Sir Keir Starmer prompted a mix of groans and laughter in the House of Commons this week after deploying a notoriously well-worn piece of political humour. During Prime Minister's Questions, he mocked the Conservative Party's frequent changes in leadership and senior roles, declaring: "They had more positions in 14 years than the Kama Sutra."
A Joke With Deep Parliamentary Roots
While the attempt at bawdy humour may have seemed fresh to some, an analysis of parliamentary records reveals it is anything but. According to Hansard, this specific joke comparing political inconsistency to the ancient Hindu text on love and sex has been used in Parliament at least 33 times by senior politicians in recent years.
The gag has been a bipartisan favourite, wielded by figures across the political spectrum. The Conservatives have used it against Sir Keir himself, with then-party chair Amanda Milling remarking in 2021 that he changed position "more often than the Kama Sutra". The joke's lineage stretches back decades, with former Tory leaders Sir Iain Duncan Smith and William Hague both using it to taunt Tony Blair in 2005.
Cross-Party Recycling of a Classic Quip
The historical record shows a remarkable consistency in how the line is delivered. Just last July, Labour's now-deputy leader Lucy Powell used a virtually identical taunt about Tory U-turns against her opposite number, Jesse Norman. In 2013, Liberal Democrat minister Sir Vince Cable aimed it at Labour's Ed Balls over economic policy.
Perhaps the most famous previous use came during the coalition years, when then-Lib Dem leader Sir Nick Clegg used the jibe against his Conservative partner, George Osborne, at his party conference in 2008. The context then was the Northern Rock banking crisis.
An Old Joke That Divides Opinion
Reaction to Sir Keir's latest revival of the joke was mixed. Some reports claimed it left MPs in hysterics, while others suggested it fell flat. The division underscores the joke's status as a political chestnut—reliably trotted out but rarely considered original.
Other current MPs who have recited the same gag in Parliament include Labour's Peter Dowd and Tory George Freeman. It has even found its way into the House of Lords, used by distinguished legal peers like Lords Pannick and Lester of Herne Hill.
As the Hansard analysis confirms, when it comes to political humour in Westminster, some jokes never truly retire. They are simply repurposed for a new generation, with the Kama Sutra line remaining a prime—if somewhat tired—example of a quip that continues to make the rounds.
