UK Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has likely not been enjoying Christmas tune-smithery thus far.
One new release mercilessly parodies his policies and has hit the top of the UK download charts, despite a claimed boycott by some radio stations, including the BBC.
In Freezing This Christmas released on December 17, by “Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers”, the PM’s policy to strip 10 million of pensioners of their winter fuel payments has been brutally reflected.
Lyrics of the parody song, a rewrite of the Christmas classic Lonely This Christmas include: “Try to imagine a house that’s full of cold.
“Try to imagine being 80 years old, That’s where I’ll be since the cure left me, I wish tears could heat my home.
“What can I do without fuel? I’ve got no place, no place to go, It’ll be freezing this Christmas without fuel at home, It’ll be freezing this Christmas while K-Star is warm. It’ll be cold, so cold without fuel at home this Christmas.”
As part of the song, there is audio excerpt from an interview Starmer gave to Good Housekeeping magazine in April, in which he said of one pensioner: “She told me that she doesn’t get out of bed ’til midday because she doesn’t want to turn the heating on.”
The song ends with a resounding, “Merry Christmas, Keir, I hope you can sleep at night.”
With the help of 51-year-old “Rat Pack” homage singer Dean Ager — discovered online – 33-year-old freelance writer Chris Middleton penned the song.
It was written after a recent survey revealed that more than half of UK pensioners who will not receive their payout this year planned to switch off their heating to cover their bills.
Some 35 per cent said they would make other cutbacks on essential items, with one in six saying they would cut down on food.
Together, the song team have also launched a charity. Fans of the tune can donate, with all proceeds directed to supporting elderly individuals struggling to afford heating via the Age UK charity. It has already raised in excess of £23,000 (€27,8oo).
A description of the pensioners’ charity read: “These are our grandparents, our teachers from when we were kids in school, the kind lady you chatted to on the bus, the stoic old man you see eating alone in a cafe.
“These are the people who built this country and paid into the system their whole lives, and they are now being abandoned in their time of most need.”
The song became an overnight success and has been downloaded across the UK, propelling it to the top of download charts including the EE Big Top 40, which ranks songs based on downloads and Apple Music streams.
Despite its success, the BBC has allegedly refused to play the song. The creators claimed their tune was being boycotted. although it has been downloaded intensely online, Freezing this Christmas stood at 85 in the UK’s official mid-week rankings.
It is expected to rise in the new rankings due on December 20.
“If it’s not being played, it’s raising less money, and this message shouldn’t be blocked,” the singer told UK newspaper The Telegraph on December 18.
Conservative MP Greg Smith said was an “absurdity” that the BBC was apparently refusing to play the song.
“Satire is often the most powerful check on power – and this song is highlighting the seriousness of Labour’s political choices to give bumper pay deals to their union paymasters whilst stripping some of our poorest pensioners from vital funds to heat their homes this winter,” he said.
A BBC spokesman said decisions on what stations play were “always made with the relevant audiences and context in mind” and denied the corporation had blocked the playing of the song.
Ager – who makes a living impersonating the likes of Michael Bublé and Elvis – said he had performed the song at care homes, at residents’ request.
“There are so many people out there suffering because Labour took away the allowance. They should reverse it – we all make mistakes,” he said.
Middleton told The Telegraph it took him “about an hour” to pen the song, which he said he was inspired to write after hearing of old people struggling to heat their homes.
“I felt obligated to take on the issue. Pensioners have told me they feel abandoned.
“The changes to winter fuel allowance weren’t in Labour’s manifesto, which implied they wouldn’t hurt pensioners.
“Looking at those old clips where Keir Starmer is criticising the Tories, saying 4,000 people would die if the allowance was scrapped, the hypocrisy is plain to see,” he said.
'Freezing This Christmas' could make Christmas No1👊 But don't buy it yet. Wait until 13 Dec (to 19th) before buying from spotify, then it will count towards the Christmas week sales. We can get Sir Starmer & the Granny Harmers to No1 👋
Please repost pic.twitter.com/Rbzm4yutGO
— Lady Rebecca 💃🍸 🇬🇧 •#ConcernedUKCitizen• 🇬🇧 (@LadyRebecca_1) December 10, 2024
