from the song on any of the streaming platforms – I mean, I'm totally new to this, I don't really know how any of it works – but any money that I receive for this will be going straight to charities to help the elderly.”
The BBC has said that it will announce which song is the official Christmas number one on Friday, December 20.
In an article on its website listing the contenders for the festive top spot, the BBC did not mention the parody song aimed at Starmer.
The Official Chart list, which is different to the Official Big Top 40 chart, has Wham! at number one and Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers in 67th place. It was last updated on December 13,
Asked why he had penned the lyrics, Middleton said that Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment had sparked “a lot of dissatisfaction about the Government, the way things have gone since the election”.
He went on: “We all have grandparents, we all have elderly people that we know, people that struggle. They're people that have contributed to the system all of their lives.
“Now, in their time of most need, the Government has decided to essentially betray them.
“I think that sort of deep-seated feeling was there and then just sort of coming up with the idea itself was a bit random.”
The Labour Government cut the universal Winter Fuel Payment, which was worth between £100 and £300 and was paid to all people of pension age, soon after entering government.
They insisted the decision had been made due to the Tories’ poor handling of the economy.
The SNP Government has said it will work to replace the universal payment with a devolved Scottish one from 2025.
