POLITICIAN Tommy Sheridan has been mocked online after he posted a bizarre video comparing his Holyrood election campaign with peanut butter and Nutella.
The socialist firebrand, who is standing for the Solidarity Party in May’s Holyrood elections, holds a jar of peanut butter and Nutella in each hand and declares: “This is a bit like me in politics.”
During the two minute and 24 second monologue, apparently filmed in his Glasgow home, Sheridan also talks about Marmite – before urging people to forget about all three spreads and vote for him.
The clip was uploaded to the “Tommy4Glasgow” Facebook page shortly before midnight on Monday and has been viewed 41,000 times.
The post unleashed a torrent of criticism ranging from allegations Mr Sheridan shops at M&S to the “fake” Tiffany lamps in the background.
Daniel Newman wrote: “Peanut butter and Nutella look dirty and tainted to me now.
“So desperate to look like a man for the working class that he’s holding the cheap versions in case people think he’s a snob.”
David Carr wrote: “ Put the Nutella down and move away from the camera, Tommy.”
Sarah Higgins mocked the Sheridan’s interior decor, writing: “Howling. Why have they got two fake Tiffany lamps right next to each other?”
Liam Pritchard pointed out: “Don’t mean to split hairs but that’s not actually Nutella. Just bog standard hazelnut spread.”
“Nutella”
Lorna Bett added: “I won’t vote for anyone who doesn’t eat M & S peanut butter! What a stoatir .”
However some people gave Tommy’s message the thumbs up.
Chris Green wrote: “Fair play to Tommy.. I’m a Nutella man myself..”
Betty Bremner added: “You tell em Tommy. I’d vote for ye.”
In the video, Tommy says: “We’ve got peanut butter, we’ve got Nutella. This is a bit like me in politics.
“I don’t have any Marmite. But people say I’m a bit of a Marmite character. Some love us, some hate us.
“But you know what, this election in May isn’t just about your personal opinion. It’s about who can do the job.
He adds: “We want you to vote number one, for independence, and number two for independence.
“If you vote for Solidarity on May 5th, you’ve voting for indyref two. Never mind the peanut butter, or the nutella, or the marmite.”
“Apology”
Tommy Sheridan formed the Solidarity party in 2006.
He has also been a member of the Scottish Socialist Party and Labour.
He was jailed for perjury after a high-profile 2010 libel case.
When asked to clarify exactly his message, and given the chance to respond to the criticism, he said: “This wee vignette is the first in a series of #TommyTalk videos which will promote the #2ndVote #Solidarity campaign.
“For those unable to grasp the underlying message of the #Tommy4Glasgow sketch we apologise profusely but remind everyone that you need to be 16 years old to vote.
“For all the other critics we say ‘get a life’ and recall the wise words of the legendary Oscar Wilde: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about’. ”
