Since Rishi Sunak called the election, Sky News’ Politics Hub has been looking back over memorable moments from campaigns gone by.
From David Cameron‘s football own goal, to an upstart Nick Clegg emerging as the unlikely victor from the UK’s first televised leaders debate, there were plenty to choose from.
Politics Hub: Tap here to follow latest election news
We’ve collated them all here for you to reminisce on – and a fair warning, given the fine weather we’ve had this week, one might leave you craving some ice cream…
Cameron’s own goal
Nothing says “man of the people” like a good football reference.
But – in an embarrassing slip during the 2015 campaign – David Cameron did little to convince us he was a true fan.
In a speech in which he sought to celebrate Britain’s diversity, he said this was “a country where people of all faiths, all colours, creeds, and backgrounds can live together” – and one where “you can support Man Utd, the Windies, and Team GB all at the same time”.
“Of course, I’d rather you support West Ham,” he quipped.
Alas, he’s an Aston Villa fan.
‘Hell yes, I’m tough enough’
Labour had been tipped to return to power at the 2015 election, but some bruising TV appearances for Ed Miliband didn’t help the party’s chances by the end.
One saw him grilled on Sky News by Jeremy Paxman about whether he was “tough enough” to be prime minister.
Leaning forward, Mr Miliband shared an anecdote about the UK government’s desire to intervene in Syria that year, in line with the US under then president Barack Obama.
He told Paxman how he was “called into a room” to speak to David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, fresh off the phone with Mr Obama, and ultimately decided to vote against taking action.
“Standing up to the leader of the free world shows a certain toughness,” said Mr Miliband.
Defending his record on foreign policy, he concluded his point with the immortal words: “Am I tough enuss… tough enough? Hell yes, I’m tough enough.”
Johnson hides in a fridge
Indiana Jones infamously hid in a fridge to survive a nuclear explosion, but who knew they were equally effective at protecting yourself from Piers Morgan.
During the election campaign of December 2019, Boris Johnson retreated into an industrial fridge at a milk firm in Yorkshire after being invited to speak on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
Told by a producer from the show that he was live on telly, Mr Johnson said he’d be “with you in a second” before enacting his daring escape.
“He’s gone into the fridge,” Morgan muttered in apparent disbelief, down the line from the ITV studio, as the then prime minister surrounded himself with the comfort of milk bottles.
Mr Johnson did eventually emerge and went on to win the election.
Flakes between friends
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, clearly the best of pals. Pic: PA
New Labour’s time in power often saw stories about a fractious relationship between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
But the pair put on the truest form of friendship on the 2005 campaign trail: enjoying delectable 99 Flakes together.
Read more:
Who’s on course to win the election?
How to watch and follow results night on Sky News
The photo op was a rebuttal to reports of a fallout, and nothing brings people together like good ice cream.
And they probably really did cost 99p back then.
‘We’re alright!’
Neil Kinnock delivers an infamous Labour rally in Sheffield. Pic: PA
It’s 1992 – and Labour’s Neil Kinnock is facing John Major.
A week out from the vote, and the opposition thinks it is on track to finally re-enter Downing Street after more than a decade out of power.
Thousands of the party faithful gathered at Sheffield Arena for a huge rally.
Amid rampant cheering and applause, Mr Kinnock bellowed what was reported to be the phrase “we’re alright!”
This was taken to be him signalling Labour would be winning – a sign of complacency and overconfidence.
His party went on to lose to Mr Major’s Tories, and Mr Kinnock resigned as party leader.
He has since argued he was actually saying “well alright” in an attempt to get the crowd to listen to him.
‘Nothing has changed’
Theresa May faced the media after performing a U-turn on her social care reforms. Pic: PA
Theresa May didn’t have a great time during the 2017 campaign.
One moment in particular went down in infamy, as she repeatedly told journalists “nothing has changed” despite a screeching U-turn on controversial plans to get the elderly to pay for their social care.
It was perhaps the nadir of a campaign that had begun with her tipped to inflict a crushing defeat upon Labour, but instead saw her lose her majority.
‘I agree with Nick’
David Cameron and Nick Clegg debate ahead of the 2010 election. Pic: Reuters
The big winner from the UK’s first ever TV prime ministerial debate in 2010 wasn’t primary contenders David Cameron and Gordon Brown, but Nick Clegg.
As the Tory and Labour leaders looked to take chunks out of one another, they saved a more conciliatory side for the insurgent Lib Dem.
He could do no wrong that night, with Messrs Cameron and Brown both finding it completely irresistible not to simply “agree with Nick”.
Cleggmania took him all the way into Number 10 as part of the coalition.
The Ed Stone
Ed Miliband unveils his manifesto pledges in unusual fashion. Pic: PA
Never mind his bacon sandwich eating technique, it was unveiling Labour’s 2015 election pledges inscribed on an enormous slab of limestone that really got voters wondering what Ed Miliband was up to that year.
The then party leader thought the stunt, known as the Ed Stone, would persuade the public he was serious about delivering his promises.
They included “a strong economic foundation” and “controls on immigration” (these sound familiar, no?).
Worse still, Labour even committed to putting it up in the Downing Street garden should they win power.
But it was immediately ridiculed upon its unveiling in Hastings, and the party ended up performing so disappointingly at the election that the now shadow energy secretary resigned as leader.
Bigotgate
Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy, the voter he called a ‘bigoted woman’. Pic: PA
Nigel Farage has claimed that the furore over Rishi Sunak leaving D-Day commemorations was the prime minister’s “Gillian Duffy moment”.
So fittingly, we looked back at the original.
“Bigotgate” was born after the then prime minister Gordon Brown described one voter – Gillian Duffy – airing concerns about immigration in Rochdale as a “bigoted woman”.
Mr Brown muttered it after an exchange on camera, not realising he was being picked up by a microphone, and the comment was subsequently broadcast.
The Prescott punch
John Prescott (right) and Gordon Brown at Labour’s 2001 manifesto launch in Birmingham. Pic: Reuters
How would you react if someone threw an egg in your face?
In the case of John Prescott, the answer was to punch them.
The former deputy prime minister threw a fist at the voter who targeted him ahead of a campaign rally in Wales.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The incident came on the day Labour launched its 2001 manifesto, and went down in such infamy it has its own Wikipedia page.
Mr Prescott, then Tony Blair’s deputy, insisted the hefty jab was an act of self-defence – but him choosing violence divided the party leadership, with Gordon Brown more sympathetic than the prime minister was.
