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Giant effigy of Sir Keir Starmer unveiled ahead of town's Bonfire Night celebrations

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Sir Keir Starmer will be the latest figure to appear as a giant effigy at a town’s Bonfire Night celebrations – following in the footsteps of Donald Trump, Liz Truss and Oasis.

The 11-metre figure of the prime minister holding a burning torch and a digital ID card will be the main feature of the event in Edenbridge, Kent, on Saturday.

The effigy wears a "farmer harmer" badge, a hat, flip-flops and a frilly collar usually associated with Guy Fawkes - and is holding a clipboard with "suck up to Trump" written in big letters.

The Edenbridge Bonfire Society has been poking fun at celebrities and politicians through the effigies since 1994.

It has previously targeted the American president Mr Trump and Ms Truss, the UK's shortest-serving prime minister in history.

Others to have been depicted as an effigy at the annual event include Harvey Weinstein, Katie Hopkins, Sir Sadiq Khan and Wayne Rooney.

Last year, organisers poked fun at Ticketmaster and Oasis following public reaction to dynamic pricing over the band's reunion tour.

Other contenders for this year's celebrations included Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Andrew Tate, Baroness Michelle Mone and MP Angela Rayner.

Andrea Deans, one of the creators of this year's effigy, said: "There were so many elements we could include on the effigy, and it was interesting working out how these could be represented visually."

Bill Cummings, chairman of the Bonfire Society, said: "This decision is a great opportunity to remind everyone why we have Bonfire Night in the first place, a message that has perhaps been forgotten over more recent years."

Sir Keir has a connection to the area as he was raised in nearby Oxted and is said to have played football at one of the local clubs in Edenbridge.

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The Edenbridge Bonfire Society has been organising the event for nearly 100 years.

Sir Winston Churchill is one of several famous figures to have previously opened the celebrations.

This year, more than 500 people are expected to take part in the torchlit parade through Edenbridge High Street.

Sky News

(c) Sky News 2025: Giant effigy of Sir Keir Starmer unveiled ahead of town's Bonfire Night celebrations

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